How to Make a DIY Picture Ledge
The wall over my couch was just begging for some art. But I'm constantly changing up the frames and art in my home, so I didn't want to hang a large gallery wall and have holes to fill when I wanted a new look.
So I decided to build a DIY picture ledge custom to my couch area.
Here's my couch area before I built the picture ledge. Empty and in need of some TLC!
First, figure out how long you want your ledge to be. I wanted mine to be a little longer than my couch, so I had wood cut to that size. You'll need 3 pieces of wood (I went with a 1x2 and two 1x3's).
I then used wood glue and clamps to hold the wood in place. You could stop there and your ledge will probably be fine. But I added some reinforcement with my nail gun and put a few nails in throughout the piece.
Finally, I stained the entire ledge and then secured it to the wall directly into the studs. (For more information on hanging them, head to this blog post).
Here's how it looks after! So much better and I love that I can change up the art on a whim!
For the full tutorial and steps, head to this blog post.
Comments
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Outstanding work. I have done this for a single piece of art. I have a beautiful picture my girlfriend painted for me. The canvas was uneven and no one would frame. So I set it on a ledge shelf. I like it better than a frame. Your idea of a long ledge has me changing up my picture displays. Thank you!
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You have nice gallery
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
i don’t have clamps. What else can I use to hold the woods together while drying?
I love all the ways people display photos. My question, though, is how to best display COLOR family photos without looking messy and cluttered. Everyone uses black and white examples and it's hard to find color examples. Any advice? Or are my photos forever condemned to the attic?
I have a series of 10 prints by the same artist, in matching frames, that I have avoided hanging for fear of not getting them level, not sure which ones to put where, etc. I'm going to try putting up a rail in my long hallway so I can easily switch them out, change them up as I desire.
(no small children here, so not too worried about them getting knocked off in hallway)
What do you think?