STAIRWAY ART - PALLET FRAME

We had lots of ideas about what to do with the stairway wall in our beach cottage.  I wanted to do something rustic and interesting...a collection of old shutters, or a few old wood window frames.  My husband, on the other hand, liked the idea of just an interesting framed picture - something "beachy" he said.  One way or another, I felt like something needed to be there, since it is a focal point when you walk in the front door.  The challenge was it also had to be practical and not cause an issue with anyone walking up and down the stairway; something that would not stick out too far and could handle light bumps and scrapes.


Blank Stairway Wall

So here is what we came up with - an old wooden pallet used as a frame for a photo printed on metal.

Pallet on Wall


HOW I PUT THIS PIECE TOGETHER . . .

While visiting family in Indiana, I saw a stack of these old white painted pallets at an antique store.  At first glance, I envisioned a collection of pallets on the wall, but after taking some measurements - it was clear they were larger than I originally thought and just one would be fine.  At $10 a pallet - this plan was worth a shot.  It would be durable since it was already weathered and chipping, and it would not encroach too much on the stairway space.

Pallet picked up at antique store

With some more thought - my husband and I talked about making it into a frame.  We considered cutting out the middle to make it a literal "frame" around a picture, but then I came across photos printed on brushed metal from Shutterfly.  It's a new product and I figured this would be perfect - we could mount it right on top of the pallet (no cutting of the pallet required), and the metal print is thin and completely durable!

The photo was taken in Marco Island, Florida, by my husband's uncle Art.  Art took the photo the weekend of our beach wedding, and it has always been one of my favorites collected from our guests.  I just love the colors, the composition, and the simplicity of it.  Just a great shot, with a lot of great memories connected to it!

Photo taken by my husband's uncle Art

NOTE:  Always test for lead paint when working with something that could have been from prior to the 1978 time frame.  Lead paint test kits can be purchased from hardware stores and big box stores.  If there is lead paint, do your research on how to handle it safely and make sure you understand the proper way to dispose of any chipped paint or dust.

The pallet needed some cleaning up.  I scraped a lot of loose paint off with a metal scraper and some very light sanding.  I used 80 grit sandpaper for the purpose of releasing the remainder of the big chips of paint.  The pallet also needed some structural reinforcing.  While transferring it from the car - one of the slats came loose from the base.  It was a good reminder to reinforce the whole pallet.  I added screws through the back of the pallet base to give some extra support to all the slats on the front.

Additional Screws added on back of pallet for structural reinforcement

I coated the entire pallet with three generous coats of acrylic polyurethane.  The sides/edges of pallet ended up getting six coats (since I covered the sides when putting the three coats on both the front and three coats on the back).

Close up of chipped paint on pallet



Close up of chipped paint on pallet

The metal print from Shutterfly included hardware on the back for hanging.  I used the template provided to help provide the placement for two short screws to hang the piece in the middle of the pallet.

Since this is a somewhat heavy piece - I purchased D-ring hangers from Lowes to put on the back of the pallet, and hoped to be able to hang these on screws/hangers that have been drilled into studs.  When the pallet was centered on the wall - we were able to use two D-ring hangers screwed into the back of the pallet and two large nails hammered into studs on the wall.

The final solution to our stairway art was a great compromise between our two ideas.  Overall, we ended up with a rustic piece for me, and my husband got a great "beachy" photo on the wall.  Funny how things just seem to work out!  :o)

If you like the look of the white spindles with the stained brown banister railing - check out my banister transformation post.  The banister was originally stained all dark brown.  Painting those spindles white really made a big difference in making this element work better with the cottage style of the space.  See post here for a good before and after view.

Here are links to some other rustic pieces for the walls of our beach cottage:

BARN DOOR WALL ART
BOAT OARS - WINDOW HARDWARE
GARDEN GATE WALL ART
BEACH SIGN
BOAT OARS - WALL DECOR
BARN WOOD DIVE FLAG


For more beach cottage posts see my Beach Cottage page.