Mixing frames works when the mix follows a rule a stranger could state after ten seconds of looking. That is the whole test. Oak on the outside and black in the middle is a rule. Alternating along a row is a rule. Whatever was in the cupboard is not a rule, and no amount of careful spacing will make it read as one.
Rules the eye can actually find
| Rule | Needs | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| Alternating along a row | Odd count, 5 or more | Rhythm — deliberate, slightly graphic |
| Oak outside, black in the centre | A clear middle, so 5, 7 or 9 | A focal point without changing size |
| One finish per row | Two or three full rows, 6 or more | Banded, calm, works on wide walls |
| One finish per size | Any count, two sizes only | The most forgiving mix there is |
| No rule | - | Collected over time, which reads as untidy indoors |
The count matters more than people expect. Alternating across four frames produces two of each in an even split, and the eye reads that as two pairs rather than a rhythm. Five gives three and two, and the pattern becomes visible.
Two finishes, or three at most
A practical ceiling: two finishes on any wall of fewer than seven frames, and no more than three on a wall of nine or more. Above that the mix stops being a rule and becomes noise, regardless of how it is arranged.
Bauhaus Orange Poster
Dior Dog Poster
Egon Schiele - Kniende in orange-rotem Kleid, 1910 Poster
Bulldog Dior Poster
Kaffe Guide Køkkenposter
Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin Poster
Mixing colour is easier than mixing width
These are two different decisions and they behave differently.
Colour changes only the border. Two frames of the same profile in oak and black sit at the same visual weight, occupy the same footprint, and cast the same shadow. The eye accepts the difference immediately.
Profile width changes the apparent size of the print inside. A wider moulding around the same format makes the image read smaller and the frame heavier, so two frames of identical outer dimensions can look like two different sizes. If you mix widths, do it in one direction only: put the widest profile on the largest format, never on the smallest. A wide frame around a 21×30 leaves almost no image.
What our range allows you to mix
Worth checking before planning a scheme, because the palette is not the same at every size.
| Format | Finishes available |
|---|---|
| 21×30 | Oak, black, white, dark brown, blue, green, red, yellow, pink |
| 30×42 | Oak, black, white, dark brown, blue, green, red, yellow, pink |
| 50×70 | Oak, black, white, dark brown, blue, green, red, yellow, pink |
| 70×100 | Oak and black only |
| 100×140 | Oak and black only |
The consequence is straightforward: any rule involving colour has to live below 50×70. A wall anchored by a 70×100 with coloured frames around it can still work, but the anchor will be oak or black and the rule has to accommodate that — make the anchor the exception deliberately rather than by accident. Every finish and size is shown in the frame collection, and the formats themselves in the our size guide.
Where a mix is the wrong idea
Two situations argue for a single finish. First, small formats in quantity: nine 21×30 in two finishes reads as a chessboard rather than an arrangement. Second, busy or high-contrast motifs, where the frames need to recede.
If you are unsure which camp a wall falls into, look at what you have chosen: a set drawn from the most popular prints tends to be varied enough that one finish is the safer call.
Conversely, a mix earns its place when the prints are quiet — pale, minimal, closely related. There the frames are the only structure available, and giving them a pattern is what stops the wall going flat. The japandi collection is the obvious case. Layouts with finished dimensions are in our gallery wall layouts.