Why Framing Matters More Than Most People Realize

I didn’t set out thinking framing would matter as much as it does.

When I was in college—first at Centre College in Danville, and later at the University of Kentucky—I was focused on drawing and painting. But during that time, I took a job at a custom frame shop in Lexington. I trained under a master framer there, and over time, became one myself.

That experience changed how I see artwork.

Because framing isn’t just a finishing step—it’s what allows a piece to actually live in a space.

Years later, I found myself back in it again, managing a custom frame shop and being reminded of something I had already learned once: a well-framed piece doesn’t just look better—it feels different. The scale is right. The proportions make sense. The materials don’t compete with the image—they support it.

And when that’s done well, something subtle happens.

You stop noticing the frame.

You stop analyzing the piece.

And you just… live with it.

That’s the part I care about.

The spaces we live in matter more than we give them credit for. What we see every day—on our walls, in passing, without thinking—has a quiet effect on how we feel. A lake view, a house, a place that meant something… when it’s brought back into your home the right way, it becomes more than just an image.

It becomes a reminder of how you felt there.

That’s always the goal for me.

When I create a Lakehouse Portrait, I’m not just thinking about the image itself. I’m thinking about how it will sit in your space—how it will be framed, how it will read from across the room, how it will feel to live with over time.

Because the best pieces aren’t just looked at.

They become part of the rhythm of your home. —Rachel