Small but Mighty: Designing with Fillets
A fillet (pronounced like “fill it”) is one of the most useful tools in a framer’s toolbox. Fillets are slender pieces of decorative wood with a lip on the outer edge. They come in a variety of colors and range from modern simplicity to heavily detailed. A fillet (or two!) can be used in many creative ways to accentuate a framed piece. The following are a few examples our designers have cooked up.
Under a Frame
One common locale for fillets is tucked just inside the frame. Depending on the needs of the design, a fillet can add width, textural interest, or act as a visual break between the frame and the matting or artwork. In the case of this Bermuda poster, the fillet is used to provide a pop of color. The bright silver frame looked great with the image but it felt like something was missing. One custom painted fillet later and the whole piece feels complete!
Inside a Mat
Fillets can also be placed inside mat openings or linen liners. I like to use these inner fillets to echo the outer frame by either bringing in the same color, as is the case with the framed coins, or by mimicking the overall look, like in Dino Paravano’s Trawlers at Tilghman. It can be hard to tell with the deep black suede used in the coin design, but the fillet here is placed between two mats, one behind the coins, which are floated atop it, and one surrounding them, under which the fillet is placed. This both adds depth and brings the gold of the frame closer to the coins which makes the overall design much more cohesive than silver coins in a gold frame might otherwise be.
In Trawlers at Tilghman both the color and scoop of the outer frame is copied in the fillet. This time placed under a linen liner, the fillet separates the cream of the liner from the creams of the clouds, ensuring that none of the delicate details are lost. The thin gold lines here also provide the benefit of drawing the eye to the thin boat masts of the painting.
Within a Shadowbox
When displaying both objects and photos in a shadowbox it is easy for the 2D images to get overlooked. In the case of the shadowbox featuring a chainmail purse, we solved this problem by placing a fillet within the mat opening for the photograph. This gives the photo its own mini frame within the box and the three dimensionality keeps it from getting lost.
Another more subtle way to use a fillet in a shadowbox is perfectly exemplified in this beaded necklace display. The gold fillet not only matches the frame but also hides the seam between the white mat of the backing and the red of the shadowbox walls. It ties all of the framing elements together into one cohesive design.
Fillets are an incredibly versatile tool to use when framing artwork. Next time you’re in the gallery take a look at our collection of fillets and talk with our designers to see how they can best accentuate your design!