<p>And some of us are just commenting that it would be a shame for her to invest a significant amount of money in framing (as frames can be expensive) only for her thoughtful gift to wind up in a drawer. That’s all.</p>
<p>I agree…check the school website. Our daughter was a university employee and she received a BEAUTIFUL diploma frame from her University as a graduation gift from her employers. It holds her diploma and also has the school seal on it. It’s really very nice.</p>
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<p>Seeing as how she has a child graduating from college, I suspect she’s been making her own budgetary decisions for some time now. She’s probably already also used her personal knowledge of her child to decide whether or not it would wind up in a drawer - I don’t see how anybody on this thread can add any information of any value on her child’s personal taste in gifts.</p>
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<p>Wow! Having a bad day Bovertine?</p>
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<p>I doubt my parents expected my diplomas would end up in a box somewhere when they spent $$ getting them framed. I’m sure in retrospect they’d probably rather have saved the money or done something different. I personally like Illyria’s suggestion of a memory book. But I’m not making any judgment as to whether or not the OP should frame her D’s diploma. I just mentioned the possibility that it would not end up being displayed, in which case the color of the mat will hardly matter.</p>
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No, asking a question. I’m having a great day actually. But thanks for your concern.</p>
<p>It is hilarious to me how somebody asks for an opinion on what is the commonly preferred color for a diploma frame, and gets a bunch of unresponsive comments. </p>
<p>If you wrote that you were buying your daughter a summer outfit, and asked what color was traditionally best for such an outfit, would you expect a bunch of comments about how buying such a thing is a waste of money? </p>
<p>BTW - I wasn’t referring to what you wrote. But I detect a little whiff of negative judgement in a couple of these posts. For example -</p>
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Um, how about wherever you want to?</p>
<p>H has his diplomas displayed in his office. They are in matching frames - goldish (brushed?) frame, black velvet mat, tiny gold edge inside the black mat, then the diploma. His are BS and law. (the BS is from NU.) They are quite old, I must admit. These days, I can see the interest in a black frame. Maybe a tiny sliver of purple. I think it’s a nice idea. After all, it takes a lot of work to earn that piece of paper.</p>
<p>I may be old fashioned, but I like the idea of a diploma on an office wall - any type of diploma for any degree. It’s a conversation starter for anyone who walks in and glances at the wall. Maybe they went to that school too or know someone who does, or they’ve visited that state or they like the frame colors!! </p>
<p>Mine are on the wall next to me in my home office after a stint in a basement box for a few years. I have fond memories of my school days when I happen to glance at them.</p>
<p>It occurs to me that one day diplomas will be emailed to graduates and they may be debating whether to “display” or not display their diplomas as screen savers!</p>
<p>[Northwestern</a> University Diploma Frame - Gold Embossed Diploma Frame in Gallery - Church Hill Classics](<a href=“http://www.diplomaframe.com/product/23975_gold_embossed_diploma_frame_in_gallery.cfm]Northwestern”>http://www.diplomaframe.com/product/23975_gold_embossed_diploma_frame_in_gallery.cfm)</p>
<p>This looks very nice–black matting with a line of purple–mahogany frame…</p>
<p>ALL my diplomas & certificates are in boxes somewhere in the closet with H’s. Most of my other relatives had similarly housed theirs, including certificates for being sworn in as judges, justice of the peace, and other documents. S did not have us frame his diplomas & had to ask several times to even receive it from his U! Only my internist has ALL his diplomas as well as his “Best Docs in HI” & “Best Docs in America” certs framed and adorning the otherwise bare walls of his exam rooms. Other docs I know don’t do this and have photos of their families or info about various body parts or meds or treatments adorning their walls. </p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn’t bother framing until & unless I knew the person would have an office and want to hang said document. Of course, there are quite a few like-minded posters, so whatever makes you & your graduate happy is good! Probably you know your student’s taste better than all of us put together! Agree that sometimes the campus has some potential frames that you can peruse.</p>
<p>Sometimes its the thought that counts behind a gift. I very gladly paid for my daughter’s diploma to be framed, and I know she wanted it because we went together to the framing shop, where she selected her own frame and mat. Of course she has no place to hang it and it sits in a box. But the cost of framing was far less than the cost of my airfare to attend the graduation, and I didn’t hesitate to enrich the airlines. My d. worked very hard for that diploma, and is rightfully proud of it. It’s from a top notch school and says “summa cum laude” on it, so I feel it deserves a frame. I’m proud of her, and providing a nice way to store that piece of paper was one way to do it. The frame may live in a box for now, but at least the paper isn’t exposed to other elements – 10 years from now or 20 years from now, the frame may be a little dusty but the diploma should be intact and fairly easy to locate. She may or may not someday display it in a place where others can see it, but the frame was my way of expressing my pride in tangible form. </p>
<p>As for me… my framed college and law school diplomas certainly are not on display anywhere, but I know exactly what box in what closet they are currently stored. Actually, I’m glad I have my diplomas framed – one of them bears the signature of a former US President, and the other one has the signature of the current governor of our state, who was also governor when I graduated from law school more than 30 years ago. 
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<p>To the OP – since my daughter picked out the frame & mat, I really didn’t give much thought to the color, and honestly don’t remember whether she chose a school color. She just picked what she liked.</p>
<p>When I got my Masters degree a few years ago, I digged out mine & Dh’s undergrad degrees & framed them all at the same time. They are hanging in my home office; you’d have to walk in and do a 180 to see them but they’re hanging there nonetheless; didn’t realize it was considered so gauche to display them 
And a lot of my fellow librarians have their MLS degree hanging in their office. </p>
<p>Going back to the OP’s question: For future display purposed, I’d say go with a black frame and the matting perhaps matching the school colors although I don’t think that’s necessary. UT offered a framing set with frame & mat that they set info about before graduation (and that diploma was an odd size; they’re not all standard sized diplomas.) I went to Michael’s/ Joanne’s since they always have the custom framing coupons but even with that, they wanted a couple of hundred dollars. I am inherently cheap, so I poked around in the frame dept. and picked out 3 nice frames & accompanying mats for about $100 total.</p>
<p>My NU diploma (and H’s as well) is about the size of an iPad, and came to us in a purple leather-ish case that has a foldover so it can stand by itself. (Not explaining this well - think of a name tent, but if you opened the name tent, there would be the diploma.) It You could theoretically just pop it on a shelf and it would be a display (you’d have to open it to see the actual diploma, but you could see the NU logo on the outside). I have zero idea if they still come this way (I guess I’ll find out in 4 years!), but my point is that you wouldn’t have needed to frame it to protect the piece of paper. It’s in the living room bookcase along with all the yearbooks, which I’m also not likely to display any time soon.</p>
<p>I have been getting some wonderful input, and suggestions I had never even thought of-ie-going out w/DD to pick out the frame SHE wants-love that!
Like every parent, I am very proud of her accomplishments, and would like to honor her in this way. IF she decides she doesn’t want it framed…sigh…then so it is.
ellemenope…I really like that one!..and will look for the store that sells it in Evanston come June.
Thank you for your help and ideas!
~APOL-a Mum</p>
<p>^^^ I think it is very thoughtful of you to want to do this for her. </p>
<p>I wish some posters wouldn’t have tried to discourage you to provide your d with this gift. She worked hard for the degree, and was supported by you while doing so and that is definately something to be proud of…congrats!</p>
<p>Also, if you think your student may be going for a professional or graduate degree (and hence, another diploma to frame at some point!), you might want to consider a frame that can be matched later.</p>
<p>I usually don’t notice diplomas, but today (before I even saw this thread), my optometrist’s and associate’s diplomas became topics of discussion, mainly due to the particular officials who had signed them. Nothing like walk down memory lane. . . .</p>
<p>I think there is just something about having it framed that makes it worthwhile even if you aren’t going to display it. Maybe once the novelty of the degree has worn off you don’t see it, but as someone who just bought my cap and gown today I really do. Feels sort of like the grown up equivalent of hanging the report card on the fridge, even if you don’t display it.</p>
<p>I am not sure what I’d want mine to look like. I am actually inclined to think maybe I’d just like it neutral, definitely only a sliver of school color showing if you go that route at all. I am getting kind of tired of plastering everything graduation related with maize and blue.</p>
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It was a very nice mother-daughter moment, culminating a lovely and memorable day – kind of like the time in high school when we went shopping together for the first prom dress, but this time celebrating an academic milestone instead of a teenage social rite of passage. So I highly recommend that … again, its not about the <em>thing</em> you are buying but what the thing <em>means</em> to the person you are buying it for.</p>
<p>Shopping together with your D will create a happy memory, regardless of what the two of you choose. It’s a lovely sentiment!</p>
<p>I like the example ellenmope linked to. I also like the custom of adding ribbon(s) in the school colors in the upper right corner. </p>
<p>H and I both have our diplomas framed and in a box a closet. It doesn’t bother me in the least. If nothing else, it saves them from accidentally ending up in the recycling bin. When the time comes, I’ll probably frame the kids’ college diplomas for the same reason. If they choose to display them, that’s just a bonus. </p>
<p>Off topic…in my home we have a wall display of family wedding inviations. All matted and framed nicely so they coordinate well on display. There are 9 invitations (or wedding announcements) with mine and H’s in the center of the display. We are surrounded by our parents, grandparents, and other relatives’ invitations going back (in one case) 5 generations. It’s a very pretty and meaningful display. </p>
<p>Maybe one day my great grandson will discover an old box of family diplomas in the attic and decide that they would all be a beautiful, historic, and meaningful wall display for his home. You never know.</p>
<p>My dad framed all of my diplomas and also my husband’s top diploma. It was a sweet thought, and even though we’ve never had them on display, I think fondly of my dad every time I trip over them in the basement.</p>