For some viewers of art, wider mats supply a visual breathing space between your art and the picture frame that's much more comfortable. Once used mainly by museums and art collectors for highly valued pieces, wide mat borders at the moment are popular for all varieties of framed art.
The best choice of mat borders is primarily personal preference, which may change eventually. It's a great idea, when trying to decide your choice, to look at framed art in magazines, in museums, in other people's homes, or really anywhere art is found.
In addition to the width of your mat border, different styles have developed with time, many of which came into being to match different styles of art in addition to different decor. You may create the mood of the art that you're desiring to showcase using a variety of types of mat borders.
Equivalent Borders, Single Mat
The most basic standard mat has equal widths all around and offers an effective presentation for almost any kind of art. The texture and color of the surface of the mat board can create all around character of the artwork.
Mats with Several Openings
With this type, that is usually utilized for photographs, multiple openings are cut into one mat board to allow the display of more than one picture, each in its own individual window. The openings may be the same size and shape, or perhaps a variety of sizes and shapes. This style of mat is great for displaying collections, such as stamps or trading cards. When you're displaying many items within one frame, usually it is better to pick simple frames, like solid colored wood picture frames or plain silver plated picture frames.
Double Mat
The double mat is really two mats that are on top of one another. Anywhere from around a 1 / 2 of an inch to an eighth of an inch on the bottom mat is revealed inside the opening in the top mat. Usually both mats are not the same colors, but they don't have to be. This kind of mat creates both physical and visual depth. Artwork employing a double mat can also be considered to be a far more finished, professional looking piece.
Weighted Bottom Mat
A slightly extended, or wider, bottom border is exactly what a weighted bottom mat is about. Some say it provides the feel of the solid base and suits the eye. This style is very popular for a variety of types of art framing.
The Museum Mat
This kind of mat features a distinctly wider lower border and significant borders along the sides and top. Art museums usually make use of this sort of mat to display drawings, engravings, and watercolor paintings, and that is the place that the name comes from. Museums normally prefer using neutral mats like white, gray, and off-white, however, for use within home decor, some prefer more density within the color of their matting.
An Oriental Mat
This style of mat has two narrow opposite sides, plus the remaining borders are significantly wider, which is supposed to mimic the proportions of the art that is seen on scrolls. Typically, the narrow sides are one third to a fourth the width of the other sides. This type of mat is commonly seen with Asian paintings and art, but it also works for elongated art.
The Arched Mat
For a classical, traditional, or even romantic feel, select a curved arch mat. This type of mat gives artwork a sense of antiquity and will be perfect for vintage photographs. It is also a great choice when you have romantic photographs, like from an anniversary or even a wedding.
The Print Mat
This mat gives your art an up to date character and can be useful for prints which might be on oversized pieces of paper, plus the mat features a narrow top and bottom and wider sides.
The Oval Mat
A mat that has an oval opening imparts both a romantic and an old-fashioned feel. This kind of mat works the best for a centered image, since the corners of the art that you're framing are going to be hidden. Oval mats are often used to frame silhouette portraits, wedding pictures, and vintage photographs.
Fabric-covered Mats
You can easily add depth and dimension with the texture of a fabric mat. They are quite often found covered in silk, linen, velvet, and suede.
French Mats
The opening in the French mat is enclosed by ink lines, with panels of watercolor washes between the lines. These may have just two lines with one wash of color, or they could possess a series of lines and color panels.
Embellished Mat
You can apply stickers or other decoration to the surface of a mat, such as a simple monogram in one corner or perhaps a tiny decorative design on all four corners. The kind of embellishment which you choose can make your artwork anywhere from playful to formal and stylish.
Now that you have discovered some of the many different types of mat that you can choose, have a great time framing your pictures. You'll be able to really improve your pictures aided by the kind of mat that you use.
The best choice of mat borders is primarily personal preference, which may change eventually. It's a great idea, when trying to decide your choice, to look at framed art in magazines, in museums, in other people's homes, or really anywhere art is found.
In addition to the width of your mat border, different styles have developed with time, many of which came into being to match different styles of art in addition to different decor. You may create the mood of the art that you're desiring to showcase using a variety of types of mat borders.
Equivalent Borders, Single Mat
The most basic standard mat has equal widths all around and offers an effective presentation for almost any kind of art. The texture and color of the surface of the mat board can create all around character of the artwork.
Mats with Several Openings
With this type, that is usually utilized for photographs, multiple openings are cut into one mat board to allow the display of more than one picture, each in its own individual window. The openings may be the same size and shape, or perhaps a variety of sizes and shapes. This style of mat is great for displaying collections, such as stamps or trading cards. When you're displaying many items within one frame, usually it is better to pick simple frames, like solid colored wood picture frames or plain silver plated picture frames.
Double Mat
The double mat is really two mats that are on top of one another. Anywhere from around a 1 / 2 of an inch to an eighth of an inch on the bottom mat is revealed inside the opening in the top mat. Usually both mats are not the same colors, but they don't have to be. This kind of mat creates both physical and visual depth. Artwork employing a double mat can also be considered to be a far more finished, professional looking piece.
Weighted Bottom Mat
A slightly extended, or wider, bottom border is exactly what a weighted bottom mat is about. Some say it provides the feel of the solid base and suits the eye. This style is very popular for a variety of types of art framing.
The Museum Mat
This kind of mat features a distinctly wider lower border and significant borders along the sides and top. Art museums usually make use of this sort of mat to display drawings, engravings, and watercolor paintings, and that is the place that the name comes from. Museums normally prefer using neutral mats like white, gray, and off-white, however, for use within home decor, some prefer more density within the color of their matting.
An Oriental Mat
This style of mat has two narrow opposite sides, plus the remaining borders are significantly wider, which is supposed to mimic the proportions of the art that is seen on scrolls. Typically, the narrow sides are one third to a fourth the width of the other sides. This type of mat is commonly seen with Asian paintings and art, but it also works for elongated art.
The Arched Mat
For a classical, traditional, or even romantic feel, select a curved arch mat. This type of mat gives artwork a sense of antiquity and will be perfect for vintage photographs. It is also a great choice when you have romantic photographs, like from an anniversary or even a wedding.
The Print Mat
This mat gives your art an up to date character and can be useful for prints which might be on oversized pieces of paper, plus the mat features a narrow top and bottom and wider sides.
The Oval Mat
A mat that has an oval opening imparts both a romantic and an old-fashioned feel. This kind of mat works the best for a centered image, since the corners of the art that you're framing are going to be hidden. Oval mats are often used to frame silhouette portraits, wedding pictures, and vintage photographs.
Fabric-covered Mats
You can easily add depth and dimension with the texture of a fabric mat. They are quite often found covered in silk, linen, velvet, and suede.
French Mats
The opening in the French mat is enclosed by ink lines, with panels of watercolor washes between the lines. These may have just two lines with one wash of color, or they could possess a series of lines and color panels.
Embellished Mat
You can apply stickers or other decoration to the surface of a mat, such as a simple monogram in one corner or perhaps a tiny decorative design on all four corners. The kind of embellishment which you choose can make your artwork anywhere from playful to formal and stylish.
Now that you have discovered some of the many different types of mat that you can choose, have a great time framing your pictures. You'll be able to really improve your pictures aided by the kind of mat that you use.
About the Author:
Autumn Lockwood is a writer for Your Picture Frames. Display your favorite pictures in one of our beautiful blue picture frames. Shop online and see our photo frames online now or call 800-780-0699.
