DIY Modern Design

I wanted to have a way to display photos that could be changed easily. Of course, I didn’t want a cork board or one of those puffy frilly boards with crisscross pink ribbons to hold pictures. I wanted something with a modern edge.

It was destined for a wall in the living room, the same room with the metal railing, so I opted to continue the metal look.

The solution was to use some simple galvanized sheet metal. I made two different displays: one small one and one long narrow one.

The small board is 3′ wide and 2′ tall. I didn’t even have to cut the metal because it is a standard size available at Lowes in the ductwork area. It comes as a single flat sheet with no crimped edges or anything. I guess it must be for general HVAC patchwork. It only cost about $6.

The larger magnet board is galvanized flashing material, which you can find it by the roofing materials. It is 14″ wide and avaiable in several different lengths. I bought a 25′ foot roll and cut it with snips to about 9′ to run along the wall next to my dining table. Be careful to get the right kind. You need galvanized steel. You will also find aluminum flashing. It looks great, even better than the galvanized if it is not scratched up. But you better enjoy what it looks like because you will never get a magnet to stick to it!

Attaching to the Wall

Sticking with the modern industrial look, I used exposed screws to attach it to the wall. I used a slightly different variation on the two panels. On one I used a screw with a nut style head.For the other panel I used a common counter-sunk screw with a special washer that matches the tapered counter-sunk side to the flat surface. Both screw types have the simple industrial look I wanted.Alternatively, you could use double-sided tape to attach the metal without screws. It would give a cleaner, less industrial look.

Picture Frames

I used frameless plastic frames to hold the pictures. They are inexpensive and available with magnets already attached. To create a more interesting 3-D look, I attached wooden blocks of different thicknesses to the back of some of the frames, then reattached the magnets to the wood.