Art to Dry Erase DIY

Art is an interesting thing. Once you have it at your house it is only of value, really, to you. Should you decide to go in a different direction with your decor then you find yourself stuck with a collection of things that no one besides yourself would pay money for.

Many years ago we bought these two framed art pieces. Obviously, they are not big deals (they’re Ikea finds). But at that time in that previous house they worked. We’ve now been in this house for 4.5 years and they’ve been sitting in my closet this entire time. They won’t be finding their way onto a wall here.

So, I’ve attempted to sell them. Refer back to the first paragraph for that result. We previously had a small dry erase board on the wall in the kitchen for to-do’s and notes and such but all dry erase boards are lacking in aesthetics. Functionality, yes they have it. Aesthetics, not so much. You can write on glass with dry erase markers.

The obvious solution was to convert art I didn’t want anymore into a not ugly dry erase board that I do. Once that thought train made its way to a full project it was only a very short matter of time to a completed project.

The first step was removing all the inner bits. Using a flat head screw driver, pry up the staples all around the edge of the frame. They need to be pried up as tight to the sides as possible to allow for the removal of the dense fiber board, art + matting inside and the glass. The glass is the tricky part because it is easy to break in the removal process. (Which is exactly what I did on the second piece. I’m holding onto the frame and solid parts for an idea I have for posters for the Room of Requirement upstairs)

Once the entire piece is apart, then get to spraying. I used a matte black spray paint, let that dry and then hit the whole frame with Clear Gloss Enamel by Rust-oleum. Fast dry time, very little mess.  (Also, I did this step on brown paper in my garage with the door open for ventilation.)

Because I’m using the ‘art’ as a dry erase board, I wanted the background to be a solid color. Lighter is better so you can see what you’re writing. (I tried out a blue spray paint first but all I have on hand is a pretty strong blue so it was a no go. Plus, nothing else in my kitchen is that color so…fabric) To get the fabric to stick and stay without having to staple it to the matting, I used a spray adhesive that I applied liberally all over the ‘art’ and matting. You can still see the shape of the mat but I can live with that. Once the fabric was definitely attached to the ‘art’ I cut the excess off all the way around. Now all that was left was putting it back together. Be patient when putting the glass back in and definitely be careful when handling the glass! After the glass was in the background piece was easy. Then use the flat head screw driver again to push the staples back down and into place.

This fits our decor so much better and I love it already! No money spent as I reused every bit with what I already had in the house. Score!