A client project needs frames that suit the finishes in each room and are ready before the install date. Bring the pieces, your samples and your date to the counter.
We frame art, photographs, prints, textiles and objects for interior designers and home stagers who are working on a client project. A project differs from a single frame in three ways. The pieces go into several rooms and have to suit each other. Each frame has to suit finishes that are already chosen. And everything has to be ready before one date. The framing is done in-house at 1242 Davie Street.
Start with one list
Make a list with a line for each piece: what it is, its size, the room, the wall colour, and what is near it, such as a window, a stove or a bath. Ask for one person at the workshop to keep it, so every piece in the project is framed from the same notes.
Check samples against your finishes
Bring the materials the room is made of: paint chips, fabric swatches, a piece of the flooring, a cabinet sample, the metal of the handles and taps. The moulding is the shaped length of wood or metal a frame is cut from. At the counter, hold the moulding samples against your materials. Two blacks from two makers differ, and so do two walnut finishes, so the real samples have to be side by side.
Do the same with the mat, the border of card around a picture. A white mat with some blue in it looks grey beside a wall painted in a white with some yellow in it. Our guide to frame colour by room explains how wall, floor and light change the choice. Ask us at the counter whether a sample can leave the shop for a client meeting.
The colours in the art belong on the counter beside the paint chips. Inferno of the Mind, an oil on canvas, 50 by 70 cm, shows a face looking up against a strong red background, and a moulding sample would be checked against that red as well as against the room.
A child's room, a corridor or a staged home. Acrylic, which is lighter than glass and does not shatter.
Original art and family photographs. UV glazing, which filters the part of daylight that fades colour fastest.
The client's own pieces
Tell us which pieces belong to the client, such as family photographs, a child's drawing or a grandparent's medals. Paper is hinged at its top edge, cloth is stitched to a support and an object rests in a support shaped to it. No glue goes on the item, so each one can come out of its frame as it went in.
Each piece is quoted
Every piece is quoted separately at the counter. The size, the moulding, the glazing and, for an object, the depth of the frame decide the quote. Separate quotes show what a change of moulding does to one room or to the whole project.
Planning around the install date
Give us the install date on the first visit. Our rush framing takes 24 hours when the moulding and glazing are in stock. A project often needs more of one moulding than is in stock, so choose the moulding first and the mats and glazing after it. For art that is still on order, the moulding can be chosen now and the frame cut when the piece arrives.
Sizes and weights for hanging
We fit hanging hardware to every frame, matched to its weight. Ask for the finished outer size and the weight of each frame, so heights and wall fixings can be planned early. Our guide to hanging hardware describes the hangers and wall fixings.
Large canvases are the pieces to plan wall fixings for early. Endless World is an oil on canvas, 100 by 120 cm, showing a painted box with a tower and a red sky on its sides, and it is one of the originals in our gallery.
Bring the list, the samples of your finishes, your date, and one piece from each room if you can. If you work outside Vancouver, send the list with the size and a photograph of each piece.
Walk in at 1242 Davie Street during opening hours. Enter your email on this page for a 10% framing code to show at the shop, and see custom framing for everything else we frame.
How it works
1
Bring it in, or send photographs
Walk in to 1242 Davie Street during opening hours. If you are not in Vancouver, send the dimensions and a photograph and we will work from that.
2
We look at the actual piece
What it is made of, what condition it is in, and where it is going to hang all change the answer. You get a straight recommendation and a price for your piece, not a rate card.
3
It is made by hand and fitted
Cut to the piece, using conservation materials, and finished with hanging hardware rated for the actual weight.
Common questions
Can an interior designer bring a client's art in for framing?
Yes, an interior designer can bring a client's art in for framing at 1242 Davie Street, with no appointment. Bring the pieces, a list that says which room each one is for, and samples of the finishes in those rooms. Tell us which pieces belong to the client and cannot be replaced, so they are mounted with hinges, stitches or supports that can be undone.
How do I match a picture frame to the finishes in a client's room?
Match a picture frame to the finishes in a client's room by holding moulding samples against the real materials: the paint chip, the fabric, the flooring and the metal of the handles. Two finishes with the same name from two makers differ, so a choice made from a name or from a screen is unreliable. Compare the mat against the wall paint in the same way.
Can frames be matched across several rooms of one home?
Yes, frames can be matched across several rooms of one home. One moulding in one finish can be used in every room, or each room can have its own moulding with one feature kept the same, such as the mat colour or the tone of the wood. Rooms that are seen together, such as an open living and dining area, look most ordered when they share one moulding.
Is each frame in a design project quoted separately?
Yes, each frame in a design project is quoted separately at the counter. The quote for one piece depends on its size, the moulding, the glazing and, for an object, the depth of the frame. Separate quotes let you pass each one to your client and show what a change of moulding or glazing does to one room or to the whole project.
How far ahead of an install date should framing start?
Framing should start as far ahead of an install date as you can manage, with the date given on the first visit. Rush framing is done in 24 hours when the moulding and the glazing are in stock. A design project often needs more of one moulding than is in stock, so choosing the moulding first leaves time to order it.
Which glazing suits art in a staged home?
Acrylic glazing suits art in a staged home. Glazing is the clear sheet at the front of a frame, and acrylic is lighter than glass and does not shatter, which matters when frames are carried between properties and hung many times. Acrylic scratches more easily than glass, so wrap each frame in a soft cloth for the move and dust it with a dry cloth.
Can a frame be chosen before the art for a room has arrived?
Yes, the moulding, the mat colour and the glazing can be chosen before the art for a room has arrived, using the size given on the order. The frame itself is cut after the piece arrives and has been measured, because the real size can differ from the listed one. Choosing early lets a moulding that is out of stock be ordered while you wait for the art.
10% off your custom framing when you show this code at our shop
We frame, stretch canvas and reframe by hand, in our own workshop inside the gallery at
1242 Davie Street. Enter your email and your code appears right here. Show it at the
counter and we take 10% off the job. The code does not expire.
Send the measurements, what it is made of, and a photograph. We will tell you what it actually needs, including when the answer is that it needs less than you expected.
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In-shop offer · 1242 Davie Street, Vancouver
Get 10% off your framing at our shop
Add your name and email and your code appears on the next screen. Show it at the counter
and we take 10% off any framing, stretching or reframing job you bring us. It does not
expire.
Exceptional Service and a Truly Memorable Art Purchase
I had a wonderful experience with Van Art Hub Gallery. I came across two pieces by Melina Ghaemi — *Mad Mirrors* and *Small World in the Hands of a Stranger* — and immediately fell in love with them.
I contacted Van Art Hub Gallery, and they were incredibly helpful throughout the entire process, from arranging the payment to organizing the shipping. At first, I was a little skeptical and nervous about how everything would work, especially since the paintings were still in Iran and it was shortly after the war. But the gallery handled everything with such professionalism and care that my concerns quickly disappeared. Amazingly, they were able to get the paintings to Canada in just two days!
The pieces are absolutely captivating. Even when I picked them up from the frame maker and was simply carrying them to my car, several people stopped and asked me about the paintings. That says a lot about how striking and special Melina Ghaemi’s work is.
A big thank you to Van Art Hub Gallery for making this experience so smooth and enjoyable. I truly appreciated their professionalism, communication, honesty, and integrity throughout the entire process. I would happily work with them again and highly recommend them to anyone interested in purchasing art through the gallery.
I got my order today and your work is really good. I didn’t expect to get a certificate for this painting, it was a surprise. Thanks for caring about small details.
The support team was really helpful and followed up nicely, wich I really appreciated. The painting is just like the photo – great quality and very detalied. I just wish it arrived a bit sooner, but honestly it was worth the wait.
I received my painting today. The support team was great and very responsive. The artwork is exactly what I was hoping for – even more beautifull in person. Truly a valuable piece. I’ll definetely order again. Thank you!
