How to Make Ikea Photo Frames Look Expensive

I recently had some down time to tackle an Ikea DIY project that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. We have a huge long wall that I wanted 4 big picture frames to create a gallery wall with but with a little twist. I was browsing Pinterest for some inspiration and came across a post by Something Turqoise on how she did her own DIY oversized mat gallery wall with Ikea picture frames. Check out her post, it’s great!

So she replaced the standard Ikea mats with custom mats she purchased off an online website. However, custom mats can be expensive, especially for large picture frames. Granted it is still cheaper than getting a custom frame with custom matting done. I thought…hmm….maybe I should try cutting out the mats myself! Off I went to researching “how to cut your own photo mats” and watching a ton of YouTube videos (check out my YouTube channel!). After I felt like I did some thorough investigating, I started purchasing my DIY supplies.

Supplies Needed for Ikea Picture Frame DIY

1. Ikea Picture Frame (I purchased the 24×35 ¾” KNOPPÄNG frame for $20!)
2. Uncut Matboard (I bought a 24″x36″ uncut matboard from Michaels)
3. Mat Cutter (I got a Logan retractable mat cutter for $27)
4. A very sturdy straight edge (I used my husband’s level)
5. Cardboard or a self healing cutting mat
6. Pencil
7. Scissors or Exacto Knife (preferred)
8. A photo

How to Cut Your Own Photo Mat

1. Line up the stock Ikea picture mate on the outer edge of your uncut mat board.
2. Trace the outline of the Ikea picture mat.
3. Put the self healing mat or cardboard under the picture mat. (Make sure where your cutting is on the self healing mat or cardboard!)
4. Cut the excess material off with scissors or exacto knife. (I preferred an exacto knife)
5. Decide where you want your photo to be in the picture frame. (I used the same photo size, dimensions and frame size as Something Turqoise. So the dimension from the top of the mat to the top of the photo is 5.25″ and from the side edge to the photo the side edge of the mat is also 5.25″.)
6. Trace out your photo on the BACK of the photo mat.
7. Set up your mat cutter. For the Logan cutter, it came with a few razor blades so I just inserted one as per the instructions on the packaging. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! Here is a great How to Video!
8. Line up your straight edge on the traced line of the photo.
9. Line up your mat cutter per their instructions. For the Logan manual photo mat cutter, I lined up the edge with the straight edge and the indented line with the photo traced mark.
10. START CUTTING! Take your time with this. If you have spare material, do a test run first.
11. After making cuts on all sides, careful remove the excess board.
12. DONE. You made a custom photo mat!

How to Customize Your DIY Ikea Photo Frame

1. Unpackage your Ikea photo frame.
2. Remove the backing and mat.
3. Insert your freshly custom DIY photo mat.
4. Place your photo in place and tape the edges. (The picture will move around if you don’t tape it).
5. Put back the Ikea mat or through it away (purely your choice).
6. Put the back on.
7. FINISHED! You have a custom DIY Ikea photo frame.

There are so many reasons why I loved this Ikea DIY. Not only does it make these very inexpensive Ikea frames look like a million bucks but they filled up my huge empty wall with great memories. It just made the wall look elegant, modern and chic! I also had a ton of the photo mat leftover, so who knows. I might do some more custom photo mats for smaller pictures frames. What do you think about my DIY? Try it out and I would love to know how it went for you!