DIY Bulletin Board

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.

1. Pull corner in and staple.
2. Fold one side in tucking fabric under fold.
3. Staple as close as possible to fold.
4. 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!