How to Choose Mat Colors for your Pictures - Part 1

There are several simple techniques that professionals in the art and framing industry use to be able to shorten the time it takes to choose the exact right mat color or mat combination for matting and framing pictures. In this series I will present a couple of rules and then apply those rules in three further posts;

1. Single Mats

2. Double Mats

3. Mat Border Sizes

One very important rule to remember is – Mat (and frame) your picture to suit the picture – not the wall, the furnishings or décor. That is not to say that taking those things into consideration is not important – particularly if you are working on complimenting a room or design – but that the first consideration is that your choice will enhance the image. This of course also allows you to easily move a picture from one room or design environment to another – knowing that your framing will always enhance the image.

A second but key rule is that all framing and matting should have one goal – to draw the viewer’s eye to the focus of the image being presented. To that end – choices of mats and frames are made that build on this principle.

Try the MatoMatic framing tool at www.matshop.com. You can upload your own picture or choose from one of their gallery images and try different mats and mat combinations, frames and even background wall colors while you design your own projects.