We have this problem. Our house does not have a designated “drop zone” as my lovely designer husband likes to call it. I would LOVE to have a mud room or area just inside the garage to drop everything and kick off my shoes. Somewhere to store the dog leashes, balls, bags, etc. But alas, the only spot we have is a small bit of wall space behind the garage door in our kitchen. Previously we had an old mail/key holder hanging there that Remington has had for ages, but wanted something more robust that could store more stuff like the doggie bags, ball, and leashes. I also wanted a spot to hang my purse. We had been searching and searching for the write storage piece that we could hang there with the right type of cubbies and hooks for a while when we finally found this black wire number at Target. It was perfect. P.S. It seems to be 10% off this month.
We knew that we would need something in addition to this to hang our car keys. And of course, I had a plan. We had some spare pieces of pallet wood in the garage. I wanted to use a piece to create a key holder sign to hang above the wire basket, so that’s just what we did. Here’s how we did it and what you need.
You need a piece of pallet wood (heat treated), wood conditioner (not necessary), stain of your choice (we used dark walnut), sign template, chalk, a pen, white acrylic paint, small paintbrush, and medium sized screw hooks. Here’s a good article on how to use pallet wood safely. In addition to their tips, I always recommend cleaning pallets with ammonia to rid it of unclean spills – even if it is untreated and safe to use, you still do not know what has been on it. So always use caution when putting wood from an unknown place in your home. Would you bring a used sofa in your home without giving it a serious thought and deep clean? Okay, off my soap box now.
After cutting the wood down to the right size, sanding it smooth, applying wood conditioner and stain, we let that dry for a few days, then we were ready to pick a design/slogan and paint it on. We chose “adventure awaits” because it suits us, we both liked it and it felt appropriate for a key holder. I created a template in word finding a font that I liked and sizing it just right to fit the length of the pallet. Our pallet measured 23 inches, so if you have a similar piece you can use my template. My method is not perfect, but I like the rough hand drawn look to it.
So you print off your template sheets and apply a healthy layer of chalk to the back along the design. Flip it over gently placing it where you want on the wood chalk side down. Then using your pen or something else very pointy, apply pressure drawing the outline of the design. Pick up the edge of the paper to make sure the chalk is transferring to the wood.
Then you can use the chalk line as a guide to paint on the design! Thinning out your paint with a little water will help to keep your lines smooth.
Once the paint has dried, you can add the hooks. Pre-drill some homes much smaller than you need and screw in the square bend screw hooks. Finally, you need a way to hang it. You could just add a picture hanger type bracket or wire, but Remington drilled mounting holes on the back of ours. Just be careful you don’t drill all the way through the wood.
That’s it! Probably one of the easiest DIY projects to date. Remington was thrilled it took so little time. And yeah, I know the wire basket is crooked…hubby has since fixed that.
If you want to use our design, here is my template: adventure awaits
Enjoy! <3 K&R
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