Easy DIY Large Stretch Frames

January can feel so depressing. No more holidays, no sparkle, no lights, no decorations. Our place always feels so empty…and cold…and dark!

With all of it put away, we spend the month asking ourselves “is this really how we live? In this empty apartment?!?”

Instead of wallowing in our apartment emptiness we try to take it as a time to refresh our space and spruce it up for the year. We want big impact with very little cost!

Every year we say we’re moving-so we never want to put too much money or effort into our space. Relatable?

We went big and inexpensive to created an easy large frame that would fill up a big portion of our walls. Andrew keeps calling them canvas frames. They aren’t but it’s the same idea. We built an easy frame out of cheap wood and wrapped it with vintage fabric we found at a local fabric shop down the block.

All in all this project costed under $20 and covers a lot of empty space! Not too shabby!

What you need:

• Miter Box & Saw

• 1”x2” Wood (How much needed depends on the size of the frame)

• Fabric

• Screws

• Drill

• Sand Paper

• Staple Gun

• Hanging Kit (optional)

Customize the frame based on the space you want filled, they can be as small or large as you want!

How to:

• Measure your space and decided the size of your frame.

• Cut each end at a 45-degree angle with a saw and miter box. Tip: Hold the wood in place or use a clamp so the wood doesn’t shift while sawing.

• Once all four pieces of the wood are cut, lay them on the ground in the frame shape.

• Meet the angles together making sure they’re flush and screw one side together. Next, drill the corner diagonally across from the first to help keep the shape. Continue to work diagonally. Tip: Pre-drill a hole before screwing together to help match up the angles best.

• Sand down any rough corners.

• Lay the material you want to cover your frame with on the floor backside up and lay the frame on top of the fabric. Make sure the fabric is aligned the way you want before stapling.

• With a staple gun, begin to staple the fabric on one side of the frame.

• Move across to the opposite side of the frame and lightly pull the fabric taught and begin stapling. Tip: Be sure not to over stretching the fabric or it will warp.

• Once done with all four sides gather the corners, pull them in and staple them down.

• Trim off any access fabric and hang! Tip: Use a picture hanging kit.

If you get tired of your space quickly like us- switch out fabrics seasonally!

We did this project on HGTV Handmade-Watch for a more in depth tutorial and to see what unconventional material we upcycled to use as our fabric!

(Doesn’t Andrew look so thrilled?)

Happy January!