I knew as soon as we hung the new curtain rod and curtains in Oliver’s room that something needed to go between them. I wasn’t sure if I wanted a piece of artwork, a large framed picture, or a collection of images. What I did know was that it needed to be simple so it didn’t overwhelm this space on the wall. That’s when I remembered the acrylic floating frames I created for our guest bathroom. They’re exactly what I was looking for in Oliver’s room.

They’re simple, modern, lightweight, I can easily change out the photos, kid-friendly, and budget-friendly with my DIY version. You can certainly buy these without having to worry about making them but most cost around $90. Pricey, I know! Target recently came out with their version but very limited in sizes. So, instead, let’s make some of our own! It’s easier than what you think.

Here’s What You’ll Need

• Plexiglass cut to your desired frame size
• Painters tape
• Drill
• Mounting hardware– These include the drywall anchor screws you’ll need.
• Drill bit slightly larger than the screw of your mounting hardware. We used 1/2″ drill bit
• Second drill bit for the drywall anchor screws
• Phillips head
• Art prints – including the links to the ones I used further down
• Clear double-sided tape

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The How-To

Let’s chat about the plexiglass before we dive all in. You’re probably wondering where in the world you can find plexiglass cut to your desired size. You know my go-to place is Home Depot but sadly they don’t have the setup to cut it. I discovered that Lowe’s carries and cuts the plexiglass for free. And they do it right there on the spot in minutes! You just need to pick the thickness of your plexiglass (I went pretty thin), have your measurements ready, and head to Lowe’s to get it cut. You will need one piece of plexiglass per frame.

Now, this tutorial shows you how you can create these floating frames by using just one piece of plexiglass. This is for two reasons: to make it more budget-friendly and it takes away the headache of trying to line up the holes perfectly that you’ll be drilling into the corners of the plexiglass.

You’ll notice that the plexiglass comes with a protective sheet on both sides of it. Leave it on! This will help prevent scratch marks as you’re drilling the holes. Next, place a strip of painter’s tape on each corner that wraps from the front to the back. This is an extra step that I take because I discovered it help the plexiglass not to crack while drilling the holes.

Visually you want every hole that you drill to be in the exact same spot of every corner. This will create uniformity. To do this, I cut out a 1 1/2″ x 1 1/2″ square out of paper. I light it up to each corner and marked the furthest corner on the painters tape using a marker. This ensures that every spot that I’ll be drilling is in the same spot for each hole.

Now we’re ready to drill the holes! I suggest practicing on a scrap piece of plexiglass first. You should have some leftover from the sheet you had Lowe’s cut. The trick with drill holes into plexiglass is to take your time. If you go to fast, it will heat up the plexiglass and it will crack. I have also found that if you go too slow, it doesn’t provide enough momentum to get the hole going. Figure out your rhythm as you practice.

Using a drill and a drill bit that is slightly bigger than the hardware you’ll be placing in the hole, you’ll start drilling your holes! Place the tip of the drill bit directly on the mark you made on the painters tape and start to drill slowly. Drill until you’ve broken through the plexiglass and carefully and slowly remove the drill bit. If you removed too quickly in reverse, it will crack the plexiglass. If it didn’t break through, flip the plexiglass over and drill from the back going at a slow speed as well. You’ll repeat this for every corner on the frame.

Once all of your holes are drilled, you’ll need to remove the painters tape and the protection film. You’re then ready to hang them on the wall! But first, you need to attach your photographs or artwork. Remember how we’re only using one sheet of plexiglass? To get the artwork to stay in place, you’ll apply a tiny piece of clear double-sided tape to each front corner of your artwork. You’ll place your artwork facedown on the plexiglass, center it, and firmly press each corner. You barely notice the double-sided tape. Here’s where you can find the artwork we used for Oliver’s room:

1 || 2 || 3 || 4

To mount the frames, I use this mounting hardware that I found on Amazon and they are such great quality. Plus, they come with the drywall screws. The back half attaches to the wall, the front piece goes through the hole in the frame and then screws into the piece that you attached on the wall.

That’s it my friends! With just a little bit of time and patience, you’ll have custom floating frames in no time! What I love the most about these is that you can make them as big or small as you want them. Plus, they beautifully add to space without being overwhelming. Happy creating, my friends!

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