Nicole from Meet the B’s has been working on decorating her bare living room walls. She had her eye on key shadow boxes from Restoration Hardware, but they were way out of budget at $90 a pop.
For Nicole that just meant it was DIY time! She pulled together a few materials from Michaels and made her own key wall décor for a fraction of the price!
A shadow box is just a glorified frame, right? And in this project we’re putting a single item inside that’s intriguing and draws attention. Let’s take a brief look at how Nicole did her shadowbox key project.
Where to Get a Shadowbox
You can pick up shadowboxes of just about any size at a store like Michael’s.
If you want total convenience and want to make more than a few of these check out this multi-pack. The 6-pack will definitely save you money!
If you want to go pure DIY, you can even make your own. This would allow you to customize the shape a little bit more.
The RH design is a bit more elongated. Most likely the designers wanted to match the longer aspect of the skeleton keys inside.
We personally think it doesn’t matter. Looking at Nicole’s result, you wouldn’t even think the box should be longer.
Where to Get These Cool Keys
At first you might think you need to go visit a flea market or even better, an antique store. Where else can you find these special looking keys from yesteryear?
Well, as with many things these days…there is always a “knock-off” product that is made to order. For this, it’s keys manufactured to look just like the antique skeleton style.
Nicole got hers at her local craft store and also mentions there’s a whole variety offered on Amazon. There are many choices there to get the perfect look, i.e. from simple and smooth to intricate and ornate with multiple edges and shapes on them.
What we like about Nicole’s project is how she used an ol’ standby in oil rubbed bronze spray pant. This stuff never fails to do the job when it comes to completely transforming something (metal in most cases) into a clean and unique look that is truly ageless.
For the keys, it compliments perfectly to “age” the keys just right. You don’t want new looking keys in there, right?
Nicole was inspired by the Restoration Hardware Key Shadow Boxes. For her shadowbox background color, she chose a light linen paper. This gives a nice contrast with the keys.
If you want to spice it up a little bit, try some colored paper that uses an accent color in your room.
To see all the steps and more photos of Nicole’s complete tutorial go check it out at: Meet the B’s. These shadowbox keys would make great gifts, and can even hold some special meaning. Think: What can a key like this represent? The possibilities are endless!
Nicole B. says
Thank you SO much for sharing my shadow box keys!! 🙂 It was such a fun project to work on 🙂
Beckie says
You are welcome, Nicole. They came out great!