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.
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:
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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).
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.
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!
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!).
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).
Heck, it’ll probably look different by the time we post our “big reveal” photos of the whole room.
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.
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.
Lesley says
this came out so much better than I originally envisioned. I love the fact that you added the wallflowers to break things up a bit.
Loren says
Wow this looks fantastic. The room is REALLY coming together nicely.
You might be able to place a little river rock, or seashell, or sometime else small, decorative and heavy in front of the pictures to keep them from blowing away.
I use simple 98 cent clipboards from Target to hang some of my art. Just clip in the 5/7 and hang on the wall. I can switch the art out really easily. It adds a little 3D interest to the wall as well.
Amy C. says
Hey John and Sherry,
Please please pretty please tell me where you downloaded that clock screensaver on the right. I love it!
Thanks,
Amy
YoungHouseLove says
Amy C. – The clock screensaver is from Real Simple! Here’s the link to download it: http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/technology/screen-saver-00000000030852/index.html
-John
Elisa says
I love it. I want to marry it. It’s perfect.
Megan says
I love how your wall came out! This would be adorable in any size room to add a little extra fun!
I found a great way to display children’s artwork (or any artwork) that could change whenever necessary. Unfortunately, I can’t find the link, so I will continue to look for it. But they took a big wall and framed (what I’m assuming) are corkboards covered in fabric. They had three big frames and one smaller square framed put up on an angle. They then added their name and “art gallery” or something similar. It would be great because kids could come home, hang their new stuff up, and enjoy in their artwork being on the wall. Maybe one of your readers was the one who had it. :)
Shire says
First- I have been addicted to your blog- check it everyday!
Second- I LOVE this idea. I’m so excited to see how easily you put it together. I think this helps me figure out what to do with ALL our photobooth photos of guests from our reception at our wedding last year. I have jpeg files of all the photobooth photos and wanted to creative way to display them besides hanging a million picture frames on one wall. If and when I complete this project- photos will be sent your way! Thanks for the creative ideas!!
Jennae @ Green Your Decor says
That turned out beautifully! I guess I couldn’t really visualize it when you first came up with the idea, but the overall look is fun and funky! I have quite a few blank walls that could stand a project like this, and it seems like it would be pretty easy to make. Thanks for the play by play!
Patti says
Oh this looks so great and I love the versatility! You guys have proven once again how taking a little time to plan and think about what you want is the way to go.
Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says
This turned out so great! It’s so nice to have ever-changing art that ‘lives and breathes’ with you. I have a magnetic wall in my office for changing the art out quickly. I also make my own prints to customize and change my art up quick , easily and FREE! I would love to send you a 5 by 7 print for you wall… If you’re interested, go here to see samples: http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/gimme-a-giveaway-our-humble-abowed/
I am currently working on an oragami crane art piece, too.
Kate says
This is fantastic! I can’t wait to do something like this in my own home!
Be expecting a postcard from beautiful Saratoga Springs and Lake George, NY soon!
Sophie says
Wow! The wall looks amazing, I love it!
Keep an eye out for a red London phone box postcard in your PO Box, it’s from me :D
Jacquelin Seybert says
The shelves are perfect over your workspace. I love the idea and I’m thinking we need shelves like this for our place. My husband and I collect postcards as well and haven’t figured out how we want to display them yet.
Erica M says
LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!!!!!
Christine says
I am blown away at how this turned out!! LOVE IT. And those wallflowers look so perfect in there.
Elizabeth says
I have a somewhat tangential question…how did you dust the flowers when they were on the wall? I really like them, but everything in my house seems to be a repository for dust…and dog hair! It just seems at some point dusting would not be enough and they may need to be washed in some way. Have you washed them?
Laura says
Looks great! Try museum putty – it comes in white and clear! It is fairly strong – meant for securing pottery, etc, so it might tear the paper, but its worth a try! Plus, its great for keeping breakables safe from tiny curious hands!
Drea says
Your blog is so adorable. Love to see babywearing in the midst of it all too :) Do you cloth diaper too?
jennifer f says
looks fabulous! I love the idea of floating shelves and I love it in your other rooms as well!
I am thinking of possibly doing someting similar for over our huge sectional in our upstairs loft (mainly because I cannot seem to find art large enough that I like that is inexpensive to fill that space). Do you think it’s ok to put floating shelves over a couch? Do you think it would look ok, and do you think it would pose any issues of people possibly knocking into it? I don’t know…I’ve just never seen floating shelves over a couch before. Or any other ideas to fill a large wall over a couch!
ps…the pics of clara are sooo sweet!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
April – The walls are Glidden’s Sand White. It’s the same as what’s in our living room and we love it. Possibly my favorite neutral paint color in our whole house.
Jennifer F – Floating shelves over a couch shouldn’t be a problem if they’re such a thin depth like our postcard shelves. There’s little likelihood that people could knock their heads anymore than they would hit a framed piece of art. But if you do something much deeper (like the Ikea Lack shelves in our dining room) you’ll want to be more careful about hanging the shelves high enough (or moving the couch out from the wall far enough) that you’re not creating a recipe for shelf-bumping disaster.
Drea – Clara just finally grew into her BumGenius diapers yesterday so now I can officially say that yes we’re cloth diapering. We even caught it on camera! http://www.flickr.com/photos/younghouselove/4810509179/
-John
April says
Hi, which paint color is that on the walls? It’s exactly the tone I am looking for!
Krys72599 says
As a scrapbooker, I have hundreds of the little mini glue dots – check into those at your local craft store; they come in different sizes.
Be sure, though, to see if they’re permanent; I just don’t know if they’d leave marks on the wall – they’re like the sticky stuff that holds your new credit card to the paper when they’re mailed to you… they seem to stain the paper after a while, but if the paint isn’t flat, you might be able to get away with it…
Michelle says
What if you try putting sticky tack at a couple of points in the groove and then pressing the card in? Just a thought…
Love the wall, by the way. Very cool.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Michelle,
That could also totally work. Thanks for the idea!
xo,
s
Kara @ KARAPASLAYDESIGNS says
Hey Guys,
Great job, the art wall looks fantastic! And the fact that it is made up of postcards from people who love you all over the world is just incredible. I bet you look up at it during those times when you get tired and think, it’s worth it! Look at all the people you influence! Keep up the good work!!! I’ve gotta get one of those dremels!
Krystle says
OMG! I’m in love with it!! I was sorta upset that the flowers were coming down because I love them too! I bought them after I saw them up in your office…They’re going to go over the bed once we paint…Anyway! I love how you incorporated them on the shelf! So colorful and fun!
Karrie says
You had me at rotating! This is awesome guys! I love that you all get to enjoy it everyday with sentimental items and that it’ll keep your guests entertained (one of my favorite things to do at friends houses is to look at all the personal photos they have up). So smart!
Cheryl Joy says
The brilliance of your projects lies in the sheer simplicity. This looks so refined and fresh, for so little money. I think I’m going to have to send one of my hand-made monoprints your way!
Love the idea… kudos.
Robyn in Chicago says
Wow! That turned out so much better than it was in my mind. Love that you put the wallflowers in there. So great.
Steph says
These look awesome! This would sure help unclutter some keepsake pictures I’ve been keeping on the fridge or cards in a box that I can’t enjoy. Going to request my hubby make me some now :)
Brandi says
Wow! Absolutely love this project. It looks awesome. Modern yet, so meaningful too.
Caroline @ youngDCliving says
This looks so amazing! I love how colorful all the photos are, and the white flowers were such a good idea. I think those white flowers must be one of the best purchases you guys have made…you always find uses for them!
jacqui says
Love love love it! Must find myself a spot in my new house for it! Thanks for posting the how-to too!
Arlene says
Absolutely amazing!! Looks very YHLish, and that’s a good thing. I’m trying to think of where I can do this in my home.
tasha roe says
love that look! you guys did a great job!
do you think it would work with a table saw too? just set the blade lower to not cut through the whole board and then set up the guide on the side? I am thinking this is just what my living room needs!!
YoungHouseLove says
A table saw would totally do the trick too Tasha!
kate says
so now that you have this office up and running, what does sherry’s old desk look like in the den? hoping you have a great project for that space up your sleeves! love the blog!
YoungHouseLove says
Kate – Right now it’s sort of acting as a catch-all space (and temporary desk at moments) but we’ll totally share what it ends up looking like when we get everything settled.
-John
Vonda says
WOW, I really like the look of this. Great job. Just getting ready to change from a huge mirror to a grouping of pics from wedding, etc. (similiar to your den). Now I’m in a quandary b/c this would look really good too!!
Kim at Yellow Brick Home says
The dremelgrooves are just perfect! I actually like that so much more than a ledge – who needs that when you’re just posting up card stock anyway? Bravo, as usual.
As a big fan of repitition in a space (rows of color coordinated books, for example), I’m wondering why you didn’t stick to all card stock photos and postcards? I do like that the flowers break up the space, but do you think you’ll ever go all out and have 4 rows of nothin’ but card stock (like the Richmond mag)? There’s something to simple and wonderful in that.
YoungHouseLove says
We may end up doing all postcards at some point, Kim. We didn’t have enough yet to fill it up so we fell into this look by accident – but we’re really digging the variety too! Who knows what many forms it will take over the coming months!
-John
Dana Logan says
To be honest, I was skeptical about this project because I thought it might look too busy (though I should have known better than to doubt your judgment). Oh, how wrong I was. I love it. I agree with the previous commenter who said it looks better than the gallery inspiration for this project. And my favorite part: the wallflowers that got booted to make room for the display getting to star as themselves on the shelves.
Alyssa says
Hi Guys- I haven’t commented here before, but I love all of your ideas.
What if you pulled a piece fishing line the length of the shelves tight against the wall a few inches above the shelves and then slid the postcards behind the fishing line? You’ll barely be able to see the fishing line and the only marks on the wall will be where you attach the fishing line to the wall. You should be able to wrap and tie it around a thumb tack. Or even around the tacks for your flowers, maybe?
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the postcard-stabilizing ideas everyone! So far they’re all staying put but they’re good things to keep in mind if we need them in the future!
xo,
s
Bridgette Rankin says
JOHN–THIS IS MY FAVORITE PROJECT YOU GUYS HAVE DONE! I KEEP LOOKING AROUND THE HOUSE FOR A PLACE FOR ME TO DO IT. IT WOULD BE A GREAT IDEA TO PUT IN MY CLASSROOM AND DISPLAY KIDS’ ARTWORK OR BOOKS!! YOU COULD USE THOSE CLEAR GLUE DOTS SOLD BY THE ROLL IN MOST CRAFT/SCRAPBOOKING ISLE. THEY ARE CHEAP AND DONT TEAR PAPER IF PULLED OFF SO I IMAGINE THEY WOULDN’T PULL THE PAINT OFF.
I HAVE NEVER SEEN THAT TOOL BEFORE BUT IT WILL DEFINITELY BE ONE OF MY HUSBAND’S NEXT GIFTS (THAT I WILL USE TOO…!)
Tarcia says
That picture with baby in the sling is too cute. I have that same Hotsling. I got a lot use out of it with my oldest daughter. It was so convenient for those quick runs, just popping her in and out and she loved it. My youngest didn’t love it as much, she preferred sitting up in my mai tei. It’s great seeing you guys doing so much babywearing.
Ashlee says
I am reading this & looking around my generic looking office space…totally going to incorporate more of “me” into this room! Thanks for the inspiration. As I am not very handy (nor is my hubby), anyone have any suggestions where I can buy ready made shelving like this? Black preferably, but I can paint! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Ashlee,
Some folks had suggested some similar metal shelves from Ikea when we originally posted this idea. Perhaps this will do the trick? http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50152595
-John
Karla @ {The Classy Woman} says
It turned out awesome! Love this idea of having so many smaller pieces of ‘art’ on one focal wall! So happy and colorful too. :)
Tarcia says
I meant to actually comment on the shelving, too. It came out great. I wish I could pull together projects like the two of you. I have to drag my husband into things kicking and screaming. My decorating always seem like something’s missing, not as pulled together as I’d like.
Wendy @ A Southern Accent says
I’m so totally stealing this idea. Just wanted to let you know first.
Also, Clara is adorable in that pic at Home Depot. Just precious.
Irene says
I love it! It’s a great idea to combine postcards with those beautiful photos of Clara. I’m looking forward to see the big reveal!
Amanda @ fromparriswithlove says
I’m really digging this idea. Actually seeing it up there makes me kind of want one too. I love those wallflowers, I was at BB&B a couple of weeks ago and saw those, but they had dragonflies aswell, so I ended up nabbbing some dragonflies! Love em!
You guys did great! Can’t wait for the big reveal.
Natalie says
Love the idea! I live in Alexandria, VA in a 1956 rambler style house, so of course it came with the standard 6’long windows in the bedrooms(that are so high I have to stand on my tip toes to look out of them)! But, they are great for furniture placement and they are so dang charming! I am thinking of using this idea in our office/daybed room, below the window to draw your attention away from the windows.
I have an idea that might work for keeping the pics and postcards in place…
Remember back in school when you handed in reports using a sliding bar and clear report cover? Well if you don’t remember check them out here:
http://www.amazon.com/Avery-Sliding-Report-Covers-47710/dp/B00006IESI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1279642700&sr=8-1
While you might be stuck with a few left over clear covers, you could use the “sliding bar” in white to keep you postcards in place. You could glue them at your preferred angle into your routed grooves and if you use white ones you will hardly notice them! If it worked then it would be easy to change things out and keep them in place.
Just a thought!
Sally C. says
We prefer to use lots of family photos as our “art” in our house. It’s just a nice reflection of who we are and what we value. However, I like to put them in artfully arranged frames and regularly swap out the photos. My husband prefers to just add more frames so we never have to lose the prominence of fave photos. I’m thinking that ledges like this might be the perfect solution to displaying a LOT of photos in a still-tasteful way. Thanks for the lovely visual to share with my husband!
Heather says
What a great idea, especially for an office! Another one of your ideas I may be “borrowing” when we re-do my husband’s home office.
I have recently started decorating with postcard from favorite vacation spots, and this will be great :)
allie says
LOVE LOVE & more LOVE for this project. It’s AWESOME!!!!!! I also loved the idea of mixing the postcards with pictures.
Elizabeth says
What a cute idea for a kids room. A place where they can store their books. (You could lower it down to their level!)