You spent twenty hours on the canvas. The last hour, the one where it goes on the wall, is the one most people rush. Here is how to do it properly, with what each route actually costs in the US.

Before anything else: let it cure

Acrylic feels dry to the touch in about thirty minutes. It is not cured. Give the painting a full 24 hours flat, out of direct sun, before you press it against a frame or a backing board. If you plan to varnish, do it now: one thin coat of matte or satin acrylic varnish with a wide soft brush, left overnight. Varnish evens out the slight sheen differences between colors, and it makes the canvas wipeable, which matters in a kitchen or a bathroom.

Option 1: stretcher bars (the gallery look)

Our kits ship rolled unless you add the DIY Frame Kit at checkout, which includes the bars. Assembly takes about fifteen minutes with no tools: slot the four bars together, lay the canvas face down, fold one long side over and pin or staple it, then the opposite side, pulling firmly. Do the short sides last and fold the corners like a bed sheet. The canvas should sound like a soft drum when you tap it.

Cost if you buy bars separately at a craft store: roughly $12 to $20 for a 16x20 inch set. The painted edge wraps around the bar, so no further frame is needed. This is the option we recommend for most living rooms.

Option 2: a floating frame over the stretched canvas

A floating frame is an open wooden box with a small gap between the frame and the canvas, so the painting appears to hover. It only works on a stretched canvas, so do option 1 first. Expect $25 to $45 for a 16x20 inch floater online. Black or natural oak suit almost every design; white works with pale, airy scenes like Dreamy Pastel Clouds.

Option 3: a standard frame with a mat

If you prefer a flat canvas behind glass, take it to a framer or buy a ready-made frame one size up and add a mat. Our 16x20 inch canvas fits a 16x20 opening with no mat, or a 20x24 frame with a 2 inch mat. The canvas gets mounted on foam board with acid-free tape. Budget $30 to $60 for a ready-made frame, more at a framer. Skip the glass if the room gets strong light: acrylic under glass can look dull.

Option 4: no frame

Perfectly fine for a studio, a teenager's room or a hallway gallery of several small canvases. Mount the rolled canvas on foam board with spray adhesive, trim flush, and hang with two small Command strips. Total cost under $10. A grid of three or five 12x12 inch squares done this way looks deliberate rather than cheap.

Two mistakes we see in customer photos

First, the canvas stapled while still slack. Once it sags you cannot tighten it without taking it apart, so pull harder than feels polite. Second, framing a canvas with unpainted edges showing. Either paint the border a flat dark color before stretching, or choose a frame that covers the edge. A dark forest scene such as the one below hides border flaws better than a white sky does, which is one reason it is a popular first project.

Need bars with the kit? Choose "DIY Frame Kit" under Frame Options on any product page. The wood is pine and the bars are cut to the exact canvas size.

Shipping is free to the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia and New Zealand, with no minimum. Orders leave the workshop within 1 to 3 business days and arrive in 7 to 15. Put two kits in the cart and the third one is taken off at checkout, no code to type.