Dakota Furniture Article

Minimal Is Often Better There is a good tendency today towards minimizing the heavy ornamentation of so-called antique or Barbizon-type frames by giving them an all-over neutral effect with only touches of color or gilt as accents. The beginner in frame-making is often confused as to the choice of molding or finish for a particular picture and therefore falls back on the practice of copying a frame or finish he has seen elsewhere. Every-one learns by imitation, but it is certainly better to develop one's own critical faculties by trying to work out each problem individually. Since framing is a skill that requires experience to develop to the point of real facility, analysis of each framing problem by oneself will add to confidence and the next job will be that much easier to do. Picture framing follows all general changes in sound decorative style, so no one can expect to produce a frame which need never be changed. By keeping the principles of good taste always in mind, we will not turn out something faddish or freakish. There will be times when a small or even tiny picture gains in importance and is not necessarily over-powered by a very wide molding if used judiciously. Again, a very large picture may only require the simplest of narrow Moldings to set it off properly. There is no call to be precious, but care employed when choosing the exact value of color for the frame or mat may make a tremendous difference in the final effect.