DIY Large Wall Art Magnetic Memo Board

DIY Large Wall Art Magnetic Memo Board

How to make a magnetic memo board look like large wall art with vintage style in an office or entryway using this easy DIY tutorial.

DIY Large Wall Art Magnetic Memo Board

I have no idea if the concept of disguising a memo board to look like a regular piece of framed upscale art has been done before, but it’s definitely a thing now!

As Robert and I were planning the conference room design at The Cottage, I wanted to create some DIY large scale wall art that evoked peacefulness for the ladies at the shelter while also keeping with a functional purpose for posting notes and announcements.

In all of my Google searching, I couldn’t find anything like what I saw in my head, so we decided to wing it while hoping for the best. And it worked!

Without sticking magnet clips on the board, doesn’t this just look like a piece of art?!

DIY memo board made to look like large wall art in a conference room

Where to Use a Memo Board

It would be a great DIY wall decor project idea to add organization to an entryway, home office, kitchen, playroom, or kid’s bedroom.

We’ve used them in all of those rooms to keep track of our kids’ artwork, birthday party invitations, to-do lists, grocery lists, bills, photo snapshots, and sweet “just saying I love you” notes.

Just customize your notice board in any size to fit your wall using whatever mural, poster, wallpaper, or art decal you want!

Here is the full tutorial below to show you how to make your own DIY bulletin board art yourself.

Related: 7 Tips to Create an Organized Family Command Center

DIY memo board made to look like large wall art in a conference room

How to Make DIY Memo Board Art

Supplies

Tools

scenic art in a picture frame with a picture light with magnets used as a hidden memo board

Step 1 – Mark the Placement

Use a level and a pencil to mark where you want to place your metal sheet(s). We chose to place ours directly between two studs to provide plenty of support since the sheet metal is on the heavy side.

For deciding height placement, a good guideline to follow is approximately 60″ from the floor to the center of the memo board.

marking the wall with a level and pencil

Step 2 – Drill Pilot Holes

Use the power drill to make a pilot hole at each corner of the metal sheet (or wherever it will hit a stud) prior to hanging. You could also use heavyweight drywall anchors if you can’t secure to a stud.

drilling pilot holes in sheet metal

Step 3 – Secure Metal Sheets

Definitely don’t skip wearing heavy duty work gloves when handling any kind of sheet metal as you could easily cut your hand.

Line up the metal sheet where you marked with the level in Step 1 and secure them with screws through the pilot holes into studs.

Repeat for the second metal sheet if you’re butting up two or more next to each other to make one large memo board.

placing metal sheets on a wall to make a magnetic notice board

Step 4 – Secure Seams with Adhesive

When placing two metal sheets side-by-side, they might not perfectly line up and could bow away from the wall.

To keep them secure, run a line of heavy duty construction adhesive like Liquid Nails along the edge of each metal sheet and press it to the wall. Wipe away any excess adhesive with a putty knife and rag. Then allow to fully dry for a few hours.

If you want to make the memo board extremely secure, you could apply construction adhesive all over the back of the metal sheets prior to screwing them to the wall, but that’s a very permanent decision that requires replacing drywall in the future.

attaching sheet metal to a wall to make a DIY memo board

Step 5 – Sand Surface

Scuff the slick metal surface with some fine grit sandpaper to give the board more grip. Sand down any roughness leftover from the dried construction adhesive too.

sanding metal sheets on a wall to apply a mural as DIY art

Step 6 – Prime

If you’re using a pre-pasted or paste-the-wall mural or wallpaper, do not skip this step. An oil based primer is necessary when applying pasted wallpaper to metal. Just brush on one even coat and let dry. Oil based dries much faster the water based primer.

If you plan to use a peel & stick wallpaper or art decal, don’t worry about priming.

Kilz Original primer
brushing sheet metal with oil based primer to apply wallpaper as a DIY art memo board

Step 7 – Cut Mural to Size

Using the measurements you took from the sheet metal, subtract an inch from the width and height.

Then, mark and cut your mural or poster to the size you need. Plan to leave about half an inch around the perimeter of the metal sheet exposed.

Pay attention to which way the panels are turned and in what order you need to hang them.

scenic mural panel measured and cut to make art

Step 8 – Apply Adhesive

Apply a generous, even layer of spray adhesive to the metal sheet(s).

Gorilla spray adhesive

Step 9 – Adhere Mural / Poster

This step is easier if you have a partner to help you. Begin lining up one edge of your mural panel or poster to the edge of the metal sheet. Smooth down that starting edge.

Have your partner lift the other non-pasted side of the panel away from the metal sheet. Using a wallpaper smoothing tool, slowly press the panel into place on the metal while pushing out any air bubbles underneath the paper.

Repeat for the following panel(s) paying close attention to line up the patterns at the mural seam where the panels meet.

smoothing wall mural panels onto sheet metal
wallpaper mural applied to metal on a wall

Step 10 – Attach Frame

Measure the edges of your wallpapered metal sheet and mark the length on the PVC molding. Use a miter saw to cut the molding pieces at 45 degree angles to make corners in a picture frame.

Secure the mitered molding strips around the perimeter of the metal sheet with a brad nailer.

If you don’t own a power miter saw or a brad nailer gun, you can still get by using a simple miter saw box and hammer.

nailing composite molding around memo board to make a picture frame

Step 11 – Hang Up Picture Light

It’s optional but totally the cherry on top. There’s just something about hanging up a picture light above a piece of art that makes it feel special and important.

Plus, since this magnetic notice board is used to hang up notes and documents, it’s nice to have a little extra reading light there.

When using a wireless picture light, I highly recommend opting for rechargeable batteries. If you can’t hardware picture a picture light but want to rely on electricity, you can use this plug-in picture light with cord covers to conceal it.

wireless picture light above framed art

Peel and Stick Wall Art

Instead of priming metal and cutting wallpaper panels, you could use the faster method of peel and stick wall art!

All of these are vintage art reproductions from archives printed as self adhesive wall stickers that you could place on a metal sheet or a thrifted memo board as a shortcut.

If you have lots of farmhouse signs you don’t enjoy anymore, you can even stick these art decals on top of the signs to repurpose them into a new style.

peel and stick wall art from etsy to use on farmhouse signs

Shop the Art

That’s it! This DIY memo board art really wasn’t too difficult at all. It was a little bit tedious, but that’s always the name of the game when wallpaper is involved.

I got these gold magnetic clips to use on the boards that look so pretty and work perfectly.

This project has me rethinking our own kitchen notice board and command center wall hanging a little bit. Maybe it would be fun to pair it with a dry erase board version by placing plexiglass on top of the art?

Do I dare replace it all with another version of this one? Kind of nerding out over the super functional home decorating possibilities here. Hmm…

DIY magnetic memo board made to look like framed art

More DIY Large Wall Art Ideas

In just a couple of days, we’ll share the full reveal of this office / conference room at The Cottage women’s shelter!

Until then, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. But it will all be 100% worth it. I can’t wait!

sign off

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