The Easy DIY To Transform Boring IKEA Frames Into A Designer Look

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A gallery wall is a simple way to beautify your home without making drastic changes. Choosing how to hang your art can be challenging, though, especially if you gravitate to unique styles of frames that often veer into expensive territory. IKEA is a great source for budget-friendly yet attractive interior design elements — in fact, there are stylish IKEA items that even HGTV stars love using in homes. One great example is the wide variety of frames that the store offers, with options like the RÖDALM frame retailing for only around $10. A neutral or wood-toned frame compliments most styles, but don't miss out on a chance to spice up your wall decor with an often-overlooked aspect of framing — mats. Many IKEA frames already come with mats, but they're typically the classic white that sometimes comes across as boring. For a fun way to add some excitement to your frame, cover it and its mat with fabric.

Creative matting is one of the latest framing trends on TikTok, since it's extremely DIY-friendly. Mats border the art without covering it and often serve to accommodate mismatched sizes and proportions between art and the desired frame, lending a professional appearance to the final product. With a mat, you draw a viewer's eyes to your art, complementing the colors within or using contrast to make the photograph or illustration stand out. By adding fabric to your frame and mat, you bring in elements of color, texture, and pattern to help develop a striking maximalist aesthetic.

Fabric is a versatile material, giving you many options to complement the colors of your art or the room's decor. When customizing an IKEA frame, you can even opt for IKEA's own fabric that you might already have around, repurposing home textiles like the botanical KÄRRDUNÖRT duvet set or the silky, broad-striped PIPRANKA cushion cover. When considering a fabric addition, make sure it's clean and acid-free so you don't risk damaging your art, as certain acids and dyes can interact with the ink or paint that makes up your piece.

Cut a piece of fabric for the frame and one for the mat, ensuring there's enough extra to wrap around the back. Remove the center of both pieces, again ensuring there is some excess to wrap around the other side. When adhering the fabric to your frame, don't reach for standard white glue or super glue, as these will react poorly with fabric and potentially warp the thin matting material. To achieve an even result, use a spray adhesive, like 3M Super 77 Multi-Surface Spray Adhesive, which will keep your fabric from bunching or staining. Separate your frame and mat, and apply the spray to the front of each. Smooth the fabric over each surface, and wrap the edges around the back where they will be hidden, applying adhesive on the edges and back to hold the material. Once the pieces are tightly wrapped, trim away any excess fabric. Recombine your mat and frame, and you're done, officially joining in on the maximalist picture frame trend to elevate your gallery wall.

In addition to adding fabric, you can change the size and shape of the mat that comes with your IKEA frame with the help of a self-healing cutting mat and an X-Acto knife. Cutting a mat yourself allows you to play with nontraditional shapes as well as size and color. Take this opportunity to add a wavy or geometric design to the interior of your mat, further enhancing your art's uniqueness. Before you get started, make sure to measure the inside area of your frame and your image so you don't cut off too much mat.

Once you've customized your plain IKEA mat, you can add fabric to it and your frame. You could even wrap the entire front of the mat, covering its center hole, to make the fabric itself the art on display. To expand your color, pattern, and texture options, consider applying paper to cover your frame and mat. If you're a fan of using contact paper hacks to liven up your space, you may prefer a stylish wrapping paper or decorative adhesive liner to make your frames pop. By customizing frames and mats, you establish your home as your own without modifying fundamental aspects, making it a stylish choice for renters and those who like to frequently change up their aesthetic.