I’m a big tease. Over a week ago, I posted a sneak peek of the awesome and easy rotating kids art display on my Instagram account. (Are you following me?) And then no tutorial appeared. But finally, it’s here. A tutorial for my new favorite thing in our house (well, maybe second to the bookshelf we built this weekend. I’ll share a sneak peek of that soon and the full post…eventually).
Jaye and I like to do arts and crafts (like painting Easter eggs, fingerpainting toddler valentines, footprint Christmas cards, or fingerpainted canvas art for my gallery wall). But in addition to those “big” projects, Jaye also just loves to draw and paint. And I haven’t had anywhere to display those daily pictures and paintings or the crafts that come home from Mother’s Day Out. The fridge just fills up too fast! But now all that has changed.
At Ikea, I saw these Dignitet devices in the curtain section. Even though they seemed to be designed for curtains, I was immediately inspired. I thought, “Those could be a cool modern looking clothes line!” And then, “For Jaye’s art!” So I bought them. You don’t need many tools to put them together; the basics plus something to cut wire.
To save you some trouble on those tricky Ikea, instructions, here are some tips for installing Ikea Dignitet:
1. The posts are labeled for left and right and so are the base metal pieces. Make sure to screw the R post onto the R base, etc.
2. Once you’ve got both posts built, it suggests unscrewing the left metal bar somewhat. This helps you get the wire really tight because you can screw it back together once it’s all on the wall. I didn’t do this well on the first wire we installed, and it’s saggier than the second one.
3. Don’t forget to slide the smooth metal cover over the post BEFORE you install the wire. I definitely missed this step and had to take my wire out and redo it. I don’t think I’ve EVER built anything from Ikea without having to take some step apart to fix something.
4. Installation on the wall. A laser level was incredibly helpful to make sure the wire was straight. I’d never used one before but I definitely recommend it!
We used two Dignitet kits; we needed an extra post for the top one because it was so long, but not the shorter bottom wire. Jaye gets a real kick out of hanging up her fresh paintings on our new kids art display. She wants to hang them up herself, but she’s not quite tall enough yet. She definitely “gets” it though and seems really proud that her art is up on the wall.
While I was at Ikea, I also picked up a Trofast storage unit. I mounted it on the wall above Jaye’s table. I wanted it to be high enough that she can’t access the paints by herself right now. I’d like to know when she has something that messy in her hands! But once she gets a little taller (and older) she will be able to reach it and get all her arts and craft supplies out. Right now, one drawer holds crayons, two hold painting supplies, and three hold playdough and playdough tools.
I added a few photographs in amongst Jaye’s creations just to vary it up. I use the Camera + app to add the Polaroid style frame and caption. It makes the candid iPhone pictures feel like such a perfect glimpse into just a daily moment in our lives. I love the way the entire kids art display is rotating and easily changeable. The top wire is harder to change (you need a step stool if you’re short like me) so I put my favorites up there. I imagine as Jaye starts back to school next week, that school crafts will get added to the art display.
You can actually get a similar one on Amazon, here is the page link.
I’ll wrap it up with a picture of the entire wall. This is one wall of our big family room, and it’s devoted to kids. As I’ve been decorating this new house, I’ve tried to think about Jaye at other stages than just a toddler (it’s hard to imagine!), and I think this play area will grow along with her easily. The area above her play kitchen is blank and empty now, but I have really awesome plans for it so that’s why the bottom art display wire doesn’t extend across the wall. Stay tuned.
How do you display your children’s art in your home?
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Super cute!
Love this and it makes me want a playroom so badly!!
Very cute idea!
I love that! And it’s so easy to change out the artwork. Great idea!
I rarely go to IKEA, it is a drive and such a busy place. That said, the last time I was there (Summer 2012) I almost bought this art display but at the last minute decided not to. I am going to see if I can get it on Amazon… love the way you used it to display art work!
Adorable! Such a great idea too. We have those same trofast cubes in Benjamin’s room and love them! I love how you have displayed Jaye’s art and pictures. You have such a great little art studio there! I’m sure Jaye loves it.
Thanks, Rachel. Jaye loves painting and playing with play dough at our art station. The only bad thing is she wants to stand on the chairs and try to reach to hang up her own pictures on the line. 🙂
Love how sleek this looks, and how handy!
Where did you get the stainless steel clips you used to hang the art and photos? Are they from Ikea too?
Yep! The stainless steel clips were at Ikea near the Dignitet cable line. They were all in the curtain section, but we tried to use them to hang a curtain in the guest room this weekend, and it was a huge fail!
Looks great! I actually bought these for the same purpose, but I haven’t hung them up yet. Need to do it!
They work really well as a kids art display. Hope you enjoy yours as well!
I love the clean look of this display and how photos are intertwined with the art work. Definitely pinning for future reference.:) Thanks so much for linking up to Inspire Me Wednesday! Featuring in next week’s issue.
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I love how modern this is! Definitely going to borrow this idea when my little guy is older enough to create some art.
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Hi, I am planning to do this in our living room soon. I was wondering how long the top wire is, the one that required the support post? The reason I ask is because the span I want to do is 83″ but since it’s not curtains I’m trying to hang, I wondered if the IKEA weight recommendations would apply. Thanks in advance!
The top wire is about 117 inches long. I would think that kids artwork is so light that it can handle a much longer wire. I tried to use the same wire system to hang some curtains once, and that was a big fail.
Is that the Trofast wall cabinet? How did you make the bins blue? I can only find white or black bins for that cabinet online and in the store.
It is the Trofast wall cabinet. I didn’t do anything to make the bins blue, just bought them that way. Maybe my Ikea carried a different stock? I did find one green bin on line: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60094072/
You could try spray painting the bins, just look for a spray paint that says it’s for plastic.
This is cute. where do you get the table/desk and the chairs?
Thank you
Thank you! The table and chairs are from Pottery Barn Kids. But they are probably at least 10 years old. My mom still had them around the house from when my sisters were little. The same chair style seems to be still available at Pottery Barn Kids, but not the same colors, etc.
Do you have the measurement for the tightener assembly of the Dignitet? The online assembly guide on the IKEA site has it listed as X/X”. I’m guessing it’s less than an inch!