I used to be the self proclaimed DIY guru among my friends and family. I practically owned every craft item, tool and material from Michael’s aisles 1-55.

Today? Not so much. After the third kid, your time pretty much dwindles down to nothing, ha! But when there is a bangin’ DIY just screaming in my face, how can I say no?

If you have been following along, you will not be surprised that the DIY will be in line with magical desert-y inspo theme like the rest of the room. I am just so inspired by the desert lately. It completely evokes my design heart to create as much of a desert scene in my home as possible.

DIY Wall Hanging

What sparked this DIY was a side wall adjacent to the bed that is stark white and large. I was surprised that a blank canvas could stump me! It has sat bare for months. Every time I entered the room, I threw up my hands and wanted to wave the white design flag of defeat.

But then one day, I saw a couple of branches deep in the recesses of my coat closet downstairs. Do you have one those? The dungeon of dumped items that you forget was there.

Ding-ding! Could I possible hang these from the ceiling? My brain synapses started to sizzle and all kinds of ideas began to flow. Finally, a design breakthrough! Don’t you love it when that happens?

$12 Open Shelf DIY

I also knew I wanted to create shelving of some sort. Open shelving are all the rage these days, but they have to be styled right. I noticed in countless inspo pics that the industrial rustic wood pipe shelves lended a masculine look to an otherwise white wall.

But I was on a budget and it just was not in the cards. I wondered if  I could make my own shelves out of a wood plank?

Off to the hardware store I went. I got a 6 feet plank of plywood of the most inexpensive quality. Then two L brackets. That’s it!

 

 

Many Youtube videos later, I screwed the shelf to the wall. You guys. I was amazed. This is what $12 bucks can give you!  I had the shelf  I was exactly imagining for this space!! So excited!!

Next, Travis and I used two screws and drilled them into the ceiling. We used heavy duty twine and wrapped the ends of the branches. You can see in the pics, wrap the rope or twine very, very tight!

We hung them up by tying the twine around the screws over and over again. The screws were not drilled in all the way so there was space to wrap the twine around it. Again, wrap it super tight and until you feel it is sturdy.

I do not intend to hang very heavy things on the branches so this was sufficient for me. However, if you want to hang macrame plants etc then I would advise heavy duty hooks from the ceiling and stronger rope.

As I stepped back. The wall still looked bare. Awhile back, I had ordered some beautiful ceramic air plant wall planters by Muddy Heart. Design besties, you must check her out! Melissa has incredible ceramics that are made with such great design and quality. The edges are smooth and not rough. The glaze is amazingly clear but soft. I don’t know how she does it!

Using the branches as the center, I off set the wall planters. OOOH! My adrenalin was running. I knew I was onto something *good*.

For the shelf,  I wanted the plant shelfie look with all kinds of desert plants and succulents like this one above. But not too overdone. A little driftwood here, a terra cotta pot there. Perfect!

Art Crate

After adding some plants,  it was still missing height and some architectural interest. Whenever styling a shelf, I always like to bring some “life” into the scene. Not only do plants do the trick, but adding human interest or architectural design is never wrong. Have you heard of Art Crate? When I first learned of them, I was intrigued because as a busy designer and mom, sometimes I lack the time to curate art for a project like this one. Well, in comes Art Crate. First, I took a detailed but quick design survey online. Soon after, the design curator emailed me a few options. Here they are:

I chose option A. A short time later, I received it on my door step. I mean, c’mon friends, how easy is that??

I wanted the soft hues of the desert sunrise so the blush toned photograph of a rustic home really spoke to me. This was the piece of desistance! It completed the wall. And I am not lyin’! You know me, I only tell my design besties the truth in all things, especially design!

 

Ahhh, so as I finish writing to you, I am looking to my right and the wall is just absolutely perfection me. I hope it gives you inspo to try something like this too.

Feeling inspired to fill your walls? Art Crate is offering an incredible summer special to all of my design besties! If you sign up now, you will get 20% off the first month to start your wall off and free shipping for 3 months! Who doesn’t love awesome art shipped free to your doorstep?

Code: Anita20art Expires July 1, 2017

Shipping coupon: summerfree

*Although this post is sponsored, all of my opinions are my own. I only express positive interest in products I truly believe in to my readers.

Happy day!