We’re big into gallery walls at NPP. Not just for clients, but in our own home as well. In our current house we have a mirror wall, a basket wall, a book wall, and even a hat wall. It’s a great opportunity to transform a room by creating a unique focal point to showcase all your favorite items. 

For the girl’s room we designed at the Parade of Homes, we knew we wanted a feature wall to display artwork, inspirational quotes, and a pop of color to brighten the space. I also wanted it to be something she could have done herself, and affordable to boot. 

We’ve done several galleries featuring frames, but that didn’t feel like the best option to achieve our goal. Frames would be harder to swap out her latest painting or the feeling of the day. What about clipboards? Bingo! I primed these to the house for about $10. Now, you could stop here if you wanted a more natural look. But if you’ve been following Nixon Pack for a minute, you may have noticed we have a thing for ombré – using one color and gradually going from a light to dark hue to create a really beautiful effect. If ombré isn’t your jam, you could always spray paint your favorite shade. Next stop, Sherwin Williams. 

Listen, I love me a big box store and you can find us at one at least once a week and twice on weekends. But there’s something really extra about getting paint and supplies from Sherwin Williams that makes every project  feel that much more elevated. We worked with our favorite paint expert, Mackenzie, to bring this ombré dream to life – keeping everything in the same realm of pink, just going up a half a shade at a time. That’s right. You don’t have to go just from the tiny chips you see. They can customize everything for no extra charge, plus we saved even more by using sample jars. Voilà! The sweetest pink palette you ever did see. 

The next part was easy. So easy a toddler could do it! Well, almost. There were a few stray smudges thanks to my tiny helper. But you don’t have to be too precise with it since you’ll be covering the majority of the board with pictures, papers and more. We bought a few of the sponge brushes for less than a buck and it couldn’t have been more simple. Could you use a brush you have lying around at home? Absolutely. But I did like the texture from this one. A nice bonus on the cheap ;). 

Remember when you’re hanging them to have a tape measure and a level on hand or you’ll drive yourself crazy. No chance of eyeballing a gallery wall unless you’re going for a whimsical look. Since it was the Parade house and not our own, we just used finish nails to hang. For other purposes I would use something more sturdy, especially if you’ll be swapping out the art often and putting stress on the nail. Side note: I read this to Jon, he says finish nails are fine. The mom in me does not want those suckers coming down. But he did say that he pre-drilled holes in the back of each clipboard to ensure they were all hung at the same height. 

To finish, we added custom, original artwork from our friend Lisa. She has the most beautiful calligraphy I’ve ever seen, and I am mesmerized by her talents on insta stories. You could not imagine my excitement when she said yes to being a part of this DIY. The quotes she chose were so inspiring, the drawings so unique and colorful – such a bright spot in this space! 

Imagine the possibilities. You could do this DIY in an office, a play room, a mud room – anywhere really. It’s easy, affordable (less than $20!), and can be a great way to display your own personality and style. Happy DIY’ing, Nixon Neighbors! We can’t wait to see what you come up with! PS – leave us a note with your email and we’ll send you an awesome Sherwin Williams coupon exclusive to friends of the Pack!