A mommy's life...with a touch of YELLOW: DIY Wall Frame {Tutorial}

Friday, March 15, 2013

DIY Wall Frame {Tutorial}

Remember this Huge Wall Decor from THIS POST in my boys' shared room? I have had some requests and emails asking me about how I made it so I thought the best way to share is with a tutorial. I loved this project and you can change it up using the same concept and use it in just about any room.

I saw a picture on google images about 3 years ago after I had Maddux while I was looking for some ideas for his room (this is before I had pinterest so I don't have it saved and I can't find it any where now. Dang don't you hate that?), but anyway, it was my inspiration for this project. They had taped off a huge rectangle on the wall above the crib and painted it a different color than the wall and then framed it. I loved the look and the idea, but we were renting and even though we probably could have gotten permission to paint it, I wanted to be able to take this with me when we move and not be so permanent. So that is when I came up with this wall frame that was actually movable and perfect for renters or even if you just don't want to have it so long term.

These are pictures from about 2 1/2 years ago before I was really blogging so they aren't the best bare with me, but it was really easy and pretty self explanatory.

{Supplies Needed}

-MDF board (whatever size you are wanting) and you will want the thinner one so I got the 1/4 inch thick so that it looked like it was just part of the wall and not so bulky (you can get MDF board at any hardware store like home depot or Lowes)
-Paint (the color you want your board to be, I used some left over paint from the dresser in their room)
-paint brush
-Small foam roller

-Trim
-White paint

-Finishing nails and hammer

-Wood glue
-Screws or Hangman system to hang it on the wall
-level

{What I did}

Firs,t you are going to paint the edges of the MDF board I just used a foam brush (and yes that is my living room, I just laid out a drop cloth and worked on it while I watched some shows with the hubby and Maddux was sleeping).

I painted just 1 coat on the edges because they will be mostly covered. The molding will cover them but you will be able to see them from the side so I wanted to make sure they were painted and looked neat and finished.

Next I just took my foam roller and painted the whole piece. Easy Peasy. I used a foam roller instead of a brush because it is way faster and it doesn't leave brush lines. When it dries you can't see any lines at all. You could also spray paint it but I already had the paint I wanted.

I did two coats of it on the front for really good coverage.

We bought the trim in just a long piece and then cut it to the sizes we wanted. We wanted the long pieces just a little longer than the width of the board and the smaller pieces just a little bigger than the height, so they over lapped a little bit.

While the MDF board was drying, I painted the molding. It came primed so all I had to do was do a quick coat of white paint. I just did it with a paint brush.

Once all the paint was dry it was time to put it all together. We just used wood glue to attach the trim to the board and to attach the smaller trim to the bigger trim. Then we used finishing nails to make sure it was nice and sturdy. Once it was all attached we painted over the finishing nails with some white paint. They are super tiny so it was easy to just cover them with some paint.

To attach it to the wall we found the studs and screwed it into the wall. We still need to paint over the screws to blend it in. Now that I found this awesome system called the Hangman System when we move and need to get this up on the wall at the new place I will use this instead of the screws. It is awesome and they have one that holds up to 100 pounds and one that holds up to 200 pounds it is what we used to hang out headboard HERE. You can get them at either Home Depot or Lowes.

Once it was up on the wall and all secured we added some floating shelves (already white on sale at Target) some decor and later on some Vinyl monograms (first letters of my boy's names)

Vintage top and music player // gifted from my mom)

M & H // Made by me and my cutting machine vinyl

Frame // DI painted by me (picture of Holden in it)

Owl // Target dollar section

Temple Print // My LDS Temple

Cute right?! It was so easy, cheap and it can be used just about anywhere. I like how it gives that wall some character, dimension, color and texture. Again this is perfect way to bring in some color and paint for you renters out there. You could stencil it, paint it do whatever you want to bring in the color and design without it being permanent.