Part 1 shows how to choose a frame on the St Ives Frames page. Part 2 shows how to set it up on the frame's own page, using the 45mm Barefaced Tray as the example.
Example board: 500 × 400mm. Recorded 18 October 2026.
Part 1: Choosing a St Ives frame
A St Ives frame is a stepped, box-like frame with a flat panel that leads the eye to the painting. It's made for canvas boards, aluminium panels and other rigid artwork between 2mm and 5mm thick, and comes without glass, so the texture of your painting stays on show. This part explains the two fitting styles, how to enter your board size, and the links under every frame.
Video: choosing a frame on the St Ives Frames page.
1. The two fitting styles
Every St Ives frame can be fitted in one of two ways. You choose the style on the frame's own page, but the drawing at the top of this page, Anatomy of a St Ives frame , shows both: click Modern float or Traditional inlay above it and the drawing changes.
Modern float
Your board rests on top of the frame's inner section, with about 5mm overhang all round.
Its edges are on show, so it appears to float above the frame.
It's held on with strong double-sided tape or glue , which isn't supplied.
Modern float: the board sits on top, edges on show.
Traditional inlay
Your board fits into the opening at the back of the frame, painted face up.
The frame covers the edges of the board by about 5mm on each side.
An MDF backing board and flexible points are included to hold it in.
Traditional inlay: the board fits in from the back, with an MDF backing board.
2. Enter the exact size of your board
Measure the outside edges of your board to the nearest millimetre and enter that exact size. The frame is made to suit the size and the fitting style, with a small allowance built in, so there's nothing to add or take off.
Leave Units on mm , and type 500 in Board width and 400 in Board height .
The line under the heading confirms “To fit a 500 × 400mm board” , and every price updates.
Prices on this page are “from” prices, because the fitting style is chosen on each frame's page. At 500 × 400mm the 45mm barefaced tray is from £37.75.
Board size entered. The note explains why prices are “from”.
As on the other frame pages, you can click inches (your size is converted to the nearest ⅛ inch, so 500 × 400mm becomes 19⅝ × 15¾") or popular to choose a standard board size from the list, such as 20 × 16" (508 × 406mm). For an exact fit, stay in mm.
Inches.
Popular sizes.
There are no filters on this page: the 13 St Ives frames all show at once.
3. View profile, order a sample and compare
Each frame shows its “from” price and a Choose fitting style button, which opens its page. Under it are three links: Compare , Order sample and View profile .
The links under every frame.
View profile opens a drawing of the frame's stepped cross-section. The 45mm trays are 45mm wide and 32mm deep, with a 21mm rebate at the back.Order sample adds a short length of the moulding to your basket (£2.16), so you can see the colour and finish first.Compare : tick it under up to four frames, then click Compare in the bar at the bottom of the screen. The frames are shown side by side, adding Total depth , Material , Finish and number of Colours . Back to all frames returns you to the full list.
View profile.
Order sample.
Three frames ticked to compare.
The comparison view.
4. Open your frame's page
Found the frame you want? Click its picture, or Choose fitting style , to open its page. The size you entered comes with you.
Click the picture or Choose fitting style.
Ready? Carry on with Part 2 below.
Part 2: Customising your St Ives frame
How to use a St Ives frame's own page to check your size, choose your fitting style, preview your artwork, see each style in 3D, look at the corner, profile and frame sizes, add the tape a float fitting needs, check the specification, save or share the design and add it to your basket. The example is the 45mm Barefaced Tray .
Video: customising a St Ives frame on its own page.
1. Check your board size
The size you entered on the St Ives Frames page carries over, so Width and Height already show 500 and 400mm. Check them against your board, and type a new size if you need to.
Just below is the frame's rebate depth: “Rebate depth: 21mm (7/8"). The rebate at the back takes your board and an MDF backing board for a traditional inlay. It is not used for a float fitting.”
The size carried over from the list, and the rebate depth note.
2. Choose your fitting style
Under Fitting style , choose Float or Traditional . Traditional is selected to start with. As on the list page, the drawing beside the buttons changes to show the style you've chosen, and so does the price:
Traditional : £40.34 at 500 × 400mm, including the MDF backing board and flexible points.Float : £36.50, with hanging fixtures only.
Traditional: £40.34.
Float: £36.50.
Styles explained , under the buttons, opens a full comparison of the two styles, with how to measure your board.
Styles explained.
3. Preview your artwork (optional)
Under the preview, click Upload your artwork to preview it , or drag a file onto it. JPG, PNG or PDF files are accepted.
A message explains it's a preview only: “WE DO NOT PRINT THE IMAGE.” Click I understand – upload image .
Your picture now shows in the frame. Use Change image or Remove image under it if you need to.
Confirm the preview-only message.
The artwork in the frame, float style.
This demo used a sample landscape graphic.
4. See each fitting style in 3D
Click 3D and AR above the preview. The model is made in the fitting style you've chosen, so you can compare them. Drag it round to see the back. To see the other style, choose it under Fitting style , then click Front and 3D and AR again.
Float : from the front, your board sits on top of the frame's inner section with its edges showing. From the back you see the back of your board, held on with tape or glue.Traditional : from the front, the frame covers the edges of your board. From the back you see the MDF backing board, held in with flexible points.
Float, front.
Traditional, front.
Float, back.
Traditional, back, with its flexible points.
On a phone or tablet, the same button lets you see the frame on your own wall in AR.
5. Corner, profile and frame sizes
Corner : a close-up of the moulding, so you can see its colour and grain.Profile : the stepped cross-section, with its measurements.Frame sizes : the approximate sizes from the front. With a traditional inlay, the blue measurements, 490 × 390mm , are the area of your board you'll see: the frame overlaps it by about 5mm on each side. The outside of the frame is about 580 × 480mm.
Corner.
Profile.
Frame sizes for a traditional inlay: 490 × 390mm of the board shows.
The Frame sizes drawing shows the traditional inlay sizes, even with Float selected. In a float fitting all of your board shows, because it sits on top of the frame with its edges on show.
6. Add double-sided tape for a float fitting
A float fitting needs strong double-sided tape, or glue , to hold your board on the frame's inner section. It isn't supplied with the frame , so make sure you have some before your frame arrives. A traditional inlay doesn't need it: the MDF backing board and flexible points hold the board in.
With Float chosen, open Recommended extras : it offers a 10 metre roll of 9mm double-sided extra strong foam mounting tape for £3.00. Click Add : it changes to Added , and the price goes from £36.50 to £39.50.
Tape added for a float fitting.
7. Extras and the full specification
Scroll down to Useful extras : hangers, tapes, fixings and more, each added with one click.
Useful extras.
Below them, check What's included and the Specification before you order. What's included depends on the style: hanging fixtures with both, plus the MDF backing board and flexible points with a traditional inlay. In this example (float style, with the tape) the specification read:
Frame style 544400000SI · 45mm Barefaced Tray Frame size 500 × 400mm (Float Style) Included Hanging fixtures only Accessory 9mm Double Sided Extra Strong Foam Mounting Tape × 10m Face width 45mm Rebate depth 21mm Total depth 32mm Material / finish Wood, unfinished
With a traditional inlay, Frame size reads (Traditional Style) and Included reads MDF Backing Board and Hanging Fixtures .
What's included and the specification, float style.
8. Save design or email design
Under the price are two links for keeping or sharing your design.
Save design adds it to your Design Gallery (“This design has been added to your Gallery” ). You can type a title and click Update Title , open the gallery, or click Continue to carry on.Email design opens a form. Enter the recipient's email address, edit the personal message, type the verification word, then click Submit . It's useful for checking with someone before you order.
The email form was opened in this demo but nothing was sent.
The two links sit under the price and dispatch date.
Save design.
Email design.
9. Add to basket
Happy with everything? Click Add to basket . The confirmation names the fitting style: “Your £39.50 Custom St Ives Frame(Float) has been added to your basket.” From there, choose Continue , Basket or Checkout .
Added to basket. (The basket also holds the moulding sample from Part 1.)
Screenshots taken on 18 October 2026. The orange outlines and labels were added for this guide and aren't part of the site. The demo stopped at the basket, and no order or email was sent. Prices may change.
An accurate size matters when you order an inset frame or a St Ives frame : your board sits in a recess or rebate made to its size, so a couple of millimetres can make the difference between a neat fit and a board that won't go in. This short guide shows how to measure a canvas board, or any rigid artist board or panel.
You'll need a metal tape measure, and a pen and paper.
How to measure a canvas board
Video: how to measure a canvas board, step by step.
Prefer our earlier video? Watch “How To Measure A Canvas Board” on YouTube.
Step by step
1. Lay the board flat
Put the board face up on a clean, hard, level surface, such as a table or worktop. Not a bed, sofa or carpet: a soft surface lets the board and the tape sag, and the measurement will be out. Use a metal tape measure (a cloth tape can stretch), and work in millimetres , which are more exact than inches or centimetres.
A firm, flat surface.
2. Measure the width
Hook the end of the tape over the left edge of the board, run it straight across, and read where the right edge falls. Boards aren't always perfectly square, so measure across the top , the middle and the bottom , and use the largest of the three.
Reading the tape at the right edge.
Top, middle and bottom: use the largest.
3. Measure the height
Do the same from top to bottom: hook the tape over the top edge and read the bottom edge, at the left , the middle and the right . Again, use the largest.
Left, middle and right: use the largest.
4. Check the thickness
Measure the thickness of the board at its edge. Inset frames take boards about 3 to 7mm thick; St Ives frames take boards and panels 2 to 5mm thick. Stretched canvases on wooden bars are too deep for either: see canvas picture frames or canvas floater frames instead.
A 4mm board suits both.
Never go by the packaging. The sizes printed on labels are often approximate, or rounded from inches. The board in the video is sold as 16 × 12 inches (406 × 305mm) but measures 405 × 303mm. Always measure the board itself.
The label, and the board's real size.
5. Write it down, then order
Write the sizes down clearly, width first, then height . On the frame's page, enter the exact sizes you measured in the width and height boxes. Don't add anything for the fit: for an inset frame, we make the frame a few millimetres larger so the board goes in with a little movement.
Width, height and thickness.
Enter the sizes as measured.
Still not sure? Send us a photo of your board with the tape measure across it, by email to sales@easyframe.co.uk , or call 01234 856501, and we'll be happy to advise.
Fitting a canvas board into a St Ives float frame is quick. Your board rests on the frame's inner section, with an even gap all round between its edges and the outer wall, so it appears to float. This short guide shows how to fix it in place and get the gap even.
How to fit a St Ives float frame
Video: how to fit a canvas board into a St Ives float frame.
Prefer our earlier video? Watch “How to Fit a Canvas Board in a Float Style St Ives Frame” on YouTube.
You'll need
your St Ives float frame (standard or wide profile);
your canvas board;
good double-sided VHB tape : a strong foam tape, such as our 9mm roll, which you can add on the frame's page;
a tape measure;
clean hands, or gloves, and a clean, flat surface to work on.
The frame, ready to fit.
How a float frame works
The board sits on top of the frame's inner section , held with double-sided tape, and overhangs it by about 5mm , so its edges are on show. Between the edges of the board and the frame's outer wall there's a gap of about 15mm (standard profile) or 25mm (wide profile) on every side.
The board on the inner section, seen from the side.
Step by step
1. Check the size
Before you start, lay the board in the frame to check it's the right size: there should be a gap of about 15mm (standard profile) or 25mm (wide profile) on every side.
About 15mm on every side.
2. Apply the tape
Lift the board out again. Run a continuous line of double-sided VHB tape along all four sides of the inner section.
3. Peel back a little of the liner
Peel back the tape's liner carefully, exposing only a small section of adhesive to begin with, so you can still adjust the board once it's in.
Tape on all four sides.
A little of the liner peeled back.
4. Position the board
Lower the board gently into the frame, and take your time placing it.
5. Check the gaps
Look to see that the gaps are even all round, then check with a tape measure that they're the same on all four sides. Make any small adjustments now, while only a little of the tape is exposed.
Even gaps: 15mm all round.
6. Secure the board
Once it's in position, press gently near the exposed tape. Then pull out the rest of the liner from under the board, and press firmly and evenly all round the board so the tape bonds well.
Fixed in place.
7. Add the hanging fixtures, and hang it
Fit your hanging fixtures, such as D-rings and cord or a sawtooth hanger, to the back of the frame. Then hang your framed piece where you can enjoy it: the float frame gives it a modern, gallery-style finish.
D-rings and cord on the back.
Hung, and floating.
Tip: work on a clean, flat surface, and handle the frame and board with clean hands, to avoid marks.
Questions? Our team is always happy to help: email sales@easyframe.co.uk , or call 01234 856501.
