DIY Network

Shelf Art From "From Junky to Funky" episode DFJF-108

Designer David Beaupre helps a couple redesign a spare bedroom into an inviting space for guests by adding functional art to the wall.

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David's creative idea and a little planning is all it took to create this funky yet functional art for the wall!

Materials:

Peg board
Hot glue
Super glue
Wood screws
Primer
Paint
Blue painter's tape
Records
Small Christmas lights
Water activated polyurethane adhesive
Wire mesh shelving
Airplane wire
Small extension cord
Colored glass or theatre gels
U-bolt
Drill
Hot glue gun
Circular saw or table saw
Paint roller
Level

1. Cut the pegboards and create the framing out of 1 x 2's on the end. Make sure to pre-drill; 1 x 2's tend to crack easily. Glue and screw the joints, and then screw to the pegboard.

2. Prime and paint the pegboard using rollers and painter's tape. Geometric designs work best due to the grid made by the holes. Think about color choice and composition. Sometimes simplicity works the best with geometry. If you're working with more than one panel of pegboard, leave them unattached until you run your wiring for the lights.

3. Make the record lights by laying a record on the workbench on top of a piece of paper so that you don't scratch the record. Screw a small section of pegboard on top of the record and through the center hole--drilling out a grid pattern through the records for lights to poke through. A grid of nine holes works best. Unscrew the pegboard from the top.

Figure A

4. Using spray adhesive, affix a white heavy paper circle (1/4" smaller than the glass gel) onto the center of the record and re-poke the holes you just drilled. Using a water-activated polyurethane glue, attach the glass gels to the record (figure A). Place a heavy object on top to weigh them down while they dry.

5. Attach the records to the pegboard with the poly glue making sure the holes you drilled into the record align with the holes in the pegboard. Weigh them down until dry. Use blue painters tape to hold down the edges of the record.

6. Add wire mesh shelves by looping an aircraft cable from behind the pegboard, over the back wire edge of the shelf and back through the peg hole above the one you just came through. Crimp or use a U-bolt to tie off. Cut off the excess and repeat.

7. Loop another piece of cable on the front corner of the shelf, crimp and run the free end through the front of the pegboard and crimp or U-bolt behind. Use a level to make sure the shelf is even.

Figure B

8. Lie out your panels, and then plan where to poke the lights through. Count the number of lights needed for each grid. A 12" x 12" grid usually takes about 144 lights (figure B). Depending on the length of the strand of lights, figure out how many strands you will need and a route so all of your cords can plug into each other with very little excess of unused lights.

9. Use hot glue from the back to help secure the lights in place. Some super glue from the front will ensure that the lights will not fall back through the panels.

10. Use a hole cutter to cut holes where panels will overlap and be unseen to run any extension cords.

Figure C

11. Use tape to secure any cords that could get tangled.

12. After all the cords are run and taped, screw all of the panels together leaving just enough extension cord to run to the outlet (figure C).

Project Expense:

Pegboard, wood: $28
Records, glass gels: Free
Lights, shelves: $15
Materials: $12

Total: $55