If You Like It, Then You Better Board And Batten It

Truer words have never been spoken by Beyonce.

Remember when I told you I got crazy on my frame collection and moved all of them to the bottom of the stairs?

Well, that sort of left the hallway completely empty. I had no choice but to do this:

Seriously if you stand still long enough, I will either Gallery Glass you or Board and Batten you. It’s a compulsion. I need an intervention. Once I get the white trim paint out, no surface is safe.

But darnit if I’m not the fastest B&Ber on this side of the Mississippi (the east side, in case you have no idea where I live. Asheville, NC to be exact). Foam molding + Strong Stick adhesive + painter’s tape = lightning fast application (click here for a tutorial from my dining room, before I discovered Strong Stick). Strong Stick might be my new best friend, I’ll show you another little project I did with it later in the week. You can get it at most home improvement stores, if you’re wondering. That 1×4 at the top creating a little ledge? That’s REAL wood. That I glued to the wall. Oh yes, I did. It would have stayed there forever with the glue, but hubs insisted on putting some screws in to be safe. He’s not a believer.

I actually ended up repainting the top part of the wall(s) because of all the holes left by gallery wall mayhem. It didn’t take too long though (a major benefit of B&Bing the bottom half of your entire home). The artwork on the right came from the dining room.

The art of the left side was born out of desperation. I needed something to put up on the blank wall, but I hated everything I had (see gallery disasters 1,2, and 3). Fortunately lots of ugly art= lots of unused frames. I remembered I had a pair of chunky silvery frames, so I pulled one out to see if I could do anything with it.

I nearly injured myself trying to pry it open, as Amy watched in half horror, half amusement. I had some sheet music from an estate sale that we strategically layered to fill the mat. Instant (ok, more like 30 minute) art for zero dollars. Unless you count the original money I spent. That’s not like real money, though.

I still want to put something a little smaller to the left of the silver frame, maybe something that sits on the ledge…but I’m not rushing it. I don’t combine art well, as we all know. I’m waiting for a moment of clarity.