This 'Passepartout' Trick Is the Easy Idea for Making Your Family Photos Feel More Like Artwork, as This Stylish Bedroom Proves
Mounting your personal photographs with these asymmetrical designs introduces negative space and makes them feel more considered
It's a small irony that, right now, people are looking to make their homes as personal as possible, yet the art of the aesthetic family photo hasn't quite been mastered. However, outside of professional interiors shoots, once you go into real homes, even the most luxurious ones, you'll find that most people actually have them.
So, making family photographs look good shouldn't be an afterthought, and planning them into the design of your home from the outset is a good idea. There are all kinds of ways to do it, but one of the most resonant ideas right now is using the framing's 'passepartout' to elevate the look of your candid snaps.
This bedroom, a project by Bristol and Cotswolds-based Ro Projects, goes to show just how effective this can be as a treatment for wall decor.
"The generous passepartout combined with the asymmetrical placement elevates the photography, giving personal images a more considered and gallery-like quality," explains Rosa Roig-Fiol, interior designer and founder of Ro Projects. "The additional negative space allows the photographs to breathe, transforming them from simple snapshots into pieces that feel more special, curated, and worthy of display."
"Within this scheme, the treatment adds depth and character while creating a refined balance between personal storytelling and decorative impact," Rosa adds. "It allows cherished photographs to feel both intimate and collectible, bringing warmth and personality to the space."
It's something that, until recently, has been something that's required bespoke mounting to achieve, but that we're now seeing become more available to buy as ready-made frame and mount combinations.
Rosa Roig-Fiol is a Spanish-British interior designer and founder of Bristol-based studio Ro Projects, working across residential and commercial spaces in the UK and Mallorca. With more than a decade of experience at leading British studios including Sims Hilditch, Berdoulat and Studio Skey, her work brings together Mediterranean warmth, British sophistication and a strong appreciation for architectural character. A practising artist as well as a designer, Rosa takes a layered approach to colour, natural materials, texture and artwork, creating interiors that feel both distinctive and effortlessly liveable.
This double mount frame can be matched with this more regular frame from John Lewis too.
Anthropologie has this style available in different colors to fit different frame styles.
This Zara Home frame looks particularly chic with its black metal frame.
Modern materials, like wood and brushed steel, are popular for this style too.
This budget buy from Sostrene Grene helps you get the look for less.
For a more bespoke, luxurious style, this framer's walnut offering is my pick.
Beyond these options, you could look to bespoke framers, but this tutorial from Sostrene Grene for how to make your own offset passepartout might be your next option to recreate the style of this bedroom's gallery wall.
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