Coral Gables Custom Framing Studio: Americas Collection

The Americas Collection, at 4213 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, has stood at the crossroads of Latin American fine art and master custom framing in Coral Gables since 1991. Founded over three decades ago by art patrons Velia Larcinese and Silvia Medina, this distinguished gallery and framing atelier caters to international connoisseurs, corporate collections, and diplomatic residences throughout South Florida. Situated along the stately, royal-palm-lined boulevard of Ponce de Leon south of the Village of Merrick Park, the studio operates within an elegant Mediterranean Revival architectural space. The experienced framing team works alongside resident gallery curators, ensuring that every framing package adheres strictly to international museum conservation standards while visually honoring the artist's original intent. Inside the bright showroom, patrons can explore hundreds of exclusive frame corner samples, ranging from hand-carved gilded Spanish mouldings to sleek contemporary architectural profiles. Whether mounting museum-caliber Latin American modernist canvases, delicate colonial drawings, contemporary photography, or personal heritage documents, The Americas Collection provides unmatched aesthetic discernment, scholarly provenance knowledge, and technical preservation for private and public collections across the Americas.

Conserving fine art in South Florida's humid subtropical environment requires uncompromising material integrity to guard against fiber degradation, mold blooms, and ultraviolet bleaching. The Americas Collection utilizes exclusively museum-quality conservation components for works on paper and canvas. All matting is executed with one hundred percent pure cotton museum rag boards or chemically inert alpha-cellulose matting that contains no chemical impurities, groundwood, or unbuffered acids. These conservation boards provide an inert micro-environment that shields artwork against airborne acidity and eliminates acid burning along delicate bevel edges.

Mounting techniques at the atelier follow strict conservation protocols that guarantee full physical reversibility. Delicate prints, historic documents, and original watercolors are mounted using hand-torn Japanese mulberry hinges fixed with purified wheat starch paste, avoiding synthetic adhesive tapes that can bleed into paper fibers over time. For glazing, the studio provides Tru Vue Conservation Clear glass that blocks ninety-nine percent of damaging ultraviolet wavelengths, as well as UltraVue anti-reflective glass for crystal-clear optical transparency. For large-format original canvases, public commercial spaces, and sunlit private residences, shatterproof Optium museum acrylic delivers lightweight, anti-static protection that completely eliminates distracting reflections while safeguarding valuable artwork against accidental damage, scratches, and shattering, ensuring crystal-clear presentation across diverse lighting conditions and bright architectural settings throughout the year, keeping colors vivid for decades.

The frame moulding selection at The Americas Collection reflects decades of curatorial refinement, emphasizing artisan woodworking, hand-carved details, and historical Latin American traditions. Collectors can select from hand-applied 22-karat genuine gold and palladium leaf finishes, distressed baroque ornamentation, and clean-lined natural tropical woods. Every moulding profile is cut with precision miter saws and joined with reinforced internal biscuit joints, ensuring structural stability across decades of climate shifts.

For modern mixed-media works and stretched oils, the atelier designs custom hardwood floater frames that provide a continuous floating visual space around the painted perimeter. This presentation honors unvarnished edges and raw canvas texture without concealing brushstrokes under an overlapping lip. For three-dimensional artifacts, antique religious icons, and historic textiles, the woodworkers engineer deep custom vitrines with archival linen linings and concealed wall mounts. Custom internal perimeter spacers ensure that the protective glazing remains elevated away from delicate painted surfaces, preventing condensation and mold development inside the sealed chamber, giving collectors museum-grade display solutions that protect delicate objects across generations.

The Americas Collection welcomes collectors, interior architects, and neighborhood art enthusiasts throughout the week. The Coral Gables gallery showroom operates Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, remaining closed on Sunday. Private patrons and decorators are also encouraged to walk in with works on paper or unmounted canvases to evaluate moulding profiles and receive clear itemized estimates on the spot.

Because conservation treatments and artisanal joinery demand unhurried precision, standard workshop turnaround spans approximately two to three weeks. Each bespoke order progresses through careful sizing, handcrafted corner mitering, archival acid-neutral mounting, and lint-free fitting under controlled gallery conditions. When patrons face imminent exhibition debuts, charity galas, or residence unveilings, the team can arrange expedited priority turnaround for framing components already on hand in their on-site inventory. Convenient street parking fronting Ponce de Leon Boulevard makes dropping off delicate masterworks straightforward, while finished frames receive heavy-duty corner guards, impact-resistant foam padding, and archival wrapping for secure transport to your private residence or corporate boardroom, ensuring your fine art arrives in pristine condition ready for immediate display.

Visiting The Americas Collection offers an ideal starting point for exploring the architectural grandeur and cultural sophistication of Coral Gables. Ponce de Leon Boulevard is famous for its Mediterranean Revival architecture, lush tropical landscaping, and scenic open-air trolley that connects the district with Downtown Coral Gables and Miracle Mile. After browsing frame moulding samples and discussing conservation glass, take a leisurely stroll down the boulevard to discover independent design boutiques, artisan bakeries, and outdoor sidewalk bistros.

Just a short walk north brings you directly into the Village of Merrick Park, an upscale open-air lifestyle center featuring premier international fashion houses, fine dining terraces, and tropical garden courtyards. Continuing north along the boulevard leads toward the historic Miracle Mile shopping corridor, renowned for its theaters, bridal boutiques, and European-style fountain plazas. Combining an afternoon custom framing consultation with a scenic tour of Coral Gables immerses art lovers in the city's rich cultural heritage, artisan craftsmanship, and timeless residential elegance, making your framing project a truly inspiring local experience that celebrates South Florida culture and international fine art traditions, leaving a lasting impression on every cultural visitor who appreciates museum craftsmanship, architectural beauty, and heritage art.