Gallery Wall

Time to start tackling the 2nd floor.  This is what the upstairs hallway looked like when we were looking at this house.  This was taken about 2 minutes after I walked into the house for the first time.  In spite of the fact that the house looked like this I had already decided it was ours (bottom left hand corner -  poor Sean hasn’t even walked in the front door yet).

Fast forward 4.5 years later when we swapped the disintegrating light fixture for track lighting.

Phase 2 in this process was to turn the wall into a gallery wall.  I found the ledges I had wanted to use at Ikea but unfortunately they weren’t available in dark brown.  I hemmed and hawed.  The style, size and price were right, the finish was not.  Damn you Ikea and your blond stained particle board {shaking fist}!  I did leave with $50 worth of frames thought b/c it turns out it is physically impossible to leave that store without buying something.  Seriously why would you buy frames anywhere else? 

Off to Home Depot.  What girl doesn’t spend her Saturday nights in the lumber isle at Home Depot?  No?  Just me?  The nice guys at home depot cut 5’ and 3’ sections of 1x2, 1x3 and 1x4 maple boards for me.  Easy peasy.  $24 in materials for 2 ledges.

After I got home I quickly sanded the edges to smooth it out a bit.  Using wood conditioner, stain and poly I had from this project my maple boards were the dark brown I was going for. 

Sean assembled them for me using finished nails (they’re exposed – I like the look) during the Eagles/Cowboys game while our 18 month old hit him over the head with a whiffle ball bat.  #husbandoftheyearallwrappedup.  After one last coat of stain and Poly up on the wall they went.  They are drilled directly into studs using drywall screws.  The screws are hidden behind the frames. 

The best part?  The whole project, including the frames was under $75.  Can’t beat it.

Before & After: