I found these shutters at a salvage yard. I loved their shape, but couldn’t decide what to do with them. Then it occurred to me that shutters were the perfect way to cover a bulletin board (which can look messy). It hangs right inside my entry—a great place for a message center—and I close the shutters whenever I want to hide the clutter. My favorite part: using red furniture nails as thumbtacks!
Supplies
Tools
*Note on homasote: You can buy it at lumber yards or The Home Depot. But if you ask The Home Depot employees for homasote, they have no idea what you’re talking about. You just have to find it yourself. I found it near wood-particle boards. It was placed high up and was not labeled. The Home Depot will cut it for you—if you ever find an employee to do it. Above left is a picture of homasote. (Photo from www.hstech.org.)
1. Measure your shutters to determine how big to make your bulletin board frame. Measure the wood (twice!) and cut each piece. Because the wood is small, I cut it with a pull saw and miter box.
2. Lightly sand each piece. I also sanded the edges off diagonally to match the style of the shutters.
3. Use a corner clamp to hold each corner in place while you assemble the frame with screws. Drill a pilot hole, then use a 5/16-inch bit to counter-sink the screw. Drive in the screw, then fill the hole with wood filler. When dry, sand the wood filler smooth.
4. Cut the homasote board to size. Cut your fabric a few inches larger than the board all the way around. Starting at one side, staple the fabric to the back of the board. Stretch tight, and staple the opposite side. Repeat for the other two sides. Staple the corners last.
5. Prime and paint the frame and shutters. I used paint and paint brush, which I do not recommend. Even going slowly and working with a fairly dry brush, it was impossible to control all the drips on each of the louvers. Spray paint would have been much easier and faster.
6. When the paint is dry, push the fabric-covered board through the back of the frame. It should fit very snugly. Turn it over and lie flat. Press the board back so it will sit flat against the wall when hung.
7. Attach keyhole fasteners to each of the top corners. Make sure they are facing the right way. I inserted washers under each fastener to give a little extra space underneath for the screw head to fit.
8. Attach two hinges to each shutter. Drill pilot holes first. Then attach shutters to the frame.
9. Install cabinet door catches at the top to keep the doors closed.
10. Then attach small drawer pulls wherever you wish.
11. Measure the distance between the keyhole fasteners. Find the studs in your wall (by knocking or using a stud sensor), and drill drywall screws into the studs (or use a drywall anchor or molly bolt). Be sure you use a level and measure correctly before drilling. Hang the bulletin board on the wall.
12. Hang up your miscellany using furniture nails.
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August 6, 2008 at 11:33 am
oh I love this idea!
August 6, 2008 at 3:27 pm
This is FANTASTIC! The shutters look great, this is something I would look at and buy at somewhere like Pottery Barn!
August 30, 2008 at 12:37 pm
So great! All your projects are wonderful- keep it up!
December 14, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I love this! This is perfect for a dorm room.
December 14, 2008 at 6:38 pm
what a great idea! thank you for posting this. i was looking for homasote recently and nobody knew what i was talking about – so annoying! now that i know you found it at home depot, i’ll go there and look for it.
i like your idea even better than the usual memo boards. the shutters keep everything looking nice and tidy.
December 14, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I love this, I had been trying to gather things to assemble a nice message/ mail/ junk notes etc center near the door for the last few months… my ideas have fallen a bit short of workable until i saw this.. it’s sooo cool!!! and u can close the doors!!!
Everything in the free world seems to gather on my dining room table, i can clean it all up, put it all away and turn around and it’s like a magnet, something ends up on it.
I know it’s not just me doing this…. oh, i love this idea… i think i can sell THIS ONE to my husband to build… the others, he wasn’t pleased with.
ty for such a great cool idea!!!
December 15, 2008 at 8:00 am
This is such an elegant solution to a problem I have – as a homeschooler, I’m always wanting to post spelling lists, etc., but don’t like the look of pages all over the dining room. Great idea! Can’t wait to share it with others.
December 15, 2008 at 11:07 am
So cute. Thanks for sharing and taking time to take all the pictures they really help!
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January 7, 2009 at 9:35 pm
I LOVE THIS! I am making over my sewing room and I definetely need to make one of these for the wall. Thanks so much for sharing the directions and the pictures. Have a great day!
January 8, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Is there anything at all holding the board into the frame?
January 8, 2009 at 12:26 pm
What a neat idea!!! My sewing room needs and inspiration board. That would be a perfect project!
January 8, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Wow that’s beautiful! I love the idea of being able to hide things away behind the shutters. Something like this would look wonderful in my little store.
January 8, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Susan, Nope, nothing holding it. It’s a very snug fit, so no attachments were needed. Trust me, it’s not going anywhere.
January 20, 2009 at 9:15 pm
wow..so nice and creative!
January 30, 2009 at 7:18 pm
I love this. I want to do this exactly the same way, only different.
I want to do this on a much larger scale, and deeper, and use it to house my flat screen. Any ideas? I thought it would be so beautiful to close the doors when you aren’t watching tv, and you can hang small picture frames on the shutter doors. What do you think?
January 30, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Carla – Your idea is genius! Wish I thought of it. Oh wait, that’s right, I don’t own a flat screen TV. :-) You could use bi-folding shutters. I’ve seen lots of them at salvage yards. Good luck, and send me a pic when you’re done!
February 2, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Monica-
PLEASE tell that to my boyfriend who I’ve begged to help me with this for a YEAR.
But since I couldn’t find a picture I couldn’t show him, he doesn’t get it when I describe it. Now that he see’s it he thinks its great. I could have had this done a YEAR ago! lol
bi-folding shutters were exactly what I planned on using when the idea first hatched. I want to a track on the inside of the box instead of using the cabinet door catches. I’ll send you pictures whenever (If ever!) I get it done!
February 15, 2009 at 12:18 am
Hello.
I’m new there
Nice forum!
April 6, 2009 at 7:05 am
Oh I love this!!! I emailed the link to my Dad because he loves to build things…….especially for his daughter ;)
January 15, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Great presentation, you’re skilled in many ways, but isn’t the point of a bulletin board to notice reminders maybe left from someone else? It just doesn’t seem practical to have it covered by those shutters. Maybe by removing them and putting them equally spaced beside (say 4”) you could utilize the board along with using the shutters to bring attention there as well.
October 7, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Wow, I’ve retailed Plantation Shutters for years, and I’ve never used them like this before..>>I love it!
October 25, 2010 at 6:20 pm
This is a clever way to quickly hide all your board when visitors come by.
November 3, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Gorgeous and clever! I just included your project in a shutter inspiration post on my blog, you can find it here…
http://sweetdaisydesigns.blogspot.com/2010/11/shutter-envy.html
Thanks for sharing!
July 22, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Oh my goodness, this is FABULOUS! I stumbled across some vintage shutters a few weeks back and have been waiting for the perfect craft for them – this is it! Thank you for the design inspiration!
xo – Jenny
November 15, 2011 at 10:59 am
I think the cherry red color looks awesome on these shutters! they would look good on my wall, which is Off-white colored!
February 26, 2012 at 12:51 am
Absolutely perfect execution! Thank you too for the HD tip!
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July 12, 2012 at 5:01 pm
Great job! I like how you show pictures of the examples. :)