Monday, November 14, 2011

103 Basement Progress: Playroom Art Display

As you know, we have been slowly working away on the basement and had recently shifted some focus onto giving the kids a happy place to play.

It's definitely coming together and the kids love that they have a shared retreat to call their own.  But it was getting time to bring in some color!


For me, I knew the best way for us to bring in bright pops of color would be through artwork created by the kids.

So I started thinking of options and ideas.  There have been SO many cute art display projects floating around the bloggy world lately {some even seen here from you fabulous readers}!

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

And here were my requirements for our project:
  • It had to be an easy way to change out to the kid's latest creations
  • Gallery style to allow the kids to feel proud of their personal project
  • To provide an easy way for me to photograph the kid's completed work, for archiving purposes
Picture frames look SO lovely and clean, but I don't see myself being as quick to switch out current projects if I am going to be forced to stick my fingernails under 8-10 metal frame clips each time I want to swap out their creations.  A large wire or twine display was seriously considered, but I was going for something more special to highlight each piece of art.  The wheels spun for a bit and then I realized that a cabinet door was my solution.

Huh you ask?  A cabinet door?

So the little guy and I ran back to our local Habitat ReStore {love that place} to pick up three maple cabinet doors to the tune of $5 each!


I got right to work by spraying each door with a flat white spray paint.  Just around the outer edges since I planned on painting the inside a different color.

A day later once the white had dried for 24 hours, I taped the cabinet door off with painters tape and rolled the center of the door.


I used Glidden's Blue Lagoon.  LOVE it!


While I was painting, so were the kidlets!



The next step was to measure and pre-drill some holes at the top center of each cabinet door so we could screw in some magnetic clips {we just used some that we already had at home}:



As I mentioned, I really wanted to highlight their personal art pieces, so we added some metal label holders to the bottom of the "frame" or cabinet door front, again, pre-drilling each to be sure we didn't split the wood.


I found a giant pack of the label holders from the Habitat ReStore for $1 {now do you see why I LOVE it there so much?}, but you can also find all sorts of options online, like these ones from Amazon.

Here is where we were at with the project once the clip and label holders were screwed in:


After popping some artwork into the clips....


And a label into each holder...


We were almost all done!  Last step was to add some standard picture hanging brackets to the backside of the cabinet and to hang them using some drywall anchors for added security!


I did one for each boy, so they could each have a designated space to feel "art proud".  And I love that it's easy for me to take a snapshot of their artwork so that I can ultimately make an art book or photo collage!


I decided that I wanted to fill up the empty wall under the window and add a little something unexpected to the space.  Plus, I am such a fan of it being at their level so they can switch it out and easily admire one another's work!


I still have more plans to bring in additional art and some photos of the boys, but I am totally diggin' where the room is going!

I would love to know, did any of you paint anything this weekend?  Or create some artwork of your own?

103 comments:

  1. You come up with the best ideas! That room is coming together beautifully, I love the blue accents. Thanks for all the inspiration!

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  2. This is such a genius idea! I'll definitely have to keep it in mind. Thanks for the tip!

    ~Stop Me if You've Heard This One

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  3. OMG what an awesome idea and I completely heart it Jen!!! So creative. Thanks for sharing. Love how the room is coming along.

    Actually we recently we painted some dark wood door molding white and baseboard molding. I love how "white" they are now. :)

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  4. Wow, great idea! Just pinned it to Pinterest! I'm absolutely loving your blog, I check it every day to see if you have any updates!

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  5. Awesome idea Jen! You are so clever! And the boys, I must say you've got some artists on your hands because those colorful pics pop right off the wall:) Good job!

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  6. Oh, I love it! The cabinet door is the perfect solution. That room is really looking good!

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  7. That is genius! The part I love the most is that it kind of looks like molding under that window! You are so smart. :)

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  8. I absolutely love this idea! Very creative and very cute.

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  9. What a cute and creative idea for your kid's creations!!

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  10. I LOVE this idea!! It creates the look of having framed artwork but with easy rotation and less fuss. Now I hope I can find a few cabinet doors at a Habitat store...

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  11. I am head over heels for this. Must find a space for this in our playroom. I really love that they can switch it out themselves. You rock. . .

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  12. OMG PINNING RIGHT NOW! =) LOVE LOVE LOVE this Jen! The color is actually a dead ringer for what we just used as our bedroom accent color and I just may love it a little more each day!

    You need to open a shop and sell these =) seriously!

    Jenn @ Peas and Crayons

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  13. Once again, you've proved that you are, in fact, a genius! Love that each kid gets his own "frame", that you included their age on the label for archival purposes, and that you hung them at their level. Now they can show off their natural art abilities to all their friends. (We see where they get it from!)

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  14. this is such an awesome idea! i've seen some w/ picture frames but cabinet doors probably hold up even better! so cute!

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  15. Wow that is so awesome I had to comment (and I rarely do).

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  16. Love this idea. I just posted my solution to art display (using pant hangers) on my blog today.

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  17. Jaw is on the floor Jen! I LOVE this so much!!!

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  18. FAB idea!!! pinning now for future reference!

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  19. Seriously LOVE it! You are so fantastic! It looks so cute below the window and balances nicely. Great work and I'm sure your boys will love making art to hang there and switch out. :)

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  20. I LOVE this!!!!! We have 7 kiddos so now I just need a gigantic wall space and some free time!

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  21. Such an AMAZING idea!! this is awesome!!

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  22. SO adorable and I love the labels, that is truly what takes it over the top...my littles are in high school, so they rarely bring art home, but I think this would be a great idea for ME for my craft ideas or inspirations.

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  23. what a beautiful way to display their art!!!! love it!

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  24. UMMM..All I can say is OMG...This is amazing ..I am in love!!!!!

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  25. such a cute idea! I LOVE it. cant wait until my little one can start painting. btw - LOVE your pink sweater as well. where did you find this??

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  26. I love it, Jen! I did some painting last week -- I had some huge frames that were wood colour (that were sitting in the basement not being used). I painted them white and now they are housing my kids' artwork. I had big bare wall int he kids' bathroom. So, that is where they will go!! I like your clever idea of using the clips -- brilliant! I'll have to think on that and see if I can incorporate it!
    I also spray painted my 3 year olds sparkly silver shoes -- we haven't had the shoes long but she wears them all the time adn the toes were major scuffed, so I got out the shiny silver spray paint and voila -- new shoes. We'll see if it lasts????!!! Better than what they were and don't have anything to lose!!!

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  27. This is a great way to display little artwork! I love it. Have a wonderful day!

    XX Hilary
    http://thehippinista.blogspot.com/

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  28. I love this idea! For sure pinning!

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  29. What a great idea! I love the unexpected hanging level! I want to give it a try but I have visions of my 2 yr old ripping everything down much to the aggravation of her older sister! In the future then! Plus I already have the cabinet doors (I hope!)!

    As far as painting this weekend, no. We've been so busy trying to get our trucking company up and going that everything else has fallen to the wayside, including housekeeping! I did do some spray painting a week or two ago, but with 9-10 inches of snow now, I don't anticipate doing any more until spring!

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  30. What an awesome idea! I might borrow your idea someday soon! :) Thanks for sharing your creativity.

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  31. AWESOME idea. Love it!

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  32. LOVE this idea! Even my hubby got excited about it....he and I will be looking for some cabinet doors to try this! :)

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  33. Aw! I love how these turned out! And your little guys are too cute. =)

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  34. I will definitely need to create a version of this for my kids. And I did finish a new artwork this weekend. :P

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  35. I am so in love with this idea. A friend and I have been talking about how to display our kiddos artwork and this is PERFECT! Thanks so much for the idea and inspiration!

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  36. I love this! I made an art display with yard sticks and clips, but it's at my level, and I like to organize it and make it look all perfect (so much so that the artwork hasn't been changed in months!). I love the idea of having it at their level so they can be in charge of switching it out (one less thing for me to stress over and they get to take ownership of it)!

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  37. wow this is such a great idea. I have some of your same inspiration pins pinned and my fear was that I wouldn't change the art out as well. Love your practical, functional and most importantly eye-pleasing solution.

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  38. this is a brilliant idea! i love this idea for grown-ups too! it looks fabulous in your new space too!

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  39. What font did you use for the kids names?

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  40. You are so clever! I keep pinning ideas for displaying the kid's artwork, and I think is my favorite one. :)

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  41. Love, love, love! These look so great...can't wait until my little guy is a little older and making some masterpieces for me to display :) What I love most of all is that you hit up your Habitat Restore for the boards. It's amazing the stuff you can find there...cupboard doors are pretty much always in stock and can be used for so many different projects!

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  42. What a fabulous idea!!! The playroom looks fantastic! Where do you get these ideas??? So clever! I could never look at a door and come up with that! Good work!

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  43. I absolutely love this idea! The little label holders at the bottom are the icing on the cake.

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  44. Seriously, you are a genius! These are beyond gorgeous!!
    Jo-Anna

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  45. That really looks great! I was thinking of doing a wall of clipboards in my son's room with his artwork clipped on! This really looks neat too though! :)

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  46. You are SO adorable and I love this project!

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  47. Oh my gosh, you are the smartest woman on earth!

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  48. Wow. You know it's a good, no, great blog when all it takes is not even a full post to know you're about to click follow. ;)

    I think I already heart iheartorganizing. Lol. I need this in my life! ;) And perfect timing b/c I'm about to begin the re-do of my 3 kiddos playroom. I have some ideas up my sleeve, but I'm sure this blog isn't lacking ideas, either!!!

    This project is genius and I can't wait to dig through your blog. Muchas gracias! :)

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  49. Such an awesome idea!! Will keep this in mind for when I have kids!

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  50. Another awesome idea! How do you keep bringing the A+ game all the time, LOL! Seriously though, I'm loving this art display & the progress of the kids room! Keep it coming - you're forcing me to get up & get my own projects started/finished =)

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  51. shut the front door! :) love it.

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  52. haha I agree with Miranda..
    SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.


    What a fabulous idea :)

    lovelovelove
    moo.

    http://themusingsoflilmoomoo.blogspot.com/

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  53. Absolutely gorgeous!! Just a quick question, why did you use magnetic clips rather than regular clips? Did you screw through the magnet? Just curious!

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  54. @Catherine - I just used what I had on hand. I use those clips to pop up reminders and art on the fridge, so they seemed like the right solution. It was as if they were meant to be used for this project though, because they had a perfect hole in the clip and through the magenet for us to screw right through. :) xoxo!
    Jen

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  55. very clever! this is why I began following your blog last week;great, fun ideas. your children are so beautiful.

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  56. Oooohhh - I just happened across your blog from the list of Blog Guidebook nominees. So glad I did! Love your projects - will be coming back to go through each and every one! Beautiful blog!

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  57. wow!!! such a fun idea! i wish i had that store around here - i would be all over it too. thank you for sharing such inspiring ideas. you make it look like even i could do it....and i am not crafty like that at all! thanks again so much!

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  58. Oh My!!!! You're a freak'in genuis!!! I LOVE this idea!!! LOVE the little name plates! So smart!! Great Job!!
    Ashli
    p.s. Lov'in the blonde :)

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  59. This looks amazing!! I love that the kids can get to it since it's at eye level and that it's so simple to change out! Great job :)

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  60. Totally awesome Jen!! Your ideas never fail to amaze me. These just look fabylous :)

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  61. Love this idea! Any project to display the kids artwork without having to take too much time to do it or maintain it, is a wonderful project to work on.

    I like to change out the picture frame artwork at the end of each school year! The only artwork that goes in it is the best of the best artwork. And, of course, I allow the kids to pick the artwork themselves. This love it.

    Thanks for sharing the process.

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  62. Hi Jen, Your art boards are wonderful. Thanks for the tip and link to the Habitat ReStore. I'm totally intrigued about it and luckily, there is one very near my house. I can't wait to make a field trip.

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  63. Awesome, this was such a creative idea.
    How did you attached the cabinet boards to the wall?

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  64. Great idea Jen! And seriously only you could look that fabulous and stylish while painting! :)

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  65. Absolutely gorgeous! Your posts are so inspirational!!

    :) Julie
    blog.customexcelspreadsheets.com (An Organizing Blog)

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  66. I love this idea! Wish I would have thought of something like this when my children were younger.

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  67. I love this idea. It's making me so giddy waiting for the day my little man can make art! P.S. I especially love the dinosaur picture!

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  68. I painted glass containers, making fake milk glass for my Thanksgiving table centerpieces! Love your art display idea!

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  69. I love the art display idea! Great for a classroom as well.

    I'm thinking Freecycle and yardsales would be great to find doors.

    Thanks!

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  70. Love this! I heart the restore and will be stopping there to make this project ASAP! Thanks for sharing!

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  71. Just bought some cabinet doors at the Re-store today! Can't wait to get working on this project - such a genius idea!

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  72. HELP!!!! I love this idea and had no idea about the Re-store...visted and picked up 13 doors. This is gonna be a great gift for my mom (6 grand kids) and my sister-in-law, and a couple friends! Mine will have to come later. BUT HOW DO YOU GET THE MAGNET OUT OF THE CLIP?????? PLEASE HELP mythreees@msn.com

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  73. I love this and have just highlighted it as inspiration today on my blog :). Thanks!
    http://visualmeringue.blogspot.com/2012/01/big-boy-room-for-my-little-guy.html

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  74. LOVE your blog!! Thx for taking the time to post - it encourages us to get creative:)
    I just painted walls for the first time last week - our dining room is now green and we LOVE it! SO proud of me:)
    Yes, our next project is a playroom overhaul... I have a 35" x 35" piece of bulletin board, your cabinet doors gave me a lightbulb moment *:) Buy a couple cheap old big picture frames at 2nd hand store, paint in my playroom colors (incl. the bulletin board itself), take out the ugly pic and glass and replace with bulletin board cut to fit!! Thx for the inspiration!

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  75. I love this idea! After browsing your blog for almost a week and endless hours of viewing, I have come to realize you have some of the most brilliant-budget friendly ideas for EVERYTHING! I can't seem to keep from telling everyone I come in contact with about your site. Thanks for inspiring me to do so reorganizing! So many projects.. Now where to begin?

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  76. I haven't read all the comments so if it's been brought up sorry... but an idea i saw somewhere (i can't remember for the life of me, but it was so AWESOME) was that you evendually scan all their artwork and then take it to costco, or snapfish, anywhere that can make photo books and have it printed so it's like their own little book of art! :)

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  77. Where did you get that little green patterned chair?

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    1. Hi Maria!

      The chair is from sweetseat.com.

      xoxo!
      Jen

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  78. I love this! I have been waiting for just the right inspiration for displaying our kiddos art work. Here it is! Thank you!

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  79. Great idea! I think I'm going to use chalk board paint and make them into message boards outside my daughters' bedrooms.

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  80. Great Idea! I think I'm going to use chalk board paint and make them into message boards outside my daughters' bedrooms.

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  82. I love this! Thank you for sharing.

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  83. Thank you so much! I have made a gallery wall for our favorite masterpieces, but was trying to figure out something to use for those "masterpieces of the week". Cupboard doors had not occurred to me, but are the perfect solution!! Now to get out to the restore and get started! Thanks again!!

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  84. Loving all of this! Would you please tell me where the cute white storage bins are from (tucked under the coffee table)? Thanks for the inspiration!

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  85. Your childrens art display idea looks so cute, love that and I've got this linked to my post too today on kids art!!

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  86. What a great idea Jen! Too bad I had through out couple cabinet doors which my father in-law picked from someone's lawn.

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  87. I've been having a heck of a time searching for cabinets! I can't find them on Craigslist, BooKoo, Freecycle or at our local Habitat store. They have some, but not three.. and I really want three. Can you tell me the dimensions of your cabinet doors?

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    1. Nevermind... not all Habitat for Humanity Restores are alike! Found 3 for $2.50 each, paint for $.50 and got to work! Under $10 project!!

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  88. Your work is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. We could never seem to display all the art work that our 3 kids produce ... from paper crafts to canvas paintings and more. Read about our solution for displaying all kinds of treasures at http://www.simplyfunfamilies.com/ (blog post for April 22, 2014). You'll see how our MAGNIFICENT ART WALL keeps our little artists inspired and showcases their work for all to see!

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  89. I am drooling over this, I love it, sooo cute!

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