Walk into a good gallery and look closely at the canvases: many are not touching their frames at all. That deliberate sliver of shadow between artwork and frame is the signature of a floating frame canvas — currently the most asked-about format in our studio, and for good reason. It manages to look both finished and effortless at once. Here is exactly what it is, how it differs from the alternatives, and how to decide whether it is right for your artwork.
How a floating frame works (the shadow-gap reveal)
A floating frame is a slim outer frame that surrounds a stretched canvas without touching it. The canvas sits recessed inside, mounted from behind, leaving a small, even gap — the "shadow gap" or reveal — running all the way around. Light falls into that gap and casts a fine line of shadow, which makes the canvas appear to hover inside its border. It is a small detail with an outsized effect: the eye reads the gap as intention, precision, gallery-care. Unlike traditional glazed framing, there is no glass — the canvas texture stays open to the room.
Floating frame vs stretched canvas vs framed print
Think of the three formats as steps along a spectrum of formality. A classic stretched canvas is the most relaxed: the image wraps the edges, no border at all — contemporary and clean. A floating frame canvas keeps all of that canvas character but adds a defined edge and that grace-note of shadow; it is the middle path, casual object, considered finish. A framed art-paper print behind a traditional frame is the most formal, with crisp paper detail and a solid border in oak, black or white. If your room is contemporary but your instinct says "it needs a frame", the floating frame is almost always the answer you are reaching for.
Which artworks suit a floating frame
Bold, painterly and textural pieces benefit most — the frame contains their energy without flattening it, which is why so much of our abstract canvas collection is ordered in this style. Large-scale artworks gain composure from the defined edge, particularly on big open walls where an unframed canvas can feel adrift. Softer subjects work too: something like our Pink Peony I canvas takes on a more finished, furniture-quality presence inside a float. The artworks least in need of one are minimal pieces with lots of empty space — they often carry their own calm unframed.
Hand-framed in Australia: how ours are made
Every Printcasso canvas — stretched or floating frame — is printed and hand-framed in Australia, made to order for each customer rather than pulled from a warehouse shelf. Because each order is custom printed and/or hand framed, production takes 3–7 business days before dispatch from Melbourne, and every piece arrives ready to hang: no assembly, no framer's queue, no glass to handle. The designs themselves are originals by our artist-founder Rimmy Gurm, so the artwork inside the float is one you will not meet in every second hallway.
Sizing and hanging a floating frame canvas
Size a floating frame canvas exactly as you would any artwork: roughly two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it, or 60–75% of a sofa's width — and remember the frame adds a little to the overall footprint, so check the listed finished dimensions on the product page. Our canvas range runs from 30x45cm up to 122x162cm. Hanging is standard: centre the piece at about 152cm from the floor, or 20–30cm above a sofa back. The floating frame's clean edges make alignment errors more visible than usual, so use a level — this is a format that rewards the extra sixty seconds.
Shop floating frame canvas art
You will find the floating-frame option alongside classic stretched canvas across our canvas wall art collection — the available styles and finishes for each artwork are listed on its product page. For living spaces where the format shines at scale, start with the living room canvas collection.
Frequently asked questions
What is a floating frame on a canvas?
A slim outer frame that surrounds a stretched canvas with a small deliberate gap, so the artwork appears to float inside it. The shadow line in the gap gives the format its gallery look.
Are floating frame canvases worth it?
If you want canvas texture plus a finished edge, yes — it is the difference between a canvas that looks placed and one that looks presented. For minimal artworks with lots of negative space, classic stretched may serve just as well.
Do floating frame canvases come ready to hang?
Ours do — every canvas is hand-framed in Australia and arrives ready to hang, in both stretched and floating-frame styles.
What colours do floating frames come in?
Available finishes vary by artwork and are listed on each product page. Our framed art-paper prints, for comparison, come in oak, black or white frames.
See the difference a shadow gap makes — browse the canvas collection, hand-framed in Australia and delivered free with tracking Australia-wide.
