Built That · Thrifty Finds

UPcycled – Metal Grates into Pin Board

 Playing catch up on the blog to show everyone all the awesome projects we’ve been tackling at home.  While working on the custom thread holder a couple of weeks ago, we simultaneously took on a memo board of sorts.

metal grate pin board

Awesome transformation right??

A little background first, my crafty friend Heather and I have a favorite salvage store in Castro Valley called Restore and Rework.  It’s a gem hunter’s dream in there!  Any and everything you could think of picking… and we can think of A LOT!  Cisco the store owner is super nice and extremely helpful.  He will even make suggestions if there is something specific you are searching for.

This is our happy place.  See that red “P” back there? Heather ended up with it.

vintage store

salvage store

As we slowly and methodically worked our way around the store, I came across these little guys hanging on the wall behind a drawer turned shelf.  They were square-shaped metal pieces, I don’t know what purpose they actually served but I call them grates. Right away they spoke to my heart.  They looked lonely, and were going to make great storage items… somehow.

vintage store

I gladly took 2 off Cisco’s hands and started brainstorming right away.

DIY pin board out of grates

Spray paint was going to be the obvious refresher for these rusty little guys.  After some measuring, we figured out a way to make a frame that would hold both grates in a mountable rectangle board.  Using some primed 1×1 mdf pieces, we easily built out a frame.

salvage metal grate

Using the trusty Ryobi nail gun we quickly put the frame together.

metal grate pin board

We got it right the first time! Woohoo!

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After thinking of ways to secure the wire squares to the new wood frame, we went with the trusty staple gun.  I didn’t mind the staples being visible.  Besides, they were going to be painted over.

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Looking good right?!

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…1 week later…. its painting day!

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I went with the same spray paint used on the thread holder, Rustoleum Lagoon. (remember the best turquoise paint in all of the land?).  This would help keep some of the color continuity in my craft room and quench my desire to have this color pretty much everywhere I can.

thread holder

Unfortunately the sun went down before I could get paint progress pics of the pin board.  But here he is in all his glory!

metal grate pin board

Clothes pins I had hiding in a junk drawer are perfect holders for almost anything I want to display.  I’m starting with photos and will eventually add to-do lists and notes.  I found the perfect spot to hang the board right above the computer in my cozy office corner. The turquoise of the frame plays off similar colors in the canvas art hanging near it.

metal grate pin board

This project was spur of the moment and driven by sudden inspiration during our visit to Restore and Rework.  I am ecstatic it turned out better than imagined for only $18!

Dog Chronicles:

This is the life.  Ivy’s daily routine includes Vitamin D exercises such as this one.

ivy great dane

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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