How I Find Cheap Frames for Gallery-Level Look on a Goodwill Budget

I never quite felt like a real adult until I framed my first piece of art. All through college, I pinned giant collages of unframed art to my walls like a life-size scrapbook. Post-grad, I’ve slowly started framing my favorite pieces. Custom framing is expensive, so I scour thrift stores for well-made frames with glass and hit up my local art supply store for the rest of what I need to do my own custom framing.

Budget Art Framing Ideas

Ready to get started? Here are the simple steps I use to custom frame my art on the cheap.

Materials

• Pre-made frame (including glass)

• Artwork

• Acid-free mat paper cut to the same size as frame glass (found at art supply stores)

• Mat cutter (optional)

• Acid-free artist’s tape (found at art supply stores)

• Thumbtacks or small nails (if nails, a hammer)

• Paint or stain for your frame (optional)

• Picture wire and 2D-ring hangers (optional)

• Kraft paper to cover the back of the frame (optional)

Tools

• Pliers

• X-acto knife

• Screwdriver to attach D-ring hangers (optional)

How to Make a DIY Custom Frame

1. Find a frame that fits your art.

I have two odd-size lithographs of spines by Metana Press on Etsy that I’ve been toting around for years in their original acid-free plastic because I couldn’t find the right size frames — custom framing is too expensive, and finding two identical odd-size frames at a thrift store is a shot in the dark.

Happily, last month I finally found frames! Tucked away in the back of a thrift store, I found two matching fake veneer frames that were slightly beat up, but both had intact glass and were framing art that is the same odd size as the spines I want to frame. At $14 for the pair, it was meant to be.

2. To disassemble your frame, flip it over, and inspect how it’s assembled.

Usually, the last layer on the back is brown kraft paper (just like most upholstered furniture has that black dustcloth to cover up the inner workings). Remove this by either running an X-acto knife along the inside edge of the frame or just tearing it out.

3. The next layer is usually a piece of foam core board, cardboard, or wood

That layer is often held in place with staples (if it’s a newer frame) or tiny nails (if it’s older). Use your pliers to gently pull all these out. If they’re staples or bent nails, discard them. If they’re old tiny nails that remain usable, feel free to reuse them at the end, especially since old frames with their original nails are supercool.

4. Finally, tip or pull out the foam or the wood, then whatever is in the frame, then (very carefully) the glass.

Set the glass and foam/wood aside, and recycle the art.

5. If you want to paint or restain your frame, now’s the time to do it.

I primed and painted the fake veneer a mellow, ashy gray.

6. Clean that glass, and clean it really, really well.

Choose whatever glass-cleaning method you like best. I usually go for dish soap and water to remove sticker gunk and dust, then a clean dish towel followed by clean, crumpled newspaper to remove any remaining lint. Wear gloves if you’re nervous about cutting yourself on the sharp edges.

7. At this point, it’s only important to keep fingerprints off one side.

You’ll want to keep whichever side will touch your art smudge-free, but feel free to support the glass from the bottom like a stereotypical butler might with a serving tray.

8. Let your glass dry very thoroughly before assembling your framed art.

9. To mat your art, first wash and dry your hands.

Double check that you aren’t bleeding from step 6 (which will ensure pure panic when you drip blood on the corner of your lithograph).

10. There are two ways to mat art: Lay the art on top of the mat, or cut a hole in the mat and place the art behind it.

Since I think the latter is too stuffy for my taste, and especially since mat cutters are hard to use without damaging the mat, I opted for attaching my art to the top of the mat.

(If you choose the second option and you aren’t keen on cutting the mat yourself, you can take your mat to a custom framing shop and have it custom cut. Most shops will do this for a few dollars.)

11. Center your art on the mat paper.

A general rule of thumb is to center the image horizontally but leave more room at the bottom of the art than at the top. I decided to leave about the same amount of room since I’m going to hang these higher up on the wall.

12. Once your art is centered perfectly, use artist’s tape (represented in red because it’s white in real life) to secure the top edge.

This tape will hold your art in place while you attach it on the back.

13. Flip your art up away from you — the tape on the front acts as a hinge — and add two long pieces to the back as shown.

I don’t put tape horizontally because it’s too bulky and shows when you fold the art back down.

14. Fold your art back down, and remove the artist’s tape from the front.

The long pieces of tape should hold your art without showing at the top.

15. Put it all together!

Place the glass back in the frame — careful not to leave fingerprints — then lay it in the art. Lay in the foam or wood and gently tack pushpins or small nails into the frame to hold it in place. Use more than you think is necessary— at least one every six inches.

16. Optional: If you want, cover the back again with paper.

Use a thin line of glue to attach kraft paper over the backside of the frame.

17. If your frame is missing its picture wire, screw in two D-ring hangers on either side of the frame, equal distance from the top.

See image of the back of the original frame for an example. Twist picture-wire through both rings.

18. Clean any stray fingerprints off the front of your now-framed art, and you’re ready to hang!

Where to Find the Best Secondhand Frames

Shop at thrift stores.

“I don’t pay for custom framing if I can avoid it because holy hell it’s expensive,” content creator Delaney Lundquist writes on Instagram. “So when I see a good frame at the thrift store I snap it up and hope I can use matting to make it work for whatever piece has been languishing in my house unframed for years on end.”

Check out estate sales.

Apartment Therapy’s House Tours Director Adrienne Breaux is a big proponent of estate sales. In particular, she loves birds, and she’s found a lot of great bird art from other people’s homes. “Several pieces of art hanging on this wall [pictured above] were found at estate sales,” Adrienne says. The same advice is true for garage sales and stoop sales, where people are often getting rid of frames or framed art they no longer want.

Don’t be afraid to go virtual.

Facebook Marketplace and Buy Nothing groups are also great places to find frames that might hold old posters people have outgrown or artwork that might not be making a move to a new apartment. Hint: Often, the last two weeks of the month are the times when people are looking to get rid of things quickly (read: for cheap) on those platforms if they’re starting a new lease at the beginning of the month.

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