INSIDE: How to use staircase banister as wall decor. How to decorate with picture frames in your home for easy, cheap gallery wall.
“I got you something,” said the text from my husband. Was he bringing me home flowers or my favorite sweet treat? Nope. Instead, he handed me an old, grimy section of a wooden staircase banister. Yes, I’m one lucky girl!
Unwilling to bring this dirty thing into my house, it sat for a long while in the garage. Gathering more dust than it accumulated at the salvage yard, we finally realized it would look pretty good in, of all places, our dining room!
So if you find yourself expecting flowers but are given something from the local salvage yard instead, don’t freak. What do they say about one person’s junk…
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how to use staircase banister for easy gallery wall
Who says a photo gallery wall only has to be on the actual wall? Why not take someone’s former staircase banister and use it to display photos of your gorgeous children (or perhaps your four-legged kids)? All it takes is some elbow grease, a little paint and a nose willing to deal with some dust!
Supplies:
– Paint and brush
– Carpentry nails
– Bolts
– Variety of photo frames
how to decorate with picture frames
It’s amazing what a good wipe-down can do! Go figure.
The frame of the banister was originally painted purple. Got nothing against purple; it just wasn’t the color of my dining room. Transformation #2, turn the purple teal.
And against the wishes of my mother’s unsolicited two cents opinion, I kept the banister “rough”.
Layout the various photo frames how you want them displayed.
Based on that, add carpentry nails into the banister spindles where the frames will go.
Who knew one small part of a staircase railing could weigh so much?!
So to avoid this banister crashing down in the middle of the night, bolts were used to hang the unique photo display on the wall. I think the bolts add to its uniqueness.
Add photo frames of your beautiful children, awesome adventures or just your cute pets.
How do you display photos at your home? Let me know in the comments.
Other DIY Ideas You May Like:
- Turn a metal plate charger into a DIY chalkboard sign with fabric flowers
- Upcycle a larger dresser mirror frame into large-scale wall art
- $20 Craigslist mid-century modern coffee table makeover
- $10 vintage suitcase turned into a wall photo display
- DIY wood transfer bookmarks
- How to transfer photos onto DIY scented drawer sachets
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This is so cute and creative! I would have never thought in a million years to use it as a gallery wall, but it looks amazing!
How cool! This piece is amazing!
I love this project! The old aged texture you retained is great. Fabulous. In fact, I am going to feature it as one my favorites at You’re Gonna Love It this week!
Thanks so much for linking up!
This is really cute! The railing adds so much more interest to the wall then if you had hung the pictures alone. I used one to hang up my daughter’s scarves and bags. I’ve hung it up vertically.
Thank you Mary!
Amazing. I love it. and it’s so original!! Best wishes, Linda @Crafts a la mode
Thanks so much! It was a fun project.
Love the display you created here, it adds such a great touch of visual interest to an otherwise run of the mill gallery wall.
Thank you! We think so too.
I love this, I would have never thought of this, but it’s so nice, now I want to find one of these too!!!
Thanks! You never know what treasures you will find at the salvage yard.
What a lovely and unique gallery wall. Stunning!
Thank you! We are happy with how it turned out. Definitely a conversation piece.
This is such an amazIng idea! What a fabulous display piece. I’d love it if you’d share this at Vintage Charm, which is all about vintage, repurposing, and upcycling. The party’s on right now. I hope to see you there. Tuula 🙂
http://thriftyrebelvintage.com/2016/02/vintage-charm-18.html/
You are so cleaver…I love this project! Pinning this!! You are my pick for Talk of the Town Link Party #8.
Thank you for linking up.
Julie @ Love My Simple Home
Thank you so much!
You know your hubby loves you when he brings you thrifted treasures! Very clever project and a great way to avoid all those nail holes!
What a wonderfully unique idea!!! It looks great and what a good idea for a repurpose. 🙂
That looks adorable!!!
Adorable!!!
Turned out great!!
Thanks Sara!
Victoria, this is so cute and what a great way to display photos! Saw this on TFT… LOVE IT!
What an awesome idea, I love how this looks! My husband is known to bring home “junk” from time to time aslo and it makes me WAY happier than flowers would!!
LOL, glad I’m not alone. Thanks Angela!
I love this idea. It adds such charm to the wall. Everyone will be on the look out for old banisters.
It’s so great that your hubby brings you stuff home to repurpose 🙂 What a creative way to display your pictures.
What a unique way to display photos!
I wish my hubby would bring me home some “junk” lol, but he is a less is more kind of guy. I guess it keeps me in check.
I love your creativity with this idea. What a lovely way to display photos.
That is great Victoria! I have an old ladder that I am going to do the same thing with….great minds think a like!
I love this idea so much! Layering is my favorite. 🙂
What a cool idea & like the teal much better! I bet it’s a great conversation piece.
Kim
I think you are a very lucky girl. My husband will help but I don’t think he would ever bring home a project on purpose. I would have never thought to use it this way but it looks so good. I love the colors and the “roughness”. You did a great job.
This is awesome and definitely unique! It adds so much to the wall and the pictures look great on it. Thanks again for sharing this with us at Funtastic Friday! Pinned
I would LOVEEEEEE if my hubby brought me home something like this. You’ve got a keeper 🙂 Love how your upcycle project turned out friend.
LOL, thanks Chelsea!
Great project! Thanks for sharing it at The Creative Corner Link Up Party!
What a great idea. I have been trying to think of something to do on the wall across from my bed. This will do the trick. Going to pin this to my Craft and Diy board too. Thank you.
Thank you Michelle!
This is so smart! I would have never thought to use a banister. I’ve got so many photos that I need to hang up too! Thanks for sharing the paint you used. I always get confused as to what type to use on different projects!
Thanks Lindsay!
Flowers are a dime a dozen, Victoria. I think your hubby’s choice of gift was definitely a winner. And you did a marvelous job repurposing it 🙂
Thanks Jelica!
thank you for sharing your awesome craftiness at TFT. You were pinned and featured. Hugs!
This turned out fantastic! I would never look at a piece of railing and think, “You know that would look great on the wall” but you have made a stunning, unique statement piece out of it. Absolutely love this upcycle!
Thanks Marie!
What a great hubby! Mine does the same thing from time to time ~ gotta love it! (He’s already on the lookout for a fireplace mantel for me for Christmas!) Gallery walls can be boring but you really spiced yours up. Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!
xo Kathleen|Our Hopeful Home
This is adorable! You have so many great ideas! Thank you for sharing at Celebrate It!
I’ve seen this using a crib but never a banister! Such a clever cookie Victoria xx
Thank you so much for sharing this with us at the To Grandma’s house we go link party – I’ll be featuring it tomorrow morning when the new party starts!
What a neat idea! 🙂
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
What a fun idea! As luck has it, it looks like a trip to a salvage yard is in my near future! 😀 Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!
What a unique project! It’s so fun when a project finally comes together after putting it off!
Thanks Kristin! The couple that DIY together, stays together, LOL!
Very nice!
This is such unique project. It turned out lovely.
Thank you, it’s one of our favorite home projects!
What a unique way to use old banister to display photos. Definitely a conversation piece.
What a unique way to use old banister to display photos. Definitely a conversation piece.
You have always to remember that your husband is one of the best man in the world! Amazing project and the result is stunning!
This is a great idea. It looks like it will be easier to change out pictures and gives interest to the wall.
What a darling idea! I would have never thought of this. I’m always looking for a way to display pictures. Thank you for sharing at To Grandma’s House We Go.
Love this. I’ll be featuring it this week at To Grandma’s House We Go DIY, Crafts, Recipes and more Link Party on Hazel + Gold Designs! Pinned!
I love this idea Victoria. It looks amazing
This is such an original idea, but it works perfectly. You did a wonderful job.
Thank you for sharing at The Really Crafty Link Party. Pinned.