A classic picture frame to highlight your priceless preppy photos.

I love black wood frames. Not only are they a classic but there is something so utterly elegant and sophisticated about them. For me they are also the easiest to decorate with and will compliment any classic interior design style. They are the perfect match for homes with white walls. I've also seen them on walls with striped (green and white) wallpaper and they work just as well.

But a discussion on frames would not be complete without discussing wall art. What makes for a preppy wall art? Classic imagery or artwork is the best. It also depends on what kind of interior design theme you're aiming for. For instance if you're aiming for a nautical or sailing inspired interior design, images of old clipper ships are very preppy. Or portions of Old World maps. For country style, classic illustrations or water color paintings of garden vegetables or plants are very nice.

I was invited to a Christmas party at a home once. The interior decor of the home was very preppy. It was like a sophisticated and minimalist style of English Country. For example a sofa in one of the rooms had a white cover with mini navy floral prints. They liked to use those white waist-level book shelves that spanned almost the entire lenght of the room. From the house itself to the furnishings, everything was old and the space was very organized and uncluttered. Classic, simple, and elegant are the words the come to mind. Anyway the family loved black wood frames and used them everywhere. But they didn't use any kind of commercial wall art or painting. It was all family photos. At the time, most of it were taken during the 70's and 80's similar to the one below. There were photos of weddings, vacations, the kids, and so on in black and white as well as in color. They were also not taken by a professional but it didn't really matter. Not only did the black wooden frames visually highlight the photos they also emphasized how priceless the were. Against a dimly lit room with white walls (and with a Christmas tree decked with only white lights), it was almost like being in a gallery. The guests were talking about how beautiful and serene the setting was.

For me, nothing compliments the formality and elegance of wedding photos better than black wood frames. For more on decorating with wedding photos, please read Preppy Wedding Photography.

As for the style of frame I like the basic gallery style. Each era (Regency, Rennaisance etc) also had an influence on frame styles so it's also something to think about. It is also great to use matting to add variety or you can also mix frame styles as you can see from the Pottery Barn images above.

What's next on Preppy Decorating? I'm thinking of featuring an interior/architecture design firm. If you have any suggestions, please email them to info@preppyjournal.com. If you are a firm and would like to be considered for review, please include the following:

• A brief history of your firm
• 2-3 sample images from your classic/preppy portfolio and an explanation for each image.

Much thanks in advance. The design images featured here are by Pottery Barn. The wedding image is by J. Crew.