Every interior designer has hit the same wall: the client wants a space that feels custom, the budget says otherwise, and art and framing are usually the first line item to get squeezed. That was the exact problem Inland Interior Design kept running into, until they found a way to make every space feel designed for that specific client, without the custom price tag.
The Framing Problem Interior Designers Know Too Well
Every interior designer has hit the same wall: the client wants a space that feels custom, the budget says otherwise, and art and framing are usually the first line item to get “adjusted“. Inland Interior Design ran into exactly that, until they found a way to make every space feel designed for that specific client, without the custom price tag.
As an interior design firm, they were tasked with refreshing apartment clubhouses, often themed around the college town each property sits in, and the cost of true custom framing and matting didn’t fit the budgets they were given. The result: art that didn’t quite match the aesthetic they were going for, and spaces that felt more generic than they should have.
“Before Frame It Easy, we would reuse the same art in clients’ homes, and now we can make their spaces feel custom without the custom cost.”
Meet Inland Interior Design
Inland Interior Design specializes in interior projects that need to feel intentional, including apartment clubhouse remodels where the art on the wall does a lot of the work in setting the tone. For properties near college campuses, that often means artwork themed to the school or the town, giving residents and prospective tenants a space that feels like it belongs exactly where it is.
The challenge wasn’t finding the right art. It was framing that art in a way that looked genuinely custom, on a timeline and a budget built for volume, repeatable projects, not one-off luxury installs.
The Project: Custom Art for Apartment Clubhouse Remodels
Inland Interior Design uses Frame It Easy frames throughout apartment clubhouse remodels, matching artwork and framing to the character of each college town the property is in. That means every project has its own visual identity, which rules out ordering the same stock frame in bulk and calling it done.
It also means tight timelines. Installs are often scheduled around property visits that Inland doesn’t always know about far in advance, sometimes with as little as two weeks’ notice before art needs to be on the wall and looking finished.
Why Inland Interior Design Chose Frame It Easy
Inland pointed to a full list of reasons they made the switch: pricing, ease of ordering, custom sizing, quality, speed, and customer service. Here’s how those actually played out on real projects.
Pricing and Custom Sizing That Fit the Budget
The math that didn’t work with traditional custom framing does work with Frame It Easy. Every frame is sized to the exact fraction of an inch, and matboard can be color-matched to any hex code, so a themed piece for a college-town clubhouse gets framing that’s built for that specific piece of art, not a generic size closest to it. That precision is what let Inland move from reused, cookie-cutter art to something that reads as custom, without a custom-sized budget.
Every project is different: timelines, budgets, and scope can all vary depending on what you need. If you’ve got a tight deadline or specific requirements, let us know right away. The earlier we know, the more we can do to make sure it’s covered.
Quality and Speed for Tight Installation Timelines
When Inland finds out they’re traveling to a property in two weeks, there’s no room for a framing delay. Frame It Easy’s custom framing is made in the USA with production built for fast, reliable turnaround, so art arrives ready to hang on the schedule the project actually has, not the schedule a slower framing process would require.
A Team That Keeps Projects on Track
Inland pointed to the Frame It Easy team as one of the biggest reasons the partnership works. With unpredictable travel schedules, Inland doesn’t always have a firm grasp on install dates until close to the deadline. Having a team that manages that timeline and makes sure art shows up looking right took a recurring point of stress off their plate.
“The team has been great about making sure we have our art in time, and it always looks fantastic.”
The Results: Custom Spaces Without the Custom Cost
The measurable impact Inland has seen breaks down into a few areas: saved time on projects, increased perceived value of their work, and faster turnaround overall. In their own words, Frame It Easy helped turn their art “from cookie-cutter to custom.” Where they used to reuse the same pieces across client spaces, they can now make each one feel designed specifically for that property, without the cost that usually comes with true customization.
“The team is incredibly helpful, the speed at which things are completed, and the quality of the work.”
That’s the outcome that matters most for a design firm: not just frames on a wall, but a client space that looks and feels intentional, delivered on budget and on time.
FAQ: Custom Framing for Interior Design Projects
Is custom framing realistic for multifamily or commercial design budgets?
Yes. The cost of custom framing comes down significantly when sizing and matting are built to spec instead of priced as a one-off luxury service. Working with a framing partner that handles volume makes custom framing achievable even on tighter, repeatable project budgets.
How far in advance do I need to order custom frames for an installation?
It depends on the project, but working with a framing partner that offers fast, reliable turnaround gives you more flexibility when installation dates shift or come together quickly, which is common in property and commercial design work.
Can matboard and frame colors be matched to a specific design theme?
Yes. Matboards can be color-matched to a specific shade, which makes it possible to tie framing directly to a property’s branding, a college town’s colors, or any other themed design direction.
Do I need to order in bulk to get consistent quality across multiple properties or units?
No. You can order framing for a single install or scale up across multiple properties while still getting the same precise sizing and quality on every order.
What’s the benefit of working with one framing partner instead of sourcing custom frames per project?
Consistency and speed. A dedicated framing partner already understands your sizing needs, your timeline pressures, and your quality bar, which removes a layer of vendor management from every new project.
Bring Custom Framing Into Your Next Project
Inland Interior Design’s experience is proof that custom framing doesn’t have to be the line item you cut. If you’re an interior designer looking for a framing partner that can keep up with real project timelines and real budgets, see how Frame It Easy works with custom framing for interior designers.
So where do I start?
The best place to start is by creating a business account. Once you connect with us, we can help you find all the right custom matting and framing solutions for your business.
