Gallery Art Ledge
Wednesday, March 06, 2013I work best under deadlines. So when we set a date for our housewarming and Tom's 30th Birthday open house, I knew I had to get some art on my walls. Traditionally I use the easy wire and hanger method for displaying art on the walls, but I was tired of that and wanted something different.
For Christmas I received a woodworking project book called The Handbuilt Home by Ana White. Ana had this great plan for a gallery art ledge that I thought I might try (you can also see instructions and a great video on her blog here). This book was my first introduction to pocket-hole joinery, a method of attaching wood together without a visible screw hole. I plan on doing a few more woodworking projects, so I bought the Mini Kreg Pocket-Hole Kit from Lee Valley Tools (thought I would start off small to see if I like it). I already LOVE this tool and have used it to fix our squeaky dining chairs and build the bench seat for our entryway closet makeover.
The materials for the ledge are straight off the shelves of Home Depot. I didn't even have to cut anything ....bonus! I used two 1x4 pine boards, and one 1x2 board at 6ft lengths. I also stained the assembled shelf with Varathane Wood Stain in American Walnut. Attaching it to the wall was pretty easy (with Tom's help), I just used five wall anchors and screws (oh and a level would be good!). To determine how high the ledge should go, I sat in the dining room chair and Tom positioned the ledge until I could no longer see its underside (where the pocket-holes are), no magic formula or number.
I love the result and how versatile it is. If I get tired of the art on the ledge, I can just switch it around without putting more holes in my plaster walls. The wood stain also ties in nicely with our handmade coffee table (more on that in another post).
Collecting the art is half the fun! Tom and I love picking up small pieces of art on our adventures and travels. It's our form of a "souvenir". The artwork on the ledge is described below - some are wonderful gifts and others are great memories of our travels.
Source List:
- Norwegian Fjord Print by Paul Zizka Photography, custom framing by Creative Art and Frame, London, ON
- Sunrise Embroidery Fibre Art by Kathleen Campau, custom framing by Saline Picture Frame Company, Saline, MI
- "Resting" Artist's Proof by Kristina Campbell
- Bergen Harbour Linocut Print by Ketil Kvam, Bergen, Norway
- Vincent van Gogh, Almond blossom postcard from the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam
- Handpainted deer antler by me, inspired by Cassandra Smith on Etsy
- "You are sweet like honey" print by Katie Daisy on Etsy
- Bee watercolour, original by Margaret McFetridge
- Our Ginger girl, original oil painting by Emily LeMesurier
Does anyone else collect art like we do? What's your favourite method of hanging or framing?
1 comments
Looks fantastic Katie! Honoured to have some of my work at your place!
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