Pin it Up, Hang it Up

I did this MONTHS ago, and forgot to share.  :o)

I found a little wooden framed cork board at the Value Village thrift store in Fairbanks this winter for a cool $4.  It was missing a hook and was a little dinged up, but I knew it could be gussied back up and be useful again.  :o)

So first thing I did was prime it, then paint it white.  I primed with a sponge brush, then used newspaper to cover the cork board, and spray painted it white.

I didn't want to use just any old tacks, so I bought some generic tacks (which were harder to find than I thought!) with a plan in mind.  I used a little bit of sand paper to rough up the painted surface, then put on a dab of superglue.  Next I attached a random assortment of buttons I picked out.  I have 3 tins of buttons from my grandmother; I don't think she ever found a button she didn't like and kept every extra button from every shirt, coat, or pant suit owned!

I found a key rack bar on clearance at Target (somewhere in the $2 - $3 range) and decided to keep to the wood look (it tied in with the wood pieces in the living room).  Screwed that on, then up on the wall it went! I must say, I have spent less time looking for my keys since I put this up.  :o)  It's also nice to put outgoing mail into, so it doesn't get lost somewhere on my kitchen counter.  Yikes...

I had more plans to maximize this ITTY BITTY space behind the door.  So I made a really fancy workstation (again, one of those moments where you go, "gosh, a garage with a work bench would be pretty awesome") but hey, it worked just fine!  I had some left over baseboard from the built ins, and thought it would be a good size for under the cork board.

So, I painted it white then screwed it into the two studs in that wall.  Next, I put up 4 oil rubbed bronze hooks from Lowe's.  They were actually probably the more expensive items in this project...  I decided to use two prints (they're actually greeting cards) I bought at Gulliver's (favorite little Fairbanks bookstore!) and put them in matching frames.

Here's a close up of the button pins.

Some kinda neat buttons, huh?  I wonder what that rose one went on...

Voila!  A little entrance coat rack and mail station in the tiniest space behind the door!  I see all these awesome mud rooms and entrances on blogs and pinterest, but I just don't have that kind of entry.  You open the door and hello! you are in my living room.  :o)

I'm still toying with the idea of adding wainscoting under the coat hooks...  I have some, but think I'll wait to see what I do with the baseboards and rest of the room first.  :o)