I have been on this major make-my-house-awesomer kick lately.
I think a few things have inspired it (prepare yourself for the longest run on sentence ever): my secret desire to move to a brand new house that is dashed by the fact that I will never be able to sell the money trap I live in love my neighborhood, my not so secret abhorrence of the fact that my kids don’t appreciate when I make things pretty (which, I’ve determined, is simply a response to my lack of making things pretty historically), and finally, my new found bravery when it comes to DIY projects that has developed since taking the stance that no one cares if I screw them up as long as I also fix them.
So, add all of those things together, throw in a mural I’ve been wanting to replace for at least five years, and about $200 and you’ve got some sweet kids room ideas including…
Humongosaur DIY cork board wall.
I love it so much that sometimes, while the Dudes are at school, I go into their room and sit there enjoying the serenity of this lovely space I created for me them us.
Here is a before shot to help you appreciate the transformation more…
Clearly The Dudes were also getting tired of the dog mural they’d adopted from the previous owners. They’d recently taken to duct taping random bits and pieces of of their creations on top of it.
I thought it looked trashy and basic, but I also understood their desire to personalize the space. After all, they share it, and it hadn’t changed much since we acquired this home in 2006, when Dude 2 was a toddler an Dude 3 wasn’t even an afterthought.
So, great idea, Dudes, just bad execution.
To make all of us happy, I decide a massive, full wall bulletin board was most certainly in order.
Looking at it now, I kinda wish I would’ve added a trim around it, to make it look more pro level, but when it comes right down to it, this looks exactly as it should and not at all like a recording studio (thank you DudeDad for that tidbit).
The lights are there because Dude 3 couldn’t say adios to them after the holidays (he gets attached, that kid) and because he can’t stand to sleep in the dark. The drawings are works of art they created with their father. There are a few pictures taken from an old Lego calendar and, to round things out, there are a ton of photos (all printed from Instagram via Social Print Studio) that capture our life.
The entire project took me about 5 hours to complete (throw in a chocolate chip cookie break and two I-love-this-song-I-must-dance breaks to adjust the time for yourself).
Here’s how I did it…
Materials:
Nails
Hot glue (for the glue gun you know you already own)
Directions:
Step 1: Measure. Measure. Measure. Personally, I’m more of an eyeballer in my daily life. Sort of, “Ehhhhh, it’ll fit. Pretty sure. I mean, yeah, pretty sure. Let’s just buy it and see.” But that won’t work awesomely in this situation. You will wind up having to place three separate orders on Amazon to get enough coverage for your wall. Don’t ask me how I know this.
Step 2: Go to the store and spend all of your money buying supplies.
Step 3: Nail your foam board to the wall so all of the area is covered (this is so you don’t glue the cork to your wall and ruin it when you try to remove it). I didn’t over do it with the nails, just one in each corner.
Step 4: Glue the cork board to the foam board. I used both liquid nails and hot glue (I wanted the corners to be really stuck on there).
Step 5: Decorate your creation and then smile at what you’ve done.
You can make a smaller version just the same way if full wall of cork isn’t top of your kids room ideas list of awesomeness (might want to add some framing though if you go that route).
Find more DIY here: how to reupholster chairs, the best Lego table ever, and the superhero dresser people can’t stop talking about!
Melissa @ A Wide Line says
This looks amazing. I am so doing this. I just bought all the supplies from your links, so hopefully you get some sort of affiliate kick back! Haha! I am on the same “make my home awesomer” kick. It started with my hatred for the master bedroom closet. I now have a new, sparkly, professionally designed Elfa closet from The Container Store. And new shelving and bins in both bathrooms and in both boys’ bedroom closets. And we’re also adding pegboards walls to the interior of the garage. I decided we had a problem when Hubs started talking about pouring more cement in the backyard… Thanks for the inspiration! I’ll let you know how the wall turns out!
Elaine A.. says
This is really cool! I love how they can put anything up there and not mess up the wall.