No matter what you call them, standard bulletin boards are rather boring, as are magnetic “dry erase” whiteboards.
These boards have so many uses that you can justify placing one in almost every room of the house, as long as you make them fit in with your decor.
To do so, all that you need is a little elbow grease, a few simple ideas, and some craft supplies that you more than likely have laying around your house.
Frame Them Well
One of the major downfalls of a standard bulletin board is the fact that all look the same.
They have a standard beige border around them, with a sheet of cork in the center.
White boards are even worse, since they are made of plastic, and their borders are usually aluminum.
Either way, they are boring and look like standard office decor – not something that you want in your kitchen or family room.
Thankfully, you can elevate them by swapping out the border for something cool, such as a vintage frame.
You might have to cut the board down to fit (this is much easier with a cork board than a dry erase one) but once it’s the right size, a little hot glue or Gorilla glue will hold it nicely in place.
Get Out The Paint
If rehoming your cork board into a new frame seems like too much work, then pull out the draft paint.
Some colorful acrylics will take that wooden board from basic beige drab to something that looks stupendous.
You can even change the paint color when you redecorate the room that your board will live in.
For a regular cork board, a water soluble paint and paintbrush will work well, although you’ll need to pull out the spray paint for your magnetic dry erase board.
Put some painter’s tape around the inside edge to keep the board itself from getting paint on it (remember: you just want to paint the border) and complete your craft in a well-ventilated room.
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Additional tip – If think that paint colors are too plain, consider coating the edges of the board in fabric.
A little fabric glue should hold it in place nicely.
CC BY-SA 3.0
Use Interesting Thumb Tacks And Magnets
If the thought of altering your cork board or dry erase board is too much, and you simply don’t have time, then look for cool magnetics, thumb tacks, and push pins.
There are dozens on the market that don’t require any alteration.
Simply choose some that fit your theme for the board or the decor in your room.
You can even combine these techniques and end up with a cool, painted vintage-framed cork board with emoticon push pins.
Or whatever else you can imagine. There are dozens of combinations to choose from, so make it your own.
Turning a cork board (or its dry erase counterpart) from “drab to fab” (to borrow the phrase) is very easy and won’t take too much time.
All that you need is a little creativity. Perhaps these ideas will spark something!