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Young House Love » Our First House » How To Make Wall Shelves For Postcards & Art (It’s Easy!)

| By John Petersik | July 20, 2010 | 286 Comments

How To Make Wall Shelves For Postcards & Art (It’s Easy!)

Oh sweet victory, our much debated office art project is done and I’m here to spill the beans about how it all went down, er, up.

how-to-make-shelves-for-postcards-and-art-ledges

After all, we already gave you this no-detail-left-behind play by play about how Sherry and I fiiiinally agreed to base our design on this gallery of postcard ledges that we spotted in Richmond magazine:

Art 100 Postcards

The project was pretty darn easy and actually really fun to do, especially after some of you suggested that we collect reader-submitted postcards from across the globe to fill our wall with an ever-changing arrangement. That suggestion really made trips to our PO Box a lot more exciting than usual. So thanks to everyone who sent a postcard our way (from a bunch of exciting places like Hawaii, England, Spain, Canada and a slew of other spots in the lower 48).

The gallery-inspired shelves started with a trip to Home Depot (Clara’s very first!) to buy supplies. And boy were some of our orange-apron-wearing friends excited to see the tiny human who lived it up in Sherry’s belly for all those months. But back to business. Based on some measurements of the wall, we determined that we wanted four rails above the desk, each measuring 64″ long (we used blue painter’s tape to mark where we wanted them and how long they should be – it’s such an easy way to try out a few zero-commitment arrangements to land on something you love).

Rails Home Depot

So with our trusty measurements in hand, we snagged some simple 1 x 2 pine boards for about $4 a pop, plus a bunch of screws and anchors (which I’ll talk more about later). In the end this would be the only cost for the entire art wall project, bring the grand total to under 25 bucks. Not bad for filling a giant expanse of wall, right?

And although we once had visions of taking a more complex narrow-shelf-with-a-raised-ledge approach, that all went away when we realized this was the perfect project to break out my Father’s Day present: a Dremel Trio. Sherry must’ve seen me lustily eying it every single time we entered any home improvement store (I’ll admit that I lingered a bit each time), so she surprised me with the $99 tool for daddy’s day (even though I didn’t have a specific sanding, routing, or cutting project in mind). I like to call it fate.

Rails Dremel Trio

The reason the Dremel would be perfect for this project is because it would allow me to route a small straight groove along each of my four pine boards, creating a perfect spot for postcards and other small art to rest. But before breaking out my new tool, I used an old friend (the miter saw) to cut my four 1 x 2s to identical 64″ lengths. Note: you can have this done at the home improvement store if you don’t have a saw on hand.

Then, despite my enthusiasm to begin Dremel-ing, first I decided to read the directions and (more importantly) do a few test runs on a scrap piece of wood. Thank goodness I did, because I spent about five minutes trying to route with the cutting tool. D’oh. I also learned that the Dremel really likes to pull to one side, so making straight grooves posed a challenge. But thankfully it was a challenge that could easily be overcome by using the metal guide included in the set. Disaster averted.

Rail Dremel Guide

The adjustable guide let me set exactly where I wanted to make my grooves. Although I did hit one snag in that the 1 x 2 boards were thinner than the width of the Dremel. So to use the guide I had to clamp two boards together. No biggie.

Rail Clamp Dremel Angle 2

With everything clamped I set my guide so I’d make my cut about a half inch from the outer edge and I set my depth to about 1/3″ inch.

I found the Dremel really easy and fun to use, and once I had everything set and had practiced my system of moving clamps as I went (since they would eventually get in the way of my routing path), it took me about ten minutes to do the remaining three boards.

Rail Grooves Cut

With everything cut, I did a quick sanding job to smooth everything out (by hand, not using the Dremel) and then applied one coat of primer followed by one coat of semi-gloss white paint. Sherry and I discussed staining them a dark wood tone or even painting them a color, but ultimately decided they weren’t the stars of the show so the white would help the postcards pop best while making the shelves feel architectural (like the white trim and crown molding in the room).

Then we could move into the installation phase of the project. Again we discarded any complex ideas about hiding the screws and decided we’d just screw straight through the boards into some anchors in the wall (and then roughly disguise the screwheads on the front of each shelf with a bit of white paint). Since the boards were pretty light, just 2″ deep, and would be holding postcards, we weren’t too concerned with them being able to bear any intense amount of weight. So our weapons of choice were some long 2.5″ screws and a pack of drywall anchors (since only about 1/2″ of screw would be sticking out the back end after it passed through the 1 x 2, we had to buy a separate pack of smaller anchors).

Rail Screws

We opted to go the anchor route (instead of finding studs) so we could place the semi-visible screws evenly across the front of the 1 x 2s. Speaking of which, I took my first board, measured an even spacing for each of the four screws and marked spots to drill my pilot holes. Thus would begin my somewhat intricate one-person system of hanging these suckers. Sherry had already helped me mark a level line for the bottom shelf before Clara woke up (phew) so I was able to hold the shelf in place and then re-drill through my pilot hole far enough to make a small mark on the wall. After following the same process to mark the rest of my holes, I put the shelf down, drilled the rest of the holes, and placed the anchors.

Now here’s a little trick I like to use when doing these things. Trying to screw the rail in place by myself could be a nightmare in terms of lining up the holes to the anchors. So instead I put the screws through each of the four holes in the 1 x 2’s on the ground, allowing the screw tip to poke through the back of the shelf, just a bit. Then when I held the shelf back up against the wall and attempted to line it up with the anchors that I sunk into the wall, I could feel when the screw tips fell into place (plus it helped to keep the shelf from slipping while I one-handedly tightened all of the screws into the anchors in the wall).

Rail Screw Thru

Hanging the first shelf was pretty easy (heck, it almost stayed in place with just one screw). But getting the other three to be straight and evenly spaced required a game plan. Sherry and I had decided that we wanted the four shelves to be nine inches apart to allow enough breathing room for a vertically placed 5 x 7″ piece of art on the shelves. So to measure my nine inch increments I vertically leveled a yard stick and employed some blue painters tape as my second pair of hands to hold it in place while I marked the wall. I did this for each of the four vertical spots that I’d be placing a screw to make sure all of my anchor points were lined up and evenly spaced.

Rail Yardstick

I spare you the rest of the process since it took longer than I expected, especially since I double and triple checked a lot of my measurements. But in about 45 minutes I had all four of the shelves hung. And wouldn’t you know it, they were perfectly level and extremely secure. Phew!

Rail All Four Up

Then all that was left to do was to populate the shelves with postcards and other postcard sized artwork. And thanks to a bunch of you, we had plenty to choose from! We also peppered in a few photos, cards, and other miscellaneous items that we liked (from flattened foil chocolate wrappers with sweet quotes on them to art that we cut out of magazines and backed on cardstock to create a postcard-esque weight). Here’s a shot of what it looked like yesterday afternoon (after a trip to the PO Box- thanks again to everyone who sent cards our way!).

Rail Finished Straight Far

You’ll notice that a few of the displaced Wallflowers made it back up on the shelves. Oh and we found a new spot for the rest of ’em too, which we’ll share in our next office progress post. But for now we’re happy to bask in the glory of this project: the big intimidating blank wall is no more. And we finally have a rotating wall of eye candy to enjoy (and switch up whenever the mood strikes).

Rail Finished Angle

Heck, it’ll probably look different by the time we post our “big reveal” photos of the whole room.

Rail Finished Groove Close

We know some of you are wondering how we’re going to keep things from blowing off of the wall. We haven’t devised a system for that yet, since it’s not a problem that we’re going to encounter ’til (at earliest) the fall when we might throw open a window or two. But when the time comes we’re thinking of possibly backing things on hefty mat-board to keep them from budging in the breeze, or even using that removable blue sticky tack to keep the backs of the cards adhered to the wall (other ideas we flirted with: magnets or even velcro). Ultimately we don’t want to do anything too permanent because it defeats the ever-changing nature of such a project. We promise to keep you posted if we find that we have to implement any of those stay-in-place strategies.

Rail Finished Straight Clos

Thank you again to everyone who sent us postcards. It’s been such a sweet byproduct of this art project and we’re very grateful. We plan to keep a stash of all of them so we can continually rotate them out (so if you don’t spot yours in these pictures it’ll definitely still be enjoyed!). And if you want to add to the collection our address again is: PO Box 36665, Richmond, VA 23235. We’d love to hear from you!

But enough about us, we’re wondering if you guys have implemented or otherwise come across any other interesting ways of displaying collections, whether they be 3-D or flat-ish (like our growing postcard collection). Any gallery-inspired art walls? Or shelves full of like objects (snow globes? Eiffel tower statues? garage sale oil paintings?). Spill it.

Psst- Wanna follow the entire office/guest bedroom/playroom makeover? Click here for the intro post, here to read about the big sleeper sofa hunt, here for the DIY desk play-by-play, here for the homemade light fixture project, here for our hacked Ikea bookcase, here for the file storage we built, here for how we squeezed in some toy storage, here for how we picked out some DIY art that we could agree on, and here for how we wrangled our wires.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for Lindsay@Tell[email protected]'er All About It says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:03 am

    It looks great, guys! It’ll be perfect in the future for rotating out kids’ artwork, too! They accumulate *so* much of it! I really need to send you a postcard from the great state of Oregon….hrmmm…

    ;-)
    Lindsay

    Reply
  2. Avatar for liz @ bon temps beignetliz @ bon temps beignet says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:04 am

    This is A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I love that y’all kept the flowers.

    Does that one card say something about weather?

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:05 am

      Liz,

      Yeah, that’s a cool Seattle weather postcard we got from a reader named Lisa. Love it!

      xo,
      s

  3. Avatar for Liz CarignanLiz Carignan says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:07 am

    I LOVE it!! Everything looks great…

    Reply
  4. Avatar for ErinErin says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:09 am

    I absolutely love it!! I especially love the Clara pictures:) I though the different material backgrounds were genius before and now as part of the display i think i is even more amazing. Great job!

    Reply
  5. Avatar for Lauren FLauren F says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:10 am

    Love this!

    Reply
  6. Avatar for Jessica @ How SweetJessica @ How Sweet says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:10 am

    I love the shelves – I think they look great!

    Reply
  7. Avatar for Jen Z.Jen Z. says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:10 am

    I did a similar project in our bedroom and family room. The bedroom has three smaller shelves with pictures from our wedding & honeymoon, plus letter initials for our first names & small glasses. Then in our family room we have two long Ikea white shelves that have more wedding & honeymoon pictures (we don’t have kids yet), with small vases and our last name initial, some star fish and a couple of other small things. We love how it came out.

    Reply
  8. Avatar for ElizabethElizabeth says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:12 am

    WOW! It looks great! And kids think they’ll never use math. HA!

    Reply
  9. Avatar for AnnabelVitaAnnabelVita says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:12 am

    I love this, it’s so simple yet elegant. I love places to display favourite images on a rolling/temporary basis and coralling items them this makes it all look so neat and cohesive (although I personally love the cluttered look of magnet or pinboard displays, I can see something orderly like this working better in a workspace).
    There’s a postcard on its way to you from me in London!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:13 am

      Wahooo! Can’t wait to receive your London postcard AnnabelVita!

      xo,
      s

  10. Avatar for MeghanMeghan says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:14 am

    What a lovely project. I love projects that are cheap and fairly easy enough to pull off in a day or so. Instant gratification!

    Reply
  11. Avatar for MeghanMeghan says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:14 am

    I LOVE THIS. I’m remodeling a house starting after Christmas and I absolutely love this idea. I have gazillions of postcards from Italy (couldn’t stop buying them!) and had no idea how to display them. This sounds perfect for me.

    Reply
  12. Avatar for Jennifer OttJennifer Ott says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:14 am

    One idea to keep things from blowing…they make white poster putty now! It should be easy to find during the back-to-school sales that are going on now. Easy, removable, and a small bit should suffice at the top of each piece where it hits the wall. Our pack has lasted for over a year with similar usage.

    Reply
  13. Avatar for Rebekah MRebekah M says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:15 am

    Looks great! How are you going to keep the photos and cards from curling up? Whenever I have photos sitting out they always curl!!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:16 am

      Rebekah- The groove actually really help the cards have some structure (since they can sink into it about a third of an inch for more support as they lean) and the heft of the cardstock (since most postcards are decently thick) also seems to keep them from curling. We do realize that over time they might take on a slight curl, so if that bothers us after a while we’ll just back them all with mat board to keep them standing at attention. Hope it helps!

      Jennifer- Sweet! We didn’t know they made white putty now. Even better (should we need it)!

      xo,
      s

  14. Avatar for AdrianeAdriane says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:17 am

    Holy schnikeys am I first!? :-D

    I love, love, love, this project. I have a large blank wall in my guest room and I think this is the perfect filler! Not too much work for the hubs and a neat way to welcome/provide eye candy for guests in from other places.

    Thanks for the play-by-play and congrats on completion!

    Reply
  15. Avatar for roserose says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:17 am

    Hey DIY Youngsters!

    The wall turned out great. So refreshing and fun!

    It’s kind of hard to tell from the photos, but did you fill in the screw holes or are they left exposed?

    PS…Ikea also sells a similiar shelf that just has a lip on it. More for leaning picture frames, I think.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:18 am

      Hey Rose,

      We didn’t fill the screw heads with anything, but we applied a thin coat of white paint (so they appear to be clean-looking white screws that blend right in). It looks great!

      xo,
      s

  16. Avatar for CatherineCatherine says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:19 am

    This looks fabulous! I love it!

    Reply
  17. Avatar for pampam says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:19 am

    I love it!! Really! It turned out amazing! :)

    Reply
  18. Avatar for GinnyGinny says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:20 am

    Love your hotsling! Between that and the Ergo, you are set! The postcard wall looks great, too! Love how it is interchangeable!

    Reply
  19. Avatar for HeatherHeather says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:21 am

    Looks amazing!

    Reply
  20. Avatar for JanelleJanelle says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:23 am

    In my experience, the blue sticky stuff leave blue sticky marks on the walls. It can be tough to find, but if you decide to go that route, get white sticky stuff. The color is more neutral (especially for your walls) and it doesn’t leave as much residue. Same basic stuff, though.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:24 am

      Thanks for the heads up about the white sticky tack Janelle! So good to know if we end up needing it!

      xo,
      s

  21. Avatar for KristineKristine says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:23 am

    Ooooh! So pretty and beautifully arranged! The touch of the wall flowers makes it look so ethereal. Awesome job guys!

    Reply
  22. Avatar for Blair RBlair R says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:25 am

    Oh, my gosh, guys! This looks great! I’m happy that some of the flowers made it on the shelves; it really adds interest and breaks up it a bit. GENIUS!

    Reply
  23. Avatar for Laurel-DawnLaurel-Dawn says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:26 am

    This is such an amazing idea… having the option to change colors and styles could change the look of the entire space! I can’t wait to see what this will look like around the holiday season! I will be looking forward to seeing this wall change in style! (I also love seeing your little one at Home Depot already!)

    Reply
  24. Avatar for MeganMegan says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:26 am

    Looks great! I am new to reading your blog and have been really enjoying it!!

    Reply
  25. Avatar for Briel K.Briel K. says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:26 am

    That looks really great! I love how it turned out. It makes me want something similar in my bedroom.

    Reply
  26. Avatar for ShannonShannon says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:29 am

    I love the post card art! You guys think of the best ideas. I also love the baby sling that Clara is in at Home Depot. What kind is it…and do you like it?

    Reply
  27. Avatar for KatKat says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:29 am

    This looks great. A suggestion for keeping the postcards and pictures weighted down would be to tape a penny or two to the backsides. I had a very long wedding veil and got married on top of a mountain and to prevent my veil from blowing in the wind I sewed pennies along the train. It worked like a charm and I think the same idea would work for securing lightweight postcards.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:30 am

      Kat- Such a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing!

      Shannon- That’s actually a Hotsling that I inherited from my best friend. Clara loves it (and therefore, so do I!).

      xo,
      s

  28. Avatar for MichelleMichelle says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:29 am

    I really love it. You guys are going to have fun changing things around as time goes by as well!

    Reply
  29. Avatar for CherylCheryl says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:31 am

    I am , this minute, looking at the blank wall above my parson’s desk, a newly painted wall in our bedroom. This gallery display could be ‘the one’ I’m looking for instead of the usual big framed painting/poster. Lots to mull over here.

    Reply
  30. Avatar for Beth @ bethcooksBeth @ bethcooks says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:31 am

    I think that looks awesome! It’ll be so great to display all different stages of Clara’s life. Great job!

    Reply
  31. Avatar for MellyMelly says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:32 am

    I shouldn’t be, but I’m astonished at how lovely that is.

    Reply
  32. Avatar for Mandy FordMandy Ford says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:32 am

    LOVE this – what a great way to add artwork to your wall and be able to change it out on a whim. I would definitely recommend the blue sticky poster stuff to keep things from blowing off the shelves. It works great and won’t leave any damage behind. :)

    Mandy @ This Girl’s Life

    Reply
  33. Avatar for CarMajCarMaj says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:35 am

    This is a really great idea and it looks so wodnerful on that wall! Love Love Love! Awesome job!!

    Reply
  34. Avatar for RonnieRonnie says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:38 am

    I love what you’ve done with the wall!! You two are so creative :) I have a question regarding your wallflowers though. I’ve seen you use them in a couple of different places in your house and I am thinking of putting some in my newly finished basement. Do you fill in the holes left by the tacks used to hang the flowers when you move the arrangementor are the tack holes small enough that it doesn’t present a problem?

    Thanks!
    Ronnie

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:41 am

      Hey Ronnie,

      You definitely have to fill the holes left by the tacks, but it only takes about five minutes to throw some caulk in them and apply one coat of paint to render them completely invisible. So we wouldn’t recommend moving them every day, but moving them once every few years isn’t a big deal. Hope it helps!

      xo,
      s

  35. Avatar for JennyJenny says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:38 am

    For the windy issue, if it comes up, you might try taping a penny to the back of each card — giving it just enough extra weight to stay put. Of course, there’s a bit of a cash expenditure for that solution!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:39 am

      Hey Jenny,

      Thanks so much for that tip! It’s genius (and cheap- haha).

      xo,
      s

  36. Avatar for samanthasamantha says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:40 am

    wow it looks great! I wish I could bottle your DIY skills!

    Reply
  37. Avatar for Melinda JMelinda J says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:43 am

    This looks great in your space! Well done!!!

    Reply
  38. Avatar for SallySally says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:45 am

    Love it–great idea! On another note, what is the color of your floor stain? I’m sure you have it listed somewhere but I can’t find it, and love the darker color! Thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:50 am

      Hi Sally,

      The stain on our floor doesn’t have a name as it was a custom blend our floor refinisher whipped up in a effort to match the new hardwood we laid in our kitchen. That floor was called “Mocha Oak” and was from Lumber Liquidators if that’s a help. You can read more about the project here:

      https://www.younghouselove.com/drumroll-please/

      Hope that helps!

      -John

      PS: Good idea with the pennies Alisha! We may turn to something like that, but for now we’re trying to leave the backs as-is so we can enjoy all of the kind notes everyone wrote. :)

  39. Avatar for AlishaAlisha says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:49 am

    How about adding a penny or two to the back of your postcards/pictures to weigh them down. I always seem to have an endless supply of pennies, so they get used all over the house for leveling tables to making my curtains hang straight.

    Just an idea. :)

    Reply
  40. Avatar for Beth@EverydayLifeOfBellom[email protected] says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:50 am

    Love it, it’s so “John and Sherry!”

    The sticky tack suggestions have been thick, but one more for you. Even the white leaves a horrid little greasy mark and I have found it comes through touch up paint. (Just ask my last landlord, ugh!) To prevent you from priming and painting over and over what about putting the sticky tack in the groove on the shelf. That way you won’t see it and if it leaves a mark it won’t be as noticeable!

    Reply
  41. Avatar for Rachael @ The Artsy GeneralistRachael @ The Artsy Generalist says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:50 am

    WOW! You guys seriously inspire me! What a fabulous way to fill wall space… love love love it! I can’t get enough of your blog! : )

    Not sure if you’ve mentioned this before — but where did you get the lamp on the right side of your desk? I’ve been looking for one like that for a while now.

    Reply
    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 10:51 am

      Hey Rachael,

      We got that lamp for $10 at Linens N Things- sadly the store is closed but they still have a site: http://www.lnt.com- hopefully you’ll find something there!

      xo,
      s

    • Avatar for YoungHouseLoveYoungHouseLove says

      July 20, 2010 at 11:15 am

      Hey Elizabeth,

      We actually don’t ever dust those Wallflowers because they never seem to need it! Maybe it’s because they’re made from such a slick plastic surface that dust can’t really collect on them without slipping off? Interesting!

      xo,
      s

  42. Avatar for AnneAnne says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:52 am

    OMG I love this idea, my hubs just got a router … I see a little project in his future. :)

    Reply
  43. Avatar for BlairBlair says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:54 am

    Just to add to the great sticky tack debate…

    As a teacher, I can say that they have sticky tack in plenty of colors. A teacher’s store is your best bet (Target also has a decent selection).

    Also, the blue stuff (and all of them, really) can indeed leave residue, but I find that if you rub the sticky tack along the spot where you remove it, it picks up all the residue really easily.

    Reply
  44. Avatar for CyndaCynda says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:54 am

    Oooh! I love these shelves and the whole effect. I am all about color and personal touches.

    As for things blowing away- you could stuff a strip of foam into the groove of each shelf, then tuck the postcards down in between the foam and groove. If that makes sense. You don’t have to actually do anything to the artwork!

    Reply
  45. Avatar for CarmenCarmen says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:56 am

    LOVE IT! ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! My husband and I love it! He is inspired and might actually do some handy work. I think your office looks great.

    Reply
  46. Avatar for AmandaAmanda says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:58 am

    I love this idea, now if only I didn’t live in an apartment I would totally go buy the materials today (especially for under 30 dollars!) … which is ironic because it would totally help with my apartment-white-walls trouble. Haha.

    Ps, I think yours looks better then the one in the magazine because yours is less cluttered and more colourful! :)

    Reply
  47. Avatar for TanisTanis says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:58 am

    I love this project! I’m desperately trying to come up with a space in my house that I can do this. It must be so great to be able to gaze at such beautiful and sentimental objects and images while you’re working. And ever changing! It’s so perfect. Good job!

    Reply
  48. Avatar for AudreyAudrey says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:58 am

    Drats – I wish I had a picture, but I did something similar in my bedroom. I rent, and didn’t want to put more holes in the wall, so I used ribbon and penny nails at the end.

    I attached the artwork with those tiny clips from my office. I use it to showcase any art/photo/card that catches my eye – its easily changeable and with the clips holding them in, even with my window open/fan on they don’t move too much.

    I love it, because I can change the artwork weekly if I want. I love how your mini-shelves look though. Definitely something for me to keep in mind for next time!

    Reply
  49. Avatar for LaceyLacey says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:59 am

    Love it! I recall a previous post about how you send a postcard to your home during every trip as a way to remember it…this would be a great way to display all the fun places one has been!

    Reply
  50. Avatar for VaniaVania says

    July 20, 2010 at 10:59 am

    :o great idea!! I think I am gonna do the same thing at my office! And if you don’t mind I’ll post the idea on my blog, credits all yours of course ;)

    Reply
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John and Sherry smiling against pink backgroundHey, we’re John & Sherry. We’ve fixed up 7 homes, written books, designed products, started a podcast, and then downsized & moved to the beach! Here you’ll find over 3,000 DIY projects & home updates. More about us…
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Traditional Rug
The “Magic” Rug
Smokeless Solo Stove Firepit
Smokeless Firepit
Woven Storage Ottoman
Storage Ottoman
Subtle Pink Rug
Our Bedroom Rug
Blue Air 211 Air Purifier
Our Air Purifiers
Faux Potted Olive Tree
Faux Olive Tree
Kohler Memoirs Toilet
Our Favorite Toilet
Soft Striped Rug
Soft Striped Rug
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