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Last Updated: May 13, 2018 By

My New DIY Linen Pin Board

In this post: I’m sharing how I made a large DIY linen pin board for a fraction of the price you’d pay for one bought in the store

For the longest time, I’ve been dreaming of a large linen pin board hanging in my kitchen – it would be perfect for pinning up all of the little things (coupons, invitations, magazine page cut-outs, etc.) that end up in a messy, unorganized pile on my desk. I fell in love with a large linen pin board from Restoration Hardware but it was several hundred dollars plus the wall that I wanted to put it on has a light switch in a horrible location, making it impossible to put a long, large bulletin board on that wall:

 

My solution? A DIY linen pin board (actually, pin boards!) Here’s exactly what I did (post includes affiliate links – full disclosure statement available {here}):

Step 1: Gather Supplies: Barnwood frames, Cork Panels, Picture Hangers, Fabric, Glue Gun & Staple Gun

I headed off to Hobby Lobby to shop for most of my supplies – my first stop was the ready-made frame section where they have rustic wood frames in about 10-12 different sizes.  They frequently go on sale at 50% off so you can get them at a very reasonable price. 

Here’s a close-up (with a sneak peek preview of one of my bulletin boards) to show you the reclaimed wood look of the frames complete with old nail holes:

If you don’t have a Hobby Lobby near you, you can also find large barnwood frames like {this one} at Amazon. My other supplies include two cork panels (available {here}), a few picture hangers, and a yard of linen fabric. I then dug through my craft arsenal for my glue gun and staple gun and was ready to rock.

Step 2: Attach Ring Hangers

The Hobby Lobby frames don’t have any hangers attached so my first step was to add some ring hangers onto the frame’s back.  Then I measured the recessed area on the back of the frame where my cork board would be placed. 

Step 3: Cut Cork Board to Size & Staple Fabric Around It

Next, I cut the cork board to my measured size using a utility knife – the key to this step is to make your cuts on the FRONT side of the cork board.  This way, the edges around the front side of the cork board stay relatively straight (the back side will look like a mess but there’s no worries – you won’t see it).  The next step was to wrap my fabric around the cork board and staple gun it to the back.

Step 4: Secure the Fabric-Covered Cork Board to the Frame with a Glue Gun

Finally, I used my glue gun to make a line of glue along the recessed edge of the frame where my fabric-covered cork board will be placed (you have to work fast gluing so that the first glue hasn’t dried by the time you’ve made it all the way around the frame), and then laid my cork board in the frame and applied pressure for a minute or two until the glue had dried.  To make sure that the cork board was secure in the frame, I then glued between the cork board and the frame all the way around the back of the frame.

Step 5: Hang ’em Up!

After repeating this process two more times and then putting screws into the wall at the correct locations for the ring hooks on the frames, I got my framed cork boards up on the wall and pinned on most of the pile of coupons, invites, etc. that were on my desk.  I added a metal letter “J” to fill the space to the right of my light switch (my exact metal letter is no longer available but you can find similar letters {here}), replaced the switch cover with a decorative one,  and voilá – my new linen pin boards were complete: 

By using three bulletin boards, I was able to maximize the usable space on my wall and it looks much more balanced than if I just had one tall, skinny board to the left of my light switch. And you might notice that somewhere in the middle of this project, I painted my kitchen – the new color is Benjamin Moore’s Annapolis Gray, which is a nice taupey gray. 

 
Update! 

Several months later I changed up my bulletin boards by replacing the natural linen fabric with a black and cream ticking stripe fabric found {here}.  and I also painted the switch cover black. I’m loving the new look! 

 
I hope you enjoyed the post and are inspired to DIY a linen bulletin board of your own!

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Comments

  2. Carla says

    April 14, 2012 at 8:04 pm

    WOW, it looks fantastic, I love it! We don’t have those shops here in Australia where you can buy such things like the frames, well not where I know of. Today I am moving my desk and making a new space, Im excited, you have inspired me to make something. Thanks

    Reply

  3. Jennifer Varpness says

    May 2, 2012 at 8:51 pm

    I’ve got my supplies waiting to be used, so excited! i even used a 40% off 1 item coupon for the cork board, the frame was 50% off, woot woot. Funny, I don’t even have a place to put it!!!! Keep the fabulous ideas coming.

    Reply

    • Kris @ Driven by Décor says

      May 2, 2012 at 9:58 pm

      Gotta love the deals at Hobby Lobby! Buying things that I love but don’t have a place for is totally my M.O. – glad to be dragging you down into the gutter with me – ha! Send me a pic when you get it done!

      Reply

  5. Jennifer Eggers says

    February 4, 2013 at 3:43 pm

    I was searching for a linen bulletin board when I found this post. I read this and ran to Hobby Lobby – and made it in about 30 minutes! Mine is a bit different because I chose a frame to match my office furniture…but the frame was 50% off, the linen material was 30% off and the cork was like $15.99! It’s gorgeous at a huge savings…and exactly what I wanted. Thanks so much for the idea!

    Reply

  7. Kelly @ View Along the Way says

    July 3, 2013 at 8:46 am

    Wow, this looks at least as good as the RH version! I love the mini-gallery wall to hide the lightswitch. WHY do builders do this to us?! Don’t they care about decorating?? 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up to Ditto DIY!

    Reply

  10. Sara says

    November 14, 2014 at 1:08 pm

    Thank you for the idea! I was able to get a 4×8 bulletin board through a garage sale and made this board to display my children’s art work. It is painted on the wood trim and covered in muslin fabric. It rests against my wall near the kitchen but I don’t know how to attach a picture to show you. Thanks again! What great tips!

    Reply

  11. Kathy Piombo says

    November 23, 2014 at 9:27 pm

    Love your rustic wood bulletin boards . Would love to have one made . Is that possible?
    Let me know,
    Thank you!
    Kathy Piombo
    415-336-4569

    Reply

    • Kris @ Driven by Decor says

      November 24, 2014 at 11:53 pm

      Thanks so much for asking Kathy – honestly, I’ve thought about making and selling these but right now it’s not something that I’m doing. It really is a pretty easy DIY though – you should give it a try!

      Reply

  12. David says

    January 1, 2015 at 4:19 am

    Thanks for the great idea and inspiration Kris. It was an easy project. Modified it a bit for our needs. Created a magnetic board covered in fabric using sheet metal instead of a cork board. Same rustic frame, wrapped fabric around sheet metal, glue gunned it taught. Used a black laminated board for added thickness, rigidity and a finished look to cover the back side of the sheet metal and exposed fabric edges. Used metal frame offsets (screwed down) to hold it in place. Changing fabrics will be as easy as swapping a picture in a frame. For creative magnets, I purchased strong earth magnets and glued them to draw pulls of different types. Now my wife can display our son’s artwork and not poke holes in them or tape them down. The sheet metal, black laminate board are easily purchased at you local Home Depot or Lowes. Again, thanks!

    Reply