Simple Picture Ledges

Hey friends! Since the next One Room Challenge starts next week, I thought it was high time I finished up project posts about the last one! (I’m taking this round off so I can enjoy being a spectator – there are so many great bloggers to follow on the challenge this spring!!)  Today’s project is a super easy DIY! I had always envisioned picture ledges for the perimeter of my 17 year old son’s room for sports pictures, awards and whatnot. When we decided to keep his chalkboard wall, I opted to make a ledge that would span the other three walls, which along with the desk and Ikea hack bookcase, have a minimalist, rustic-meets-industrial vibe.

Here’s how to make and install your own picture ledges.

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THE WOOD

Measure walls and purchase wood. I used 1″x4″ select pine boards, checking to make sure each board was straight and had no warping. I cut the boards on my saw at home but most lumber yards and big box hardware stores will cut wood for you if you’d rather.

Stain or paint the wood to your desired color. I ended up using Minwax Jacobean with a little Mahogany mixed in because I was trying to get all the woods in the room not to necessary match but at least play nicely together. After a couple of coats, I sanded the edges a bit with a palm sander to give the boards a bit of a worn look like an old baseball glove.

 

THE BRACKETS

Simple and inexpensive L-brackets (aka corner braces) spray painted black keep the look of the ledges minimal and tie into other black elements in the room. Pop the screws into the top of a cardboard box to hit them with the spray paint too.

 

THE INSTALLATION

Measure and mark the distance you want the ledges from the ceiling and use a level to draw a line for the board placement.

 

Next up mark where you want to install the brackets. I had one really long wall with three boards so I determined the placement of the brackets by where the boards met, so that there would be support directly under each seam. My brackets worked out to be about 18″ apart but use your own judgement to determine how many brackets you want to use.

After marking your brackets, install anchors into the wall (I used one anchor per bracket considering that the ledges would not hold a lot of weight), then screw the bracket into the anchors.

Finally, place the board on top of the bracket and, using screws that are shorter than the width of the board, attach the bracket to the bottom of the board.

I chose to run picture ledges all the way across the three walls, continuing behind the door. If your ledge is spanning behind a door, make sure that the door has clearance to open fully without smashing into the ledge.

 

UTILIZING THE LEDGES

For Peter’s room I opted to hang baseball hats from the bottom of the ledge on one wall, and install lights under the ledge that is over his bed.

To install hooks for hats, purchase cup or utility hooks. I spray painted these black. FYI – spray paint doesn’t adhere very well to the vinyl coated hooks so if you want to paint them, look for stainless steel or brass hooks like these!)  Pre-drill holes in the bottom of the ledge using a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw of the hooks, then install the hooks.

(Keeping it real with this shot of the closet! OY…this is why my lad needed a room makeover and organization! But hey – at least his hats are hanging up!!)

The lights I used over Peter’s bed are the Ikea Hektar Wall/Clamp Spotlights. I love these because they are already blackish powder-coated metal (industrial, check), swivel, and come on a base that can be screwed into the wall or in this case, under the ledge. The cord is black so it blends into Peter’s wall, but you could use a cord cover to conceal it. The on-off switch is on the cord and rests right at the top of Peter’ headboard.

The adjustable light is perfect for studying in bed.

As far as leaning art on top of the picture ledges, I used 3M sticky tape on the top edge of the smaller framed pictures, and with the larger pictures I hung them on a hook that was set a little low so the picture would look like it was leaning against the wall. That way if a football gets tossed in this room (it could happen) the likelihood of things getting knocked off the wall is slightly less 🙂

That’s it – simple picture ledges to corral all your “art”! It involves a few steps but truly it’s easy peasy and is a great project for a novice DIYer!

For more projects from this room makeover, pop over and check out these posts:

DIY Rustic-Industrial Desk

Ikea Hack Rustic-Industrial Bookcase

Block Art

Hang A Snowboard On The Wall

If you have any questions about any of these projects just let me know!

Have a wonderful day lovelies.

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SOURCES

Wood – 1″x4″select pine from lumber yard

Minwax Jacobean Stain and Minwax Red Mahogany Stain

L-brackets (also called corner braces)

Black spray paint (this is the one I prefer because it’s cheap, reliable, and has the standard spray paint top that I can use my spray paint handle on so I don’t get trigger finger!!!! I love that thing!)

Hooks for hats (similar to what I used. Remember, don’t get the vinyl coated ones if you want to spray paint them!)

Ikea Hektar Lights

Wall color – Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black #6258

PJS letter art over the bed – check out this post for the tutorial.

Headboard – DIY covered with a flat flannel sheet.