Welcome to SohoFrames, London’s local picture framer and what we think is one of the finest makers of hand-finished picture frames in the UK with a worldwide clientele.

We make every single one of our picture frames in-house in our own five-storey workshop, a real physical place right in the centre of London’s vibrant Soho and so within easy reach of everywhere. One of our client’s was a Qantas pilot. He would take the Tube from Heathrow, drop his art off at the workshop, fly back to Sydney and then collect the finished frames on his next trip.

We have some of the swiftest turnaround times in the business. We can complete a hand-finished picture frame in as little as a week for our Enhanced Standard Range, and between ten days and two weeks for frames requiring higher levels of finish (due to the drying time of hard wax oils). It is possible though to order some solid walnut frames, for example, with a wax finish on a 24 or 48 hour basis. If you have a tight deadline, it is best to contact us as soon as you can with your specifications. We also print and drymount in-house.

OUR EXTENSIVE HAND-FINISHED FRAME RANGE

Our picture frames begin life as planks of the finest timber, which is about 5% of the total harvested tree. And every plank is sourced from a local FSC timber yard. We go there ourselves and personally select the wood that we like, and if it is only for one or two planks, we bring it back on public transport to keep our carbon footprint as small as possible.

The most popular wood types for our hand-finished frames are Black American Walnut (which isn’t black unless stained black), White American Oak (it’s not white either, but a soft yellowy brown), Red American Cherry, White Ash, Tulip (also known as Poplar) Douglas Fir, Pine, Obeche (also known as Ayous, Samba, Wawa or African Whitewood). We use all these woods to make all our beautiful hand-finished picture frames from.

That said, we can also make picture frames from upcycled wood. It’s a nice idea, to turn something that might have been thrown out into something new again. It is environmentally friendly and a way to preserve, for example, the history of an old house. Doors, worktops, furniture. All is possible.

We stock many “standard” profile shapes and sizes. These could be clean elegant square section profiles with profile dimensions of 15mm x 30mm and 20mm x 30mm, as well as rounded or Hockey Stick shapes. We stock a good range of all sizes and can mill on-site any other profile shape and size to best suit the framing project, personal taste, the room where the frame is to be hung and of course the actual artwork. There are many finishes to choose from. We offer natural wood, which we generally finish with several coats of clear hard wax oil, but we also have a range of stock stains. For example, in the walnut range, of which there are many shapes and sizes to choose from, we have natural walnut, chocolate walnut, rose walnut, and mahogany walnut.

CUSTOMISATION

There is room for further finish customisation. The wood can be sealed and protected with oils, as previously mentioned, but we can also apply lacquer over the stained wood that have three main levels of shine: matt, satin and gloss. We offer two gloss finishes. Gun Gloss, which is standard gloss, used generally on more complex shapes of picture frame moulding, and Polished Gloss, which works best on flat or curved shapes.

When coloured wood stains are required, we use White Ash. For two reasons. The first is that Ash is a pale wood and so is easiest to colour. The second is that it has a pronounced yet tight and flat grain pattern. This shows off the stain, or wash, as we call it, whatever colour it may be, to best effect. We have stained Ash in every shade of the rainbow, including entirely bespoke colour mixes for when say a client would like the frame to match a colour picked out from the artwork.

An alternative to a woodstain is paint. We use this when the grain must still show but when the desired colour is opaque instead of translucent. We usually use Oak for this finish as the grain pattern is much deeper.

If a smooth flawless finish is wanted for our Hand-Finished frames, then we use Tulip. This is because it has a very tight grain, which helps because the paint goes on the raw wood must be grain-filled. We can custom spray our picture frames to almost any colour code. RAL codes are the most popular, but we can also match Pantone codes, and home décor paints too.

FURTHER TOUCHES TO MAKE YOUR FRAME STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD

The rounded corner is a beautiful embellishment. And we can round the corner of any of the straight sided frames that we make. It’s a subtle touch and lifts the frame into a new dimension. This customisation works with regular rectangular and square shaped frames, but also on triangular and other geometric shapes.

We can round the corners of any of the frames in our Hand-Finished range, whether they are natural wood, stained or painted, or custom carved. It only depends on your imagination. We can even engrave onto the frames. This could be text, or a design of your own that moves around the entire circumference of the picture frame.

WHAT NEXT?

We are open six days a week from 10am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday and from 12.30pm to 5pm on Saturdays. You are welcome to visit at your convenience; no appointment is needed. You are welcome to visit even if it is just to look at our sample frames, and if planks of timber are your thing, you can ask to tour the workshop to look at them and maybe chose which one you would like your frame made from. If you would like to come outside of these hours, then all you have to do is give us some notice so we can be there for you. You can contact us on WhatsApp, email, telephone, landline or mobile. We do tend to get back to client inquiries seven days a week.

Hand Finished Frames Lambeth

We create hand finished frames for clients throughout Lambeth and surrounding areas, including:

Brixton, Clapham, Streatham, Vauxhall, Kennington, Stockwell, Waterloo, South Bank, Herne Hill, West Norwood, Tulse Hill, Gipsy Hill, West Dulwich, Oval, Brixton Hill, Clapham Park, Nine Elms, Loughborough Junction, Streatham Hill, Streatham Vale, Myatt’s Fields, Knight’s Hill, Crystal Palace, Angell Town, South Lambeth, Balham, Norbury, Kennington Cross, Larkhall, St Martin’s and everywhere inbetween…

Looking for Hand Finished Frames Lambeth? Contact us today!