Art Advice: How to Add A Personal Pop of Colour

You don't always need to make a big change at home to create a fresh atmosphere. Are you like me and often feel like just trying something simple to see what happens?

This time I wanted to experiment with our coloured frames and mounts paired with personal photographs. Personal photos often end up in quite classic frames – but I was curious about what would happen if you let the colour take up a little more space instead.

What happens if you put an old photo in a bright red mount? Or let a soft pastel frame a favourite memory?

It was easier and much more fun than I thought it would be – the result was a simple way to give the photos a totally new look. It’s such a small detail, but it really made all the difference.

When the frame becomes part of the art

When I began trying different combinations, I noticed how much the frame impacts the feeling of each picture. A coloured frame can almost become part of the photo itself - it enhances the mood, creates contrast and makes the image feel more alive. A black and white photo in a colourful passepartout can suddenly feel both more modern and more personal.

Styling tip: Try choosing a colour that features somewhere in the image, perhaps in a small detail. Alternatively, create contrast with a completely different colour.

Mix colours for a more vibrant picture wall

I often find that picture walls are most interesting when everything isn’t perfectly matched and mixing different colours of frame and picture mount made the wall feel more dynamic and personal.

A handy trick is to keep the designs quite simple, for example personal photographs, and let the colours of the frames create the variation instead.

Styling tip: Select similar photos but play with different coloured frames. This creates variation without feeling cluttered.

Make your memories even more personal

Personal posters and photographs often hold extra meaning which is why it's nice to put the creativity into picking coloured frames and picture mounts.

For example, you can:

• Collect several small pictures in a larger frame.
• Use a coloured picture mount.
• Be creative and use a poster, patterned paper or fabric as a background behind several smaller pictures.
• Combine different coloured frames and picture mounts on the same wall.

It doesn't have to be perfect – sometimes it's the playfulness that makes it feel most personal.

A quick refresh at home

What I like most about this type of styling is how simple it can be. Little adjustments - like changing the frame or adding a colour - can change the atmosphere of the whole room. Sometimes a little pop of colour is enough to give both your pictures and your home new energy.