Custom vs. off-the-shelf framing — what is actually worth it?
An IKEA frame costs 299 CZK. Custom framing costs 2,500 CZK. Here is what you get for the difference — and when it pays off, and when it doesn't.
Let's be honest — IKEA is fine
Off-the-shelf frames have their place. For posters, children's drawings, gift prints, concert posters. When you want something on the wall quickly and expect to throw it out or swap it in five years, an off-the-shelf frame is the right call.
But once you are holding something that means more to you than decoration, the off-the-shelf frame is the first problem.
Standard size vs. the size of the work
An off-the-shelf frame has a fixed size — A4, A3, 30×40, 50×70. Your work is almost certainly a different one. Either you trim it (and damage its value) or you leave a large mat (and the work looks stranded).
On a commission I make the frame to the millimetre. No compromise, no trimming.
The materials you see ten years later
Off-the-shelf frame: chipboard, plastic „veneer“, acidic card, plastic instead of glass, a flimsy backing. It works for 2–5 years, then the trouble starts — yellow patches, a bowed back, fading.
Commission: solid wood or professional MDF, acid-free mat, quality glazing, a rigid backing. Thirty years and more with reasonable care.
The real cost
299 CZK × three frame replacements over fifteen years = 900 CZK. Add the value of the work you damaged in the process. Plus the time and the irritation.
A 2,500 CZK commission still looks the same after fifteen years. Often better, because wood gains patina with age. And the work inside is still in its original condition.
When a commission pays off
Originals and signed prints — always. Family photographs and mementoes — always. Gifts with sentimental value — always. Children's drawings you want to keep — always.
Concert posters, replicas, decoration in a rented flat — an off-the-shelf frame is fine. There is nothing wrong with that. It is only about knowing when the compromise is the right one.
Marek Homolka
Third-generation framer · RDH Rámy, Přísečná
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