Today I have a project for y’all that is not actually mine. That is, it’s not in my house, it wasn’t my idea, and I didn’t have to do most the work. I didn’t even take a single picture. So it was pretty much the easiest project ever, haha. Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from your own projects and blog about something that you didn’t slave over for weeks (coughpaperbagfloorcough). This project is actually in my friend Amy’s house, she had a ginormous blank wall in her dining room that needed….something. Something big.
Amy had the idea to attach a bunch of shutters to it, and she proceeded to collect shutters like it was nobody’s business. Then she called me up and came over to help decide exactly what to do with them.
We ended up with the above photo, arranging them sort of random and stacked. We added the two pieces of art and pulled the colors out of those, labeling each shutter with the color it would be. Then I left and told Amy to call me when all the work was done. (insert evil laugh here).
So Amy spray painted some…
and stained some…..
(On a side note, I’m pretty sure Amy can roll out of bed – sleep in her eyes, pillowcase wrinkles on her face – and even then her hair looks amazing.)
And she lightly distressed them…
And then she called me up.
From there we pretty much handed the project over to Adam. I rounded up the whole crew and we went over after church on day and took over her house. We were in full project mode, which meant that Adam was doing most the work, I was trying to help and working the toddler rodeo, and my boys were busy wreaking havoc.
Amy (and her husband Mike, we can’t forget him) have a three year old daughter, and I just wanted to note that she was sitting nicely in her “shutter fort” , snuggling stuffed animals and watching the chaos. Not the whole time, but still….she didn’t even try to climb the ladder once.
So anyway, here is how we put the shutters on the wall, it’s fairly simple.
First we used thin strips of wood and screwed them to the wall, making sure we went into the studs. They went nearly as high and just as wide as the shutter wall was going to be.
Then Adam screwed the shutters to the wood strips. Simple enough, right?
The reason you do this and don’t just screw the shutters to the wall is that you want them to go into studs, and without the wood strips that would be impossible. Now they are nice and secure and there is no chance of them being pulled down on a kid or crashing off the wall in the middle of the night. Also, if you ever want to take them down there will only be few holes to patch instead the wall being completely peppered with screw holes.
So there you have it…adds quite a bit of drama doesn’t it?
I have no idea when I will be back with another post, Adam and I are knee-deep in three big projects but nothing is even close to being finished. We are working on remodeling the boy’s room, Adam is building a fort/playset in the backyard, and we have started in on the master bathroom because it’s just to gross to live with any longer. I know, there is something wrong with us.
Absolutely beautiful!
This has to be the very first room, er house, that I’ve thought ‘wow! they really need some straight lines up in there!’ Not sure I’m a fan of the shutters but it’s a great way to 1) fill that huge space, 2) bring in more color and 3) incorporate some 90 degree angles. Btw, I love that you’re totally yourself in someone else’s home. Hope your projects come along quickly! :) ~Dee
Now I want some shutters…
That looks amazing! What a great way to fill that huge wall. I like the view from the other room, too. It adds a lot of richness.
Good luck on your other projects! We’re almost done moving, here, and soon I will sit down and catch up on all your “ramblings” :) Cheers!
In. Love. That’s amazing looking!
So cleaver! I am always looking for creative inspiration and you have brought me something I haven’t imagined or seen before. It looks terrific in your home. (Love the pics with your little helpers too.)
It’s lovely! And isn’t it great when the mess isn’t at your house??!!
Those are seriously high ceilings! That project looks great.
I laughed out loud (and hubby asked what was so funny) when I saw the pictures of your boys and the little girl with your comments. That is sooooo how life goes with boys and girls. I have three girls and when they were little they would each be playing quietly while my girl friends who all had sons would remark on how quietly the girls played whilst their boys ran at full speed, climbed, jumped, smashed, crashed and bashed their way through the day. One on he funniest occasions was when a group of about 6 mums were having morning tea after dropping our eldest kids at school and kindy. My youngest was the only girl present with 6-7 boys ranging from 1-5 years old. Em (2yo) sat in the middle of the floor as the boys raced around the room at full speed doing laps around her. We all sat in the next room watching and laughing as we drank our cuppas.
All the best with all your projects – including raising the boys ;)
Beautiful! Love it. I would have never thought of something this beautiful….but I totally LOVE IT!
Looks absolutely stunning! Love it =)
Love the colors she chose for the shutters. Looks great! The hair comment. Funny! I was thinking what great hair she has when I saw the pictures. lol
They look great! I like how she painted some, stained some and added some art. It really does fill that wall well.
I LOVE it! Love the color choices! I really love the boys climbing and walking all over everything! I have 4 boys and I so remember the toddler days!
P.s. tell Amy we only noticed the gorgeous hair and not the miss match of her painting clothes! Teehee hee!
I love how the shutters came out, although I would need to have something on the one which forms a shelf that would pop. I laughed out loud to see your boys, one on a ladder while the other is walking on your friends artwork. I had two boys and know mine would have done the same thing. Actually, once I was working on my car when my eldest, then 2, picked up a large mechanics screwdriver (just over a foot long) and rammed it down the carburetor. That was one job I had to get help repairing!
I have always loved shutters, yet I do not even have one. It’s a really great idea. Love it.
Looks Great! Amy had a cool idea..( like the shelf also) …Looks like it could have been one of yours… What great friends you and Adam are to take time from your projects!…If there is something wrong with you then that means there is something wrong with me…(this can’t be true??Lol’s)
WOW, that is sooooo awesome, I love it!!!! Great job everyone.
I also love the crosses on the other two walls!!
Me too.
Oh Ashley, you make me pee my pants some days! L O V E your parting comment, ” I know, there is something wrong with us”. Hee hee hee! You really need to write a book, Ash, and that phrase has to be the title. (And you have to have a chapter dedicated to readers’ comments where you can personally thank me for this idea).
Amen and amen.
Melanie
I love how it came out and fills the space on the wall! And I think you did a great job with the various colors. AND I love how you always show the reality of having kids around :)
That’s a great idea for large walls with high ceilings.
Awesome! I am seriously thinking I should rent myself out as the DIY nanny. I come and run the rodeo while bloggers get projects done.
Bliss
That, my friend, is a million dollar idea. I’m in serious need of a DIY nanny (obviously!).
Wow, that is gorgeous! I love that pic of your boys crawling on the shutters and climbing up the ladder. hahaha! You would not believe the difference between my own boy and girl. You can set Mila down on the floor and she just… stays there! Girls are so much easier. (Talk to me again when she’s 14 though.)
I have done shabby architecture for years, I love the wall, but when I saw the crosses on the opposite wall, I felt it was way busy…for me. Great effort, colors were spot on!! Thanks for the “share”
I love the colors of the shutters. Very impressive
Totally pinning.
Toddler rodeo! Ha
You are thin girl )
Shut the front door! That shutter wall is BEYOND amazing … might be just the project to tackle next at our house!
Wow, Ashley! Just wow! I LOVE IT!
This is stunning!!! Wow!! It looks fantastic! And the shutter fort…well, doh! I would have wanted to sit in there too…it’s too fun!
OMG this turned out amazing! and Amy’s hair does look FABULOUS in these pix! heehee
That is so amazing! It really makes the room special!
That is such a great look! The colors work well together and I love the shelf and art, too.
So AWESOME and GORGEOUS. Years ago I used 2 shutters for wall decor but doing a whole wall is amazing. I have 4 boys– 1 girl and I thought she had a hearing problem because she was so quiet as an infant. You know with boys it’s loud and fast all day. Of course as soon as she was talking the boys couldn’t get a word in,LOL. Just found your blog and LOVE it.
What a great idea… loving all the shutters. stopping from mop it up monday
I love the look of this. Really, you could use all different types of materials for this, even just painted boards of different sizes and colors. Now I wish I had a spare wall so I could create my own version.
This is such a great idea for a large empty wall. I love it.
Wonderful! How creative. I love the extra details in the prints and shelf, too.
I’m visiting you today from Not Just a Housewife. I hope you get a chance to stop by my blog and leave a comment, too!
~ Megin of VMG206
Medicine Cabinet Makeover
I love the shutters, it looks awesome! I would love for you to link up at SHOW-licious Craft Showcase.
Just follow the link…..http://sew-licious.blogspot.com/2013/03/show-licious-craft-showcase-25.html.
Marti
Wowww.. that’s some awesome hard work!! Love the colors used. Hats off to all of you pulling it off.
Thanks for sharing this beautiful shutter wall at Project Inspired – pinned to our group party pinboard – hope to see you at tomorrow nights party too!
Very impressive and quite an undertaking. Love all your fun idea posts. Thanks for linking up to Becoloful.
p
That is awesome, Ashley! LOVE it!
What a neat idea. It looks great.
Wow! That looks awesome! Just love it!
Bet this would work well with children’s drawings, paintings, and other kinds of paper creativity as well!
That’s a great idea! There are really a ton of possibilities…wrapping paper, scrapbook paper, book pages, posters…
Thanks for this great post. I started collecting shutters two years ago for shutter wainscoting in my dining room. The shutters I’m using are huge, like the ones that go on the outside of houses, and they are all different colors. I’m going to cut them down to the height I need and position them with all the uncut edges on the top. Of course I won’t overlap them for this application. I haven’t decided if I’ll add a rail along the top, but I will definitely need baseboard at the bottom. I am thinking about leaving them all the same colors and distressing them, but I could also paint them all white. I finally have enough shutters and I can’t wait to get started! I just wanted to offer another idea for using all those cool old shutters out there. I got all of mine at really good prices – free! I might add that it will be absolutely necessary to measure and plan where each shutter will go and where to cut them so I don’t end up with a big mess.
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OMG, that’s gorgeous! Love how they are different colors and sort mishmashed on the wall. Awesome!
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