
Have you ever had a big empty wall and wanted to fill it but didn’t want to hang a lot on it? I had this dilemma when we first moved in. There was one wall in particular that really felt empty, this one behind the sofa. I really wanted to use things I already had to decorate it, but I was not feeling a gallery wall look. Partly because I had a large row of family pictures on one wall already (again, I already had them and wanted to use them) and partly because I wanted to easily change things out. I was inspired mostly by this diy art ledge by Chris Loves Julia, but I have always loved this concept since seeing how Pottery Barn would style picture frames many years ago. Now that I have grown in my diy skills, I was able to make a much more affordable ledge that worked for my home and budget.

When it came to my diy art ledge, I was in a hurry to make it before we were hosting a Christmas family get together. Setting goals can really help me get things done. I went in my garage and found three pieces of wood I already had that would work. They were two pieces of 1″ x 3″ x 8′ and one piece of 1″ x 2″ x 8′ and all were the inexpensive furring strips that can be found at Home Depot or Lowes.

I wasn’t worried about having a super squared cleaned up look so I just let the wood be. I used the two 2.5″ wide pieces for the back and the bottom part. I connected them using wood screws coming from back side of the back piece into the back side of the bottom piece. Then I used wood glue and my nail gun to secure the front piece in place. After it was all put together I stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut.

To secure it on the wall, I decided where I wanted it and found any studs that it would go over. I made sure to screw into the studs and then any other spot I felt needed to hold it in place. I have had this mixture of sentimental and fun art up for a while and haven’t had an itch to change it up yet. I love when I work over time to wait for things I truly love and then can just be happy with them for a long time. That has been something I have strived for with home decor the past few years.

We also haven’t had a problem with hitting our head on it, being that it’s behind the sofa. I did have to use command strips just recently on the big painting because it wasn’t sitting right and I didn’t want it to fall off. (Those strips are a great way to help secure pieces on a ledge like this!) The only time I have lightly hit the ledge with my head was when I really threw myself into a sitting position making my head go back further then normal hahaha. But honestly, it’s position isn’t a problem and I’m loving having it here.