This simple DIY picture ledge project is super versatile and simply elegant. I made this picture ledge with scrap wood from my Farmhouse X desk project and it now holds my painted mason jar pencil holders.
DIY picture ledge
I used equal length pieces of wood; two 1×6’s and one 1×2. but if you look closely the ledge strip has a mitered corner. The space I needed to fill was about 18″ long, but you can make these in any length. I used my Kreg Jig to screw the back to the bottom along with wood glue. This length needed 2 screws
Then, I glued and hand nailed on the 1×2 with some finish nails.
I wanted this to sit flush on the wall so I routered two hanging holes in the back and anchored screws to the wall using a level.
What I love most about these DIY Picture Ledges is the versatility. I love the look of these in black with a gathering of black and white photos and frames. You can go super rustic with a drift wood look to sleek and modern. Look at these other great images of picture ledges!
If you have been following my DIY basement renovation, you know I’m turning my dark, out-dated basement into a cozy family room. One of the things on my list was to expose the joists in the ceiling and paint them white. Its been a lot of work to get to this point, but its starting to come together!
Here is a before picture. Its honestly depressing to spend any time in this space.
Before basement remodel
The prep
I cleared out the space and I went to work taking down the ceiling tiles. They were pretty easy but it was a messy job. There was a lot of dust and rodent droppings. It was disgusting. I wore gloves and a mask and used a heppa filter on the vacuum when cleaning up.
Once the tiles were down and cleaned up, I had rows and rows of strapping to remove. Using my pry-bar and hammer and pulled them down, and also used a saws-all to cut it into more manageable pieces when needed.
Painting
Then I was ready to start painting! I had an airless paint sprayer from Harbor Freight given to me, and I don’t think I would have done this job without a sprayer. It would have been a lot of work to hand paint the joists.
I had already started the German Smear technique (read about that here) on the bricks so I covered everything up and prepared the paint gun. I used Kilz II primer in a 5 gallon bucket and I used at least 3 gallons to spray the ceiling and wood shingles.
What a difference already! I kept moving, changing my point of view to make sure I didn’t have any missed spots. Also I didn’t really cover the carpet since I’m replacing it anyway, but the sprayer has a lot of over-spray that settles on everything, so cover anything you value before starting. I was able to control the spray and gun well, but the paint mist settled everywhere.
The coverage could have been better, you can still see some texture and staining coming through the paint. I want to cut off all those exposed nails and I need to wire in some new canister lights so for a first coat this was perfect.
The reveal
These are the after pictures (so far!) Follow more of my DIY basement renovation as I have to finish the German Smear down the wall. I also plan on painting the shingles in a Ben Moore Pale Oak color. What type of flooring do you think will look good in this space?
