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Decor & DIY

DIY Painted Picture Frame

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I bought this frame some years ago from Home Goods because it matched my decor at the time. However, this piece has become a sort of a “stand-out” among the rest of our home wall decor. I am a pretty much neutral kind of decor person. You know, the kind of colors that could match everything (brown, beige, tan, white, black, etc).  Further, my wall decor is pretty much the same year round with a few minor additions during Fall and Winter season. Some, furniture and other bigger items may get moved around some. Well maybe a lot!

frame new

But this time, I wanted a different decor look. As I was contemplating how to redecorate our home recently, I decided I would move things around for a different feel, including the wall decorations. But no matter where I moved this picture, the golden frame seemed to “stand out” above other frames.

I had some brown multi-surface acrylic paint left over from another recent project. So I decided the best thing to do was to repaint the picture frame using the brown paint (bought from Walmart).

The back of the frame is stapled down and is not the same as a regular picture frame to open and close to remove the picture and mirror. So I used some newspaper to protect the mirror from getting painted. Also, some more newspaper for protecting the surface of the kitchen table where I worked.

frame 10

I did not go through the process of sanding out the gold or anything. Simply gave it three coats of paint and gave this piece a new look! It only took a couple minutes to dry between each coat because the paint dries really fast. It may look a little distressed in some areas – but that’s the style these days, isn’t it:)

Picture frame after

 When the piece was finished, I took a slightly damp sponge to scrape off any paint that got around the inner edges of the mirror. Then I used a dry rag to dust it off.frame clean

I think the new look is better than this gold thing! But after I painted it brown, I wondered if I should have gone with a white frame instead. In any event, the brown matches some other decor, which was my original intent for repainting the frame.

before frame

Hubby approves of the color. He thinks it goes really well with the look I was trying to achieve. And here it is displayed on the mantle. Yes, the same mantle I decorated for Spring earlier. I never seem to be satisfied with the mantle decorations:) I am the master of putting something up then taking it down and moving it someplace else, much to hubby’s dismay! But he approved this one so we are good!

painted frame 2

This is the first time I have done a frame and I think the results turned out pretty well. It’s a keeper!

DIY frame

So tell me, what do you think of the new look? And have you every painted a photo frame? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness (Proverbs 31:27, KJV).

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21 thoughts on “DIY Painted Picture Frame

  1. I think it came out cute and it looks especially nice against your wall! I hate to say it but I think the brown brings out the actual painting, way more. It’s amazing a couple coats of paint can bring new life to something!

  2. Although i am not realy fond of anything brown, except chocolate ofcourse, i think it looks much better than the original color. I have painted a few frames recenlty. I used them for our gallery wall.

  3. You did a great job, Zan! I’ll paint anything that stands still long enough and I’ve painted many frames. I usually go for white or black because they go with my decor. A few months ago I found the cutest, small faux deer heads. They were this ugly (cheap) shiny silver and I painted them white. They look so much better. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Paint is the least expensive decorating tool, isn’t it!! I mean paint it to look new instead of buying new. Great change. I like the brown much better than the gold.

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