It is a little late in the day for me to post, but I had a second and realized that I owe you an office update. Be prepared for a long post ( at least for me – I try to keep my posts short and to the point without a lot of BS fluff).
In case you missed the inspiration post leading up to this project, you can catch it here. Long story short…I wanted an inspiration board to go above my desk. I also wanted sconces to either flank the board or be mounted directly on the board. To make matters a tiny bit more complicated, this is all going onto a brick wall.
To make the board, we used homasote purchased from a local hardware store and had it cut to size. Martha Stewart uses this for her boards and what’s good for Martha…
The cost was around $35 and maybe $5 to have it cut. I pictured a wall with lots of room for cards, invitations, inspiration, as well as framed art. So the board is 4 X 6′.
The fabric I used is from Joanns and it is a gray canvas which I am so happy with! I considered burlap, but it doesn’t come wide enough to cover a board this size. I actually like the canvas so much more anyway – so win!
Staples are the easiest way to affix the fabric to the board. I just centered the board over the fabric and went to town stapling along all sides pulling tightly as I went.
The corners were treated like an upholstered corner.
- Pull corner in and staple.
- Fold one side in tucking fabric under fold.
- Staple as close as possible to fold.
- Repeat on other side and staple.
When it came time to hang the board, I made a template as a guide for the masonry screws that were used to affix the board to the wall.
Once the board was up, we snipped the pin off of an upholstery tack and glued it directly over the screws in each corner.
After a few calculations, I decided on a tack distance of 1 1/4″ and marked the board accordingly. This was a time saver rather than marking and applying the tacks individually.
Once the board was up, the sconces soon followed. We decided against hanging them directly on the board as I have seen before and really liked.
I cannot tell you how much having this task lighting has dressed up and improved this work space! In the early stages of dreaming about this project, I envisioned gold sconces. These sconces are ones that we’ve had for several years and were waiting for a new home. They are by Norwell and you can find similar here. After living with them a day or so in this state, I was still drawn to the possibility of gold sconces.
After a few minutes and a tube of Rub N Buff, my wish came true. Now I have space for loads of inspiration and great lighting too!
Love and do I spy blue ceilings? What a peaceful & inspiring work area!
Thank you Susan! Yes, the ceilings are blue. Glidden, Icy Teal 🙂
stop it! now I HAVE to do this DIY! I love it all! the canvas, the nailhead trim, the fact that its affordable but looks like a million bucks! i'm off to pin this one!
This made me chuckle! It was one of those easy projects that I put off way too long.
This turned out so great! I love the brass on the sconces. 🙂
Looks great! Can you push the pins directly into the board like a normal corkboard? Or do you have to angle the pins in to only go through the fabric and not the board? Thanks!!
The pins go directly in and hold perfectly. Works as good as cork board in my opinion.
Hey Rene – what color Rub n Buff did you use? I am having a hard time finding the right 'vintage brass' color – all have seemed to 'GOLD" to me.
Thanks!
xo~Jill
I agree that some can be too gold. I used antique gold for the sconces and also for this light. http://cottageandvine.blogspot.com/2013/03/chandelier-gets-little-bling.html
Hope this helps!
love it. I think I need to do this on the large brick wall in our kitchen!
Rene, it is so great. I am envious of the huge board for inspiration and those lamps are just perfect. What a great space for working. Really like your chair cover, too.
A corkboard has been on my to-make list for at least the past year. This turned out beautifully! Have never heard of homasote. What is it??
Well, our Home Depot and Lowes do not carry it. I think it is a fiberboard used for sound proofing? We found it at Guilford Builders here in Greensboro.
Rene, this is one of my favorite projects of yours, ever! The inspiration board looks crazy expensive! Just a thought, would you consider painting the cords from your sconces white to "hide" them better on the brick walls? And completely unrelated, how are your vines coming along in the back yard (maybe you could share a photo of their growth with us)?
Thanks so much! Good point about the cord. I guess if it bothered me I would paint it, but it is fine. About the vines, oh my goodness…they have grown! This has been the rainiest summer ever which has been great for the garden. I will try to post pictures soon :).
it looks perfect! love the large scale!
I love your board and i am a big fan of homasote. I have even used it on an antique bed to turn the headboard into an "upholstered"head board with out damaging the wood underneath in case I wanted to go back.
I hope that you have a wonderful weekend!
xokc
Brilliant idea Kayce! I do have leftovers…;)
Such a great combination of practicality and pretty. The addition of the upholstery tacks really add a special touch!
LOVE! I can't believe what a difference the gold sconces make! Good call lady, good call 🙂
Still catching up after vacation! This is gorgeous, I love the huge size and I've never seen anything with naiilheads I didn't like! 🙂
Rene, your new bulletin board and the gold sconces look so great!!
Thank you for the tutorial! I completed one today with sailboat fabric for my little nephew's room. He's going to love it.
I'm so happy to hear the tutorial helped Carrie!
Thank you for the awesome tutorial. I just did one for a friend and hope it was ok that I used your photo but linked back to you…let me know if that's ok 🙂
http://alwaysinasouthernstateofmind.blogspot.com/2014/01/baby-its-cold-outsideso-lets-diy.html
Hey lady! I just googled this project of yours because I'd like to do pretty much the exact same thing in our kitchen. I LOVE our brick wall but honestly I can't get anything to stick to it. Duck tape just falls right off and I'm tired of the kids artwork falling down every night while we sleep. I think this will be a good solution. SO, just wondering how this has held up for you now that it's been a while. Do you still like the type of wood? or whatever it is that you used? I would have emailed but thought maybe others might have the same question. xo
Hi friend! I am very happy with my bulletin board and it still looks like it did on day one. Maybe I should do a follow up post? I will add that the board is in our sunroom which isn't heated or cooled and must withstand more extreme heat/cold. Even still it has held up very well! Something like this would be so fun in your kitchen and you can make it any size you want. I wish that I could give you the left over piece from my project. Can't wait to see what you do :).
P.S. We found our homasote at a locally owned hardware store. Lowes & Home Depot employees gave us crazy looks when we asked about it. Good luck!
Hi. I am inspired by your project and am curious about the thickness of homasote you used. Do you mind sharing?
Thanks in advance!
It measures about 3/8" thick. Hope this helps.