SohoFrames of London is a maker of some of the finest Tray or Canvas Floater Frames in the United Kingdom.

This kind of picture frame is usually employed to frame artworks painted or printed onto canvas. However, it is a style that also works with any art where the paint is applied to a rigid board, either wood or hardboard (we have worked with both types, both modern and antique).

This style is also occasionally requested for photography, which must first be mounted onto Dibond or aluminium if it is to work. We don’t recommend this framing style for photography as it is not possible to have glass with a floater frame, and photographic prints are more vulnerable to environmental issues.

CANVAS STRETCHING

As mentioned, artworks on canvas form almost all this work. The canvas, if not already stretched, must first be stretched onto a wooden rim. We offer this as a separate service. More than half of the canvases we see arrive rolled up in tubes. This is because they were either brought overseas, sometimes as holiday purchases, or when clients move residence and de-frame their art for transport, or, when receiving painted works from an artist based elsewhere in the world. All are common reasons for removing the artwork from the existing stretcher rim.

Some of the works we see that arrived rolled were cut out of their original frames, often leaving so little spare material around the edges that stretching it would damage and / or hide a good portion of each side. In this case we can arrange for the artwork to be either strip-lined or fully-lined by one of the conservators we work with. Full-lining is also often used to support fragile canvases.

We make non-adjustable stretcher rims in our central London workshop. There are two types, standard rims we make from specially shaped finger-jointed treated pine, and wood-aluminium rims. These are suitable for all sizes of artwork, but we recommend them for large canvases as the lengths are perfectly true. Although a stretched canvas can be displayed on a wall as it is, adding a floater frame gives the piece a properly finished look. The frame and the art work together to create something truly stunning and that can be admired for years to come.

FLOATER FRAME TYPES

Our tray or canvas floater frames can be as simply elegant or luxuriously embellished as you like. We offer a range of standard tray profiles, which are pre-finished lengths either painted or veneered with various finishes. Colours can be black or white with either a smooth matt finish or woodgrain finish. Solid wood veneers over pine are also popular. These are available in different wood stain colours like oak, maple, limed wood, but also in greys and brown tones too.

When solid woods are desired the most popular are Walnut, Oak and Ash. We make these from timber that we personally select at a local timber yard. We can mill these to almost any profile size and shape to suit any artwork and frame design specification. The finish can be anything from a simple coat of wax or different hard wax oils or lacquer. Lacquer can be matt, satin, gloss or mirror polished.

CUSTOMISED COLOURS

Custom staining is also an option. We offer both stock stains as well as highly custom colours (these are technically called “washes”). The different levels of lacquer can also be applied to stained woods. For bright “rainbow” colours we use Ash because of its naturally pale colour and pleasing but flat grain pattern.

When solid colours are required, we custom spray onto Tulip wood (also known as Poplar). Tulip has a nice tight grain with low porosity and so requires minimum grain filling. The range of colours that we offer is huge. RAL codes are the most popular, but we also spray to other codes too like F&B and Little Green home décor paint colours. If the grain is to show but a translucent wash is not desired, we can use Oak. Oak has a pronounced and a deeply cut or textured grain that allows it to show through even with opaque paint.

CARVED FLOATER FRAMES

If something highly customised is required, we can design and create a totally unique tray or canvas floater frame for your artwork(s). We offer many designs of our own or you can design your own frame. All we would do in the first instance is to request a sketch or a visual of the kind of frame design you are looking for. We would then turn that into a 3D render and if approved go on to make a real physical sample corner piece. There is often no charge for this service.

So, if you would like us to stretch and then place your stretched artwork into a fine floater frame, please contact us.

Tray or Floater Frames Lambeth

We create custom tray or floater picture frames for clients throughout Lambeth, South London 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 Tray or Floater Frames Lambeth? Contact us today!