Lighting in Custom Framing: A Backlit Rug

Think outside the frame.

I’ve never understood accent lighting. I couldn’t have too much light when I was younger–the brighter, the better. Living rooms without overhead lighting irritated the thunder out of me. I never appreciated accent or layering lighting in my home until recently. After a day of work and child rearing, an overly bright living room is garish and overstimulating. I’d rather sit on my couch surrounded by the soft, warm glow from a little blue and white owl lamp. It’s healing. It’s romantic. It’s calming.

I’m obsessed.

So when Mary Lou said she needed lights for a frame, I got a little excited thinking about picture lights, a small lamp for your artwork. Picture lights make everything feel luxurious–your room, your art, your life. We need to lean into those micro-fancy moments in our homes, and I was excited to hear that this project was doing just that.

Imagine my surprise when I found out the lighting was meant for the back of the frame, not the front. The light would shine from behind the art in the form of backlighting. In photography, this technique is exactly what it sounds like; the main light source comes from behind the subject. This separates the subject from the background to create depth and drama. It can be as intense or subtle as the photographer chooses.

The Rug

When I think of backlighting in framing, I think of mall art. I picture brightly lit photos of handbags in poorly lit stores and seductive stills of cinnamon rolls as I meander between stores. These images are in a light box, and the photos are easily swapped out to showcase new products or marketing campaign images.

This wasn’t mall art; it was an intriguing form of accent lighting. The project: a custom-framed backlit rug. This was a first for our studio (the rug part, not the technique). We’ve backlit magic lantern slides, negatives, documents with secret messages, and whisky bottles in frames. I personally would have never thought backlighting a rug would work if it weren’t for our client.

They found a gorgeous rug while traveling overseas. The vendor backlit their rugs for display, and our client fell in love with one of them. When they came home, they tried to recreate the look on their own but weren’t 100% happy with it. They brought the rug and the concept to us to help create a cleaner presentation.

The Frame

The frame required a bit of clever engineering. The rug needed to be properly secured, but the back needed to be open to allow light to shine through the piece. The final product needed to look polished and professional. To do this, we decided to frame the rug and lights separately.

For the rug, we chose a silk mat to add texture and reflect light into the art. We could have chosen a paper mat, but it wouldn’t have the same richness or blend as well with the rug as silk. We didn’t want the mat to compete with the art. One of the main goals in custom framing is to draw the viewers’ eye toward the art. We paired a stacked frame with the silk mat to achieve this look. The blue inner frame adds a pop of color that works with the colors throughout the rug. The black and antique silver frame gives the design a classic vibe that will work with most–if not all–interior design elements.

The less noticeable but one of the most important parts of the design is its glazing. Optimum museum acrylic is fantastic glazing for textiles. You don’t need to worry about static, scratches, shatter, or glare. It’s magic. The really cool part is the back of the frame. We glazed this instead of using traditional backing materials to keep the frame open for lighting.

We framed the lights in their own frame. The framed rug lies on top of the lights, and the client can turn them on and off as they please. They can even hang the frame to make space on their table. They’re not limited to any one choice. The final frame design is clean and interesting–a total showstopper. The hint of light coming through the rug adds a subtle dynamic accent that transforms the piece.

Backlighting in Framing

You can have so much fun with lighting in custom framing. Another client wanted to backlight a glass negative that hung next to a print made from the negative. We used a suede mat on this piece to help absorb the light and focus on the negative.

Backlighting is another interesting way to layer light in your home and accentuate your art. Challenge yourself to think of new ways to incorporate light into your at-home art displays.