Wood Picture Frames and Wood Molding

Wood is organic. It gives the room some warmth and energy. It can be helpful in enhancing the overall look of your home. You can use wood picture frames (with a variety of natural wood finishes) for a rustic look. You can get white or distressed vintage picture frames for a shabby chic theme. For more traditional or classical décor, you can also use antique picture frames, this time finished with silver or gold leaf or white.

Molding Designs

An important element of wooden picture frames would be its molding, which gives life and beauty to the picture frame. The wood moldings enhance the framed image. At the Victorian Frame Company, you can choose from a wide variety of wood moldings, in a number of widths and finishes. It can be helpful to understand, though, that much of these choices revolve around a number of basic molding shapes. These include:

• Fully-round molding. This provides a rounded shape surrounding the frame. A wide fully-round molding can make a grand setting for classic images, portraits and landscapes. The rounded molding can serve to catch and direct the light, depending on the kind of finish the frame has.
• Half-round shape molding. This is also called the clamshell and is wider and flatter as compared to a fully-round molding. A half round shape can be complemented by a well-chosen piece of matting.
• Flat molding. This provides a perfectly flat surface and can work for either thin or thick molding widths. The outer edges can also be flat or can have an outward or inward curve. As flat frames are easier to assemble, the flat molding is ideal for all shapes of frames, including round, rectangular and oval frames.
• Shallow scoop. This molding design has raised outer edges with nearly flat inner edges. The raised edges serve to direct the eye into the content of the picture frame. The shallow scoop is ideal for oversized picture frames.
• Reverse sloop. This forms a triangular-like shape, similar to a wedge. These are basically two-flat diagonal shapes, with the inner diagonal flat molding shorter than the outer diagonal molding. Since the outer line is longer, this molding reflects the light away from the artwork. This is ideal for more modern artwork and photographs.
• Reverse scoop. This is molding where the inner lip is the highest part. The face of the molding scoops or slopes down as it nears the outer edge. The reverse scoop has the effect of making the photograph or artwork “protrude” away from the picture frame. Use the reverse scoop with care. Although it can work to add a stronger visual effect and dimension to the framed item, when used with a badly chosen photo, it may direct the eyes away from the image, rather than into the image.
• Flat slope. This provides a flat face but has a slight slope starting from the outer edge to the inner edge.

Other Ornaments and Molding Types

There are more molding types and styles that combine the above basic shapes to create still more styles. For instance, you can combine a flat molding with a rounded inner or outer edge. You can also combine two rounded curves, with a raised curve at the inner edge. Another variation would be a flat face with an inner or outer scoop.

What’s more, there are additional techniques that add visual interest to the frame. These include:

• Carving on the faces. The surface, whether flat or scooped, can hold carvings such as flowers, leaves, grooves, scales and more.
• Beading. This refers to the line of rounded beads that can be placed either on the inner edge or the outer edge.
• Beveled edge. This refers to the 45-degree slope that starts at the inner edge, to the top of the face of the frame. Another variation would be the double bevel, where both the inner and outer edges have a 45-degree slope.