How to Make an Inexpensive Floating Frame for Canvas Art

Make an inexpensive floating frame for canvas art using this step by step DIY tutorial.

I recently showed you our new Boho style living room with a large canvas print as the focal point wall decor above the couch.

We absolutely love it.

After we hung it, we decided to add a special finishing touch by making a floating frame for it.

Canvas frames can be very expensive, so this diy floating frame is a budget friendly alternative.

How to Frame a Canvas with a DIY Floating Frame

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Supplies You’ll Need to Make a Floating Frame

1 x 2 pine boards
wood glue
miter saw
brad nails
brad nailer
thin wood for corner pieces (we used leftovers from our shiplap wall)
wood stain, optional
clear wood sealer – like polyurethane

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Step 1: Cut the 1×2 boards into the correct measurement using a mitered corner.

You’re going to need to do a little math for this part. Measure the size of your canvas and mark down the measurements. Ours was 57″ x 37 1/4″.

Then, determine the size of gap that you’d like between the frame and the edge of the canvas. We wanted ours to be 1/8 of an inch, but something went awry in the measuring, and it ended up being a little over 1/4 of an inch – but we like it anyway!;)

Take the measurement of the canvas + the gap measurement + the thickness of the wood (3/4) and that will equal the length you’ll want to cut your frame pieces with a mitered corner.

The finished measurement of our frame is 57 x 37 1/4.

Step 2: Cut the veneer boards at a 45 degree angle cut to form the backing to hold the frame in.

The wood pieces needed to create a floating frame for art canvas

Step 3: Glue the mitered corners together with wood glue and attach with brad nail.

Wood glue being squeezed onto the corners of a floating frame for canvas. — Use wood glue to attach the mitered corners of the frame.

a brad nail gun being used to attach the mitered corners of a floating frame. — Make sure your frame is square, and attach the corners with a brad nail gun.

Step 4: On the back side of the frame, use 1/4 inch brad nails, and attach the corner pieces.

The corner veneer piece attached to the back of a floating frame with canvas art print inside

(I realized I didn’t take a picture of this step while it was happening, but I’ve taken a picture of the finished frame with canvas already in it so you can see how the corner pieces were attached.)

Step 5: Stain or seal the frame.

Because I liked the light natural look of the frame with the canvas, I ended up just using a clear matte sealer finish. However, you can use whatever stain color you’d like for your finished look.

Step 6: Using small nails, carefully attach the floating frame to the canvas print using the corner veneer pieces as the backing.

The back side of a canvas with a floating frame showcasing the corner veneer pieces that hold it all together

We tried using short brad nails for this step, but found out quickly ours were just a teeny tiny bit too long and they poked through the canvas! So, learn from us and make sure your nails are not too long!

The back side of a large art canvas with floating frame

Step 6: Hang up your new canvas with a floating frame!

Because I know some of us struggle with the particulars of how to hang a picture on the wall, I thought I’d walk you through the process of how we hung this large floating frame canvas art above our couch.