Love the look of a high-end gallery wall, but trying to stay on a low-end budget? Follow this DIY oversized mat frame tutorial for all the details on creating your own gorgeous gallery wall.
The “oversized mat frame” has recently become quite a popular home design trend. It is dramatic yet minimalistic, which looks especially beautiful when displayed as a gallery wall. It is the perfect way to decorate a large empty space in your home. Unfortunately, these oversized mat frames can be quite expensive, and it especially adds up when you are trying to create a gallery wall. Well, don’t fret! I was once in your shoes trying to figure out how I could create this look while staying on a budget. After lots of research, and realizing that I didn’t want to pay $50 a frame, I decided to do a little DIY…
And I think it turned out great! I am definitely no expert when it comes to custom matting. In fact, I had never even worked with matboard before this. So trust me when I say, “if I can do it, you can too”.
There are just a few things you will need to create these DIY oversized mat frames for your gallery wall. I explain all the steps in the post below!
STEP 1- BUY Your FRAMES
Find the perfect size frames at a low price! I looked all over for inexpensive frames and finally found these 20x20inch black frames from Amazon. They come in a 3-pack for $64.90. That is quite a deal considering just one frame of the same size is about $50.00 at Target.
It doesn’t matter what the matting looks like because we are going to remove it and make our own custom mat. Just choose a frame style and size that you like best.
STEP 2- GATHER SUPPLIES
Gather the rest of your supplies:
- An xacto knife #2 for cutting your matboard
- Uncut Matboard from Michaels or other craft store
- Some sort of straight edge/ruler for making straight cuts as well as measuring your matboard
- Pencil
- Pictures for your frames
I would recommend buying a little more matboard than needed in case you mess up. It took me a little bit of time to get used to cutting the matboard with an xacto knife, so I was glad to have some extra pieces to practice on.
STEP 3- DO SOME MATH
Now it’s time to get some measurements, so you can customize the mat to fit the frame and pictures you have. For me, I found it easiest to draw out a diagram with all my measurements so I could visualize what I was about to cut. Your measurements will be specific to the size frame and pictures you are using.
First, draw a box that represents your frame. For me, that is the 20x20inch box. Then draw another box inside. This represents the picture you are going to frame. For me, that is the 5x7inch box. Now it’s time to do the math to figure out the dimension you need to cut. So starting with the width of the mat: 20inches-5inches=15inches. Divide that by 2 and you get 7.5inches on each side of the picture. Now do the same with the length: 20inches-7inches=13inches divided by 2 equals 6.5inches on each side.
STEP 4- Draw Your Dimensions
Now find a space to lay your matboard down. Make sure it is a clean surface so that the matboard doesn’t get dirty. Also, make sure the surface is somewhat hard and will be able to withhold the pressure of an xacto knife. Place your matboard down and turn it over so that the back side is facing up. Using your pencil and straight edge draw the dimensions you just calculated for precise cutting.
STEP 5- TIME TO CUT
Now that you have drawn your dimensions, grab your xacto knife and get ready to cut your matboard. First cut the outside dimensions, which should be the size of your frame. I recommend using your straight edge for stability and to help cut as straight as possible.
Next cut out the interior box, where the picture will go. Make sure to cut about 1/4inch inside of the interior box lines, because you want your photo to sit comfortably behind the mat rather than fall through the hole you just cut. For example, if you are cutting for a 5×7 picture, you will really be cutting a 4.75 x 6.75 hole. Repeat this process with however many custom mats you need.
STEP 6- ASSEMBLE
The last step is putting together all the pieces! Place your new custom mats into your frames along with your pictures and hang as you wish!
As you can see, the oversized mat is so elegant. It looks much more luxurious and high-end than a typical-sized mat. I hope this DIY oversized mat frame tutorial was useful and will help you to create your own gallery wall on a budget! Happy crafting!
Leave a Reply