Floater Frames

The John Annesley Company floater frames have a clean and elegant look. There is no lip or edge of frame overlapping the face of your picture, just a small gap of air (the float) and then the face of our finely finished wood border. There is no danger from the frame's wood acid touching the painting surface. A floater frame is easy to install with screws from the back that attach to your stretcher bars.

Floater Frames - Maple or Basswood

We custom make each floater frame from your choice of basswood or maple wood. They can be provided unsealed, stained, or coated with clear lacquer. When coated with lacquer, basswood can look very similar to maple, and weighs much, much less. The example pictures below are all made with basswood. Maple's "muted peach tone" is a cooler colored wood compared to the warm yellow of basswood. We added the option of maple because it is a traditional choice for framing, though much heavier. Compared to basswood, maple is a bit more ding and scratch resistant and has a more pronounced grain pattern consistent with the traditional, maple frame look.

Floater Frame Face Widths

Our standard floater frames have a 5/16" face; a 5/8" face is optional at the same price. We also have a 3" face available. The face is the side of the frame that will surround your artwork and show on the same plane as your artwork when mounted on the wall.

Floater Frame Depths

Our standard floater frames come in a 1-1/2" depth or a 2-1/2" depth. When combined with spacers or inserts, they can be used with many different depths of stretcher bar paintings, cradled panels, strainers or plein aire panels. If your unsure which floater frame depths to use with your artwork, call or email us with the dimensions and depth of your artwork and we can help determine which depth of floater frame will work best. If needed, we'll make inserts/spacers to raise your art to correctly match the face of a floater frame. This is also a great option to improve the appearance of art pieces created on masonite, gatorboard, canvas panels or other thin panels.

Floater Frame Finishes & Stains

The finish on your basswood or maple floater frame can be provided to you three different ways:
- unsealed,
- coated with clear lacquer,
- or stained and then coated with clear lacquer.
Click here to see the 22 minwax color stains available.
The interior of each floater frame is covered in a lacquered black finish. This enhances the appearance of "floating" for your artwork.

Floater Frame Instructions

We provide instructions so that a floater frame is easy to install. You use the screws we provide in the pre-drilled holes on the back and attach your stretcher bars to the frame.

Paintings created on our 3 ply mahogany panels or created on masonite, gatorboard, canvas panels or other thin panels can easily attach to our specially-designed floater frames with the velcro tabs we provide.

Shipping Alternative

Larger sizes of floating frames can be shipped unassembled with thumbnail inserts/butterfly wedges for you to use in assembly. This requires glueing, the wood glue is not provided.

Mouldings for Frameshops

All variations of our floater frame mouldings and cap mouldings are available in lengths for retail frame shops. We can provide chop service too.

$ Click here for Floater Frame pricing. $

Basswood floater frame sealed with a clear lacquer.

Click here to see the 22 minwax color stains available.

Testimonials

Just received the floater frames- they are perfect. I am so pleased with them. I will definitively want to order more.
Dorothy Alig
Indianapolis, Indiana

Everything looks great, sizes and shipping info...Thanks much for being so wonderful to work with and for making such amazingly beautiful and well crafted floater frames. Everything in our lives should be so well made and people so kind to work with. Best regards,
Kimberly Morris, Wallowa, Oregon

The floater frame did arrive, and looks terrific! I glued it together last night, and mounted my painting a few minutes ago. The woodwork is fantastic. Thanks for your care and patience.
Charles Abrams, New York City

  (Each picture frame shown here is basswood, maple is also available)

  (5/16" face is the standard, 5/8" face available on request at no extra charge.

$ $ Click here for Floater Frame pricing. $ $

 

Cap Moulding Picture Frames

Cap Moulding Frames

In addition to floater frames, we provide cap moulding frames in basswood for your fine art. Often it is used to frame artwork under glass, providing a classical picture frame look. However, cap moulding can be used as a less expensive alternative to a floater frame.

Our cap moulding is a standard 'L' shaped moulding with a lip. In basswood with a 3/4" face, it's available in various depths - 1 1/2", 1 3/4", 2", 2 1/2".

Plein Aire Frames

Floater Frames for Plein Aire Panels

In addition to standard floater frames, we provide specialized frames in basswood or maple for your plein aire art. We have a variety of face profiles available, or tell us what you'd like. Plus it's available in various depths - 1 1/2", 1 3/4", 2", 2 1/2".

Paintings created on our 3 ply mahogany panels or created on masonite, gatorboard, canvas panels or other thin panels can easily attach to our specially-designed floater frames with the velcro tabs we provide.