Display Your Kid's Art on an Ignored Wall

Illustration for article titled Display Your Kids Art on an Ignored Wall
Photo: Hoxton/Sam Edwards (Getty Images)

Shortly after we moved into our home several years ago, my son started preschool. Suddenly, he was bringing home giant finger-paintings, holiday scenes and stick figure drawings multiple times a week.


It was all so cute but there was so much artwork my refrigerator might have buckled under the weight of it. Plus, there were specific pieces that I really loved and wanted to display for longer than just a week or two before being replaced by the latest masterpiece. But I’m also not a hang-the-kids-artwork-in-the-living-room sort of person.

One day while heading down to do laundry in my unfinished (and somewhat dreary) basement, it occurred to me: The wall in this stairwell is huge. And boring. And not in the main living areas. I could turn it into an art wall.

Illustration for article titled Display Your Kids Art on an Ignored Wall
Photo: Meghan Moravcik Walbert

This idea could work in any typically ignored, non-decorated space in your home, such as a mud room, a laundry room or a walk-in closet. You could get fancy and frame the art with some cheap picture frames, but I chose the quick-and-dirty Scotch tape method.

Obviously not everything can be displayed. The wall is big but not infinite. The artwork we like but we know we don’t necessarily want up “forever” still goes on the fridge. But once a while, when my son brings home something that is especially sentimental or that he’s been working on for weeks, I declare that it’s going on The Art Wall, and his eyes light up.

If you’ve got less space to work with—or a child who wants EVERYTHING displayed forever—try implementing a swap-out policy. Once the wall is full, if they want to hang up something new, they have to choose an old piece to take down to make room.





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Jerk Dently

Depending on how much work you want to put into it, a good option may be to repaint the wall using a product like Rust-Oleum’s Magnetic Primer. Then you can topcoat with whatever color you wish and hang the artwork with magnets.

You won’t have to worry about damaging the wall or the artwork, and when this phase of your kid’s life is over, you’ll just have a regular looking wall back.