I had a huge large wall dilemma behind our couch.  I kept thinking to myself, what do I want to fill up the wall space with?

Inspiration #1 Ikea catalog

Collage of pictures with the letter M in the corner (M for Medina, my husband’s last name)
Pro – beautiful collection of our wedding pictures and travels
Con – have a lot of pictures of us up on the bookshelf and table console = overload of pictures in a small apartment

Ikea Catalog

Inspiration #2 Z-Gallerie/William-Sonoma Home

A grand, elegant mirror
Pro – adds more light in the apartment with the adjacent French doors
Con – with my expensive taste, $395 -$499 is just not feasible and heavy – afraid it might fall over on us

William-Sonoma’s Channing Mirror

Inspiration #3 *brainstorming*

Framed artwork
Pro – aesthetically beautiful and would be hand painted by me
Con -what would I draw? What would I paint? Decisions, decisions..

One night, an inspiration came to me when my husband and I were on a sushi dinner date.  We were having a conversation when two wall canvases caught my eye.  The walls in the restaurant were tall and the framed art, was made out of fabric.  The design was simple, abstract, all in a shade of warm tones and gave a nice ambiance to one of the rooms in the restaurant.  Of course, I took the idea and decided to create my own version.

What I think I needed, and what I bought to make three canvases:

• 6 – 1″ x 2″ x 6′ of spruce furring strip
• 6 – 1″ x 2″ x 2′ of spruce furring strip
• 12 – L flat metal brackets
• staple gun
• 3 – 6.5′ fabric of choice
• 9 – clear thumb tacks
• 12 – 3M Command hanging picture velco dual lock

Here is the pattern I chose below, black and white chevron.  I chose this fabric for it’s simplicity and chic look, more so, it was eye-catching.

*Funny story to share…  I went to Lowe’s Home Improvement store and spoke with one of the employees.  He was very helpful and cut the rectangular wood down to size.  When he asked me what I was planning on doing with the wood, I described my idea for a make-shift fabric canvas .  He asked how I planned to put together the corners.  When I responded with my initial plan, he shook his head, laughed and said, please no.  He advised me to buy L-brackets to reinforce the corners, as opposed to my “great idea” of “stapling” the pieces of wood together (I too had to laugh at myself when I considered what I was planning to do).   So I went ahead and listened to him.

Here is the result!
As you can see, the two vases between each of the canvas –  for the spring.  The second picture below, was for winter.  Lovely, n’est ce pas?

What did I learn from all of this?
1) using a heavy duty hand stapler hurts
2) next time, buy small equipment that will cut the edges at a 45 degree angle and piece them together (was told it was going to be around $18)
3) still use the L-brackets for reinforcements
4) add an additional > 2′ of wood between each of the canvas in the middle, to maintain the equal structure**  this was important, because as I was stretching the canvas,  there were areas of stress and you can see a dip on some areas.
5) 3M wall Velcro stickers really work wonders!
6) extra left over wood, which allows me to make 2 more square shaped pictures (a future blog post perhaps!)

Cost of materials/supplies:
12 – 1″ x 2″ x 8′ of sturdy light lumber board ($0.94/each)
1 heavy-duty staple gun ($19.98)
12 – 3M’s Command large picture hanging strips ($10.83)
2.25 yards x 3 (3 panels) fabric of choice (~$84.44)
1 heavy duty scissors (supplied)
1 measuring tape (supplied)
cutting of the wood (free by Lowe’s)
9 thumb tacks /3 for each panel to hold up the wall (supplied)
12 – L metal brackets (~$2.00/bag of 4)

When I move someday, I want to sell this <$140 project away to anyone who would like to keep it.  If you live within the Charlotte area, let me know!  I would consider selling them to my readers at a discounted rate.

Here are other crafty projects I have created:

Envelope Pillows
Toilet Paper Rolls Wall Art
Pretty Carnation Lei