Why not make it into a ribbon board?

I converted my DD's ugly bulletin board to a ribbon board:

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Make a Ribbon Board

What if you just painted it to match the wall?

I was thinking exactly what valinsv said: cover it with fabric and make it a ribbon pin board.

Another vote to paint the border in the same color as the walls.

Cover with fine-weave burlap or neutral linen.

Or add painted stencil motif to the cork.

Done! :)

The fabric is a good idea. I can also see a vintage piece of molding from an architectural salvage place (should be cheap) as a picture frame around it.

jakabedy - that is an excellent idea to get a fresh perspective and be able to see 'beyond' the eyesore!

Thank you for the link on how to make a ribbon board. Seems pretty straight forward. Your daughters board looks fabulous!

Now off to find the foul smell emanating from somewhere in my desk. I hope a mouse didn't crawl into a drawer and die over the winter while the desk was in the mudroom. I kept thinking that the dog was passing gas and checking DD's diaper all afternoon! Yuck!

LOL ttodd...
I think I'd take a dead mouse at times over what used to be emitted from my dog...even she had to get up and leave the room:)

I like teacat's suggestion of fine burlap or linen...I could see frame painted in creamy white too.

Would love to see pics of your new chandy too!

I, too, love teacats' idea -- think that would look swell in your space.

I also love val's daughter's ethnic dolls! When I was pregnant with #2 I was so excited to find a hapa cloth baby doll for #1, excited after a lot of searching. I hadn't fully understood until then how predominant the caucasian doll is, which sounds ridiculous but I just had never looked at them.

Of course, when #2 was born he was tow-headed and had blue eyes (which turned brown a few weeks later) and #1 was never, ever interested in dolls ... so whatever. Best laid plans and all that. But it was eye-opening for me and I love seeing non-white dolls to honor & delight all our children!

ttodd -- me too, love to see pics of your new chandelier.

Apologies for going totally off topic, all...

RMKitchen - when I read your reply, it brought back fond memories of when my DD hit her 'Barbie years'. Her grandparents on her dad's side kept loading her up with blonde haired, blue eyed Barbies - not the 'entirety of the world' view I wanted her to have. So her other set of grandparents (my dear mom and dad) started getting her every ethnic Barbie-type doll they ran across. (I loved that response!) She ended up with nearly 60 Barbie type dolls before I called a halt to it on both sides! And honestly - she saw absolutely no difference between them - they were all dolls to her and she didn't really notice the differences in colors/features, other than to name them after her various preschool friends. It brought a smile remembering that period of her toddler years, so I wanted to thank you for the sharing your story. :-)

Back on topic - I like both the ribbon board and fine burlap ideas. And I apologize again for going off topic, all.

rmkitchen: They are actually American Girl dolls. The doll on the left is a "Just Like Me" doll which can be customized to look like your child. DD is 1/2 Asian Indian 1/2 Caucasian. It was interesting to see what combo she picked in terms of hair color, skin color, etc. She actually went with a medium skin tone and lighter hair tone than I would've chosen. But, that's her favorite. The one of the right is "Rebecca", who is a Jewish doll and has her own series of books about her. We're not Jewish, but DD likes her; but by far the favorite is the "Just Like Me" one. The dolls are pricy, but it is nice to be able to choose a doll for virtually any ethnicity and/or even mixed race.

Back on topic.... the burlap/linen is a nice idea too and would also look like for the ribbon board.

RM & Lisa - I will take pics as soon as I am done w/ both rooms. I was sooo excited when the first one was hung because it just looks so wonderful against the mid grey ceiling. I think that I may have swooned. I wanted to take pics for you guys then but I really want to wait so that I can show you all both rooms since they work together. It sort of gives me the will to push for full completion.

Going OT too:

I remember back in the early 70's when I was very, very young that I had an African American baby doll. Loved her since she reminded me of me and my Dad who had moved away. In fact I think that she was a gift from my Dad. Then one day we moved and I remember searching that new apartment high and low for my 'Black Baby' to no avail. My grandparents helped move us. It's amazing how perceptive little children are because I always blamed (and in fact vehemently accused) my Grandmother of stealing her away from me to get rid of her. I guess subconciously I always picked up on her racism and that she never liked my Dad. I remeber hearing her whisper about 'That Babydoll'.

To me, the bigger decorating issue is not the bulletin board but all the stuff that goes on a bulletin board. I binder clip the most urgent/important papers to our wall calendar so all the office type mess is in one wall space. I am a really visual person and I was worried that stacking the papers might cause some issues but so far it has worked for me.

You are so creative, I'm sure you'll come up with something fun. Be sure to share it with us.

I just did this project for my bulletin board. So easy and it looks so much better. For a bulletin board that gets used alot and holds full sheets of paper, I prefer to be able to use push pins instead of tucking into ribbon. Here is the link:

http://libbiegrove.blogspot.com/2011/04/nailhead-bulletin-board-tutorial.html

deee - I have do have the fear that the mish mash and slew of papers hanging will drive me to drink. You got my wheels turning though!

Anyone have links to purchase attractive binders, folders and stuff?

I have an idea!

I use file folders in a plastic magazine holder on my desk. Red folder for important stuff (it keeps changing) and different colors for other things...yellow for bills, blue for receipts and etc. The papers are handy to my desk and when I am finished with what is in the file folder, it is then filed in my filing cabinet.

check out ballard designs website for their home office accessories

Orchid, val and ttodd -- I loved reading your pieces. Thank you so much for sharing them! I love playing looky-loo here and sharing a decorating opinion but what I really love is learning about the people behind the user ids. Thank you all! My heart feels heavy, though, for your little girl self, ttodd. No child should have to learn about prejudice, esp. from her grandmother. Ugh. I know it's a simple thought but I'd like all our children to grow up in a perfect, ideal idyll, no prejudice!

I've written a few times about my severely disabled five year-old and I can see the purity in some of his classmates and the fear in others, and when I see said children with their parents you can see the same things (acceptance or fear) in their parents. In Kindergarten (I'm naive because it starts much earlier) they're already learning to ostracize that which is different. Way to go, parents! It makes me think of that song from 'South Pacific': you have to be carefully taught. Indeed.

Our family make-up is similar to yours, val, in that I'm caucasian (and 1/2 Jewish!) and my partner / children's daddy is Japanese, hence the hapa. Hapa (in American English, esp. on the west coast) means half-Asian half-other. Back in the late-80s / early-90s the Asian mixed-race communities on college campuses really spearheaded that term. I don't think the Indo-Asian population uses it, though -- I only know it with Far East Asians. My two favorites of the multiracial books we have are Part Asian 100% Hapa and Of Many Colors. When the children were little they esp. loved looking at them, the many different faces. Me too.

Thanks again all for sharing pieces of yourself with me!

And ttodd, no pressure on the picture! You are one busy lady. But have a fan club!

Question: Will the bulletin board remain standing on the floor or will it be hung?

If it will be hung, have you thought about hanging the bulletin board sideways so the long sides are running horizontally and the short sides are vertical?

The current frame seems to already match existing frames in your office space.

To elaborate on teacats' idea of covering the cork area with linen, you could do 2 or 3 sections of different colored linen to differentiate areas where things will be posted.

A couple of years ago, I bought a plain bulletin board with a wood frame and painted the frame. I bought fabric from Etsy and hot glued it to the board and ran a cute ribbon to the edges. I think it turned out really nicely. Ours is more fun and cute since we use it mostly for family/kids stuff. You can do something similar using a more sophisticated fabric. The lighting was dim when I took this photo. It's a bit brighter of an aqua.

Here's my El cheapo bulletin board in my art room. I painted the cork with the same enamel paint that the table top is painted and tacked a piece of scrap burlap on top. I like it.

rm - thank you for the sweet, sweet words. Read below for additional thoughts.

Meowzer (what a great name BTW!) the bulletin board will be hanging and what a great idea about using differing colors!

Babs - that looks really, really nice! I'm not going to lie - I HATE this bulletin board but DH's will not relent about the 'need' for this for him. Personally I'd use specifically for kids stuff and hang it upstairs in the hallway and use binders for our stuff in the office - even for the kids stuff. Easy to reach and flip open like I do at work.

Bumblebeez - your bulletin board already looks like a dressed up version of mine! I like how the burlap looks casually placed and yet deliberate.

Off to paint another wall in the office!

rm - I hve a complete love/hate relationship where we live. It's so tremendously diverse racially but also economically and familial 'unit' wise and that is what I love. When I walk the children to school I am amazed at how some of the children 'are' already (if that makes sense). It truly pains me. I'm the first one to admit that I don't like to have a lot of children hanging around and I keep to myself w/ most adults but in the end we end up w/ the most kids in our yard playing and doing things becuase I just can't stand the thought that some of them don't know the simple pleasures of just 'being'. No pressures (except minding your P's & Q's), no stress and just enjoying using your imagination, making smore's or slime out of household products. Instead I find some of them wandering the alley by themselves.

As anxiously as I await moving further out further out and a new school district where our kids can just wander around in woods and fields on the property, I struggle w/ the thought that maybe this is where God meant for us to be.

ttodd: I really like the one bleigh suggested using the drop cloths and had been thinking of that myself before I even saw the link. I think the texture might work better than burlap with the push pins; at same time not get too busy! I have another bulletin board in my kitchen that I really should cover up and try that way. I dislike it, too; at same time it's very practical for posting the different school/sports schedules, invitations, etc. My DH wants to put a multi-shelf in-basket on our desk, and also loves to plug in all his high-tech gadgets, leave out flash light, etc; whereas I like a clean desk with everything put away. I'm always stuffing his stuff in his drawers, but then he forgets about them...

rmkitchen: My kids tell me that they are "Windians" - White Indians, their term, not mine. At least in California, I find the multi-racial kids are becoming more and more common. Each of my 3 kids look different and it's interesting what others think their ethnicity is. Some think DS can be Mexican, DD1 Italian (never would've guessed that myself), but few guess 1/2 Indian unless they volunteer that info. (which they usually do). DD1 was an exchange student in Japan this past summer and later told me how she thought the Japanese boys were cute and they certainly seemed to think she was also; so I won't be surprised if my children choose a different race for a partner as well. It sure makes life more interesting! I feel for you and your disabled DS. It's amazing how kids can react so differently to same situation, some become protective and neuturing while others mean or just ignore the person. It really takes some special parents/teachers to make other kids learn compassion for those who are different. Way off topic, but I've been reading this book my older DD was assigned to for her English class. It's called The Color of Water and is the story of a mixed race "black" man with a "white" mother. The mother was Jewish, but was declared dead by her family when she married her black husband. The book title is based on a question the boy asked his mom, "What color is God" and she answered "the color of water".....

Does the bulletin board need to be in the office? We have several bulletin boards like that, full of all kind of papers and junk. They get crappy looking really fast - we stick receipts to them, prescriptions, rebates we are waiting for, coupons we want to use, etc. There is no organization whatsoever - stuff is piled on top of other stuff. BUT -- they are hung on the back of closet doors so you don't really ever see them or the mess that's pinned to them. We have one big one hanging on the inside of our pantry door - it's are right at my fingertips if I need something, but yet hidden away so it's not front and center all the time. You'd be surprised how much stuff you can tape to the inside of cabinet doors as well - school lunch menus, schedules, phone lists, etc.

Can you talk your dh into letting you put it on the back of a door or something?

Oh Lisa - I never thought of inside cabinet doors and stuff! And there is a kitchen door that leads to the basement that I might be able to talk him into. The door is fairly hidden becuase of the fridge. DH is always so easy w/ my design whims so when he feels that he really has a need it's hard for me to not want to accomodate him.

Hmmm.....the front of the kitchen/basement door is sounding pretty good!

I have my calendar, theatre and football tickets all sorts of stuff taped on the back of my pantry door and inside on the walls of my pantry. I don't put things on my fridge. Also the inside of one of my cabinet doors has schedules posted on it, too. Downside is that those doors always seem to be standing open, lol. But I hate looking at it all in the open so I can close the doors once we get going. Good luck!

My desktop computer faces a wall mostly covered with cork; the cork is covered with inspiration pictures and some impt info (like the kids' annual medical forms), tickets (got to go see Duran Duran earlier this week -- be still my no-longer teenage heart!). I see it everyday but I see what is important to me: my eye doesn't see it is a mess. But I just took a pic for you and looking at the photo I can see how others will see it as untidy, messy, not pretty ... but that's okay. That's how we live here.

I think it's nice the way you're thinking of making yours pretty.

So that's me being "on-topic."

This is me being "off-topic": thank you both valinsv and ttodd for your responses. We moved out here (Boulder, CO) from up the peninsula from Val(Woodside) -- I'm making the assumption that "SV" = Silicon Valley, which I think of as Cupertino / Saratoga / Santa Clara, but maybe Fremont, too? Omigod -- Afghani food & chaat houses in Fremont!

ttodd -- I absolutely know what you mean about being where you are meant to be. Doesn't mean I don't sometimes resent it, but I know that for whatever reason I am needed here and can best serve here. To my core I understood what you wrote, and I'm grateful you're there for all those children, too. Thank you. But I also hope you get something *just for you*!

rmkitchen ~ Your desk chairs are wonderful ~ Are they chairs that can only be purchased in your area? I've been looking and looking for something other than the sameold/sameold typical office chair.

lefleur1 -- thank you! They're just standard (least expensive) armchairs from Staples / Office Depot kind-of-thing which I had recovered in an old ikat. I like that they have all the function of a desk chair on wheels, adjustable height, back, etc. but are in a fabric which has meaning to me and which I like. Win-win!

Valinsv - your DD's room is so eclectic - love it. Love the American girl dolls also. I bought my 5 yr old daughter one this past summer and she is begging for another to give her first one a friend :-) she is really into playing with dolls so I think I might indulge her for Christmas. We are a light-eyed (and dark haired) family on both sides but our DD came out as the only hazel-brown eyed child (must be recessive!) so I do love the customizable features of the American girl dolls. She is also totally into barbie dolls and when I let her pick her own barbie off
the shelf she has several times grabbed the African American barbies as
her choice. I guess she may be cueing in on the brown hair Brown eyes look.

Ttodd are you still in the Philly area? I grew up in the 'burbs of Philly and my mom worked in south Philly and wonder what area you are from?
Ttodd - I clicked on this this thread thinking " what could Ttodd ever do
that was an eyesore??". :-) you have gotten lots of good suggestions so I am looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

What about hanging the bulletin board, and then hinging a large poster or collage frame over it? You could swing it open when you need access to the board, but the rest of the time it would appear to be art on the wall.

Jenny - that is soooo nice - Thank you! I am not from the Philly area. I'm a farmgirl from Lancaster w/ dreams of growing up to be Mennonite like the family I always hung out w/ LOL! We are in the Northern Burbs of Philly.

Well - I started hanging things on the insides of kitchen cabinets this morning after DH left for work. I actually think that this might be a really great idea for us! Each family member has a door and there is a door for upcoming events. I have an awful time keeping us organized at home since I forget things a lot (that 'out of sight out of mind thing' you know) and I realized that we go into these cabinets 100 times a day. The BB is practically empty now.

On a side note: DH made and hung that pegboard that I asked him to make for the new found coat area. Not what I expected at all but I really like the concept.

Office is almost fully painted and I am working on the ceiling today w/ high hopes of getting the last chandelier hung this wknd.

I've been getting my pictures back up on the walls in the LR, Office and Entry.

I know I'm aiming high but I hope to have it all done w/ pics by the end of the wknd.

I'm charging my camera battery today and will post a pics as soon as I can.

hanging things on the inside of cabinet doors used to work for me!! so easy i think!
i still keep certain things on the insides of cabinets doors and always hang meet schedules, etc on the inside of the pantry door.
i also hang frequently used or favorite recipes i don't want to misplace on cabinet door insides.
i still use a bulletin board, tho i could probably get rid of it now...

I would love to take Val & Babs idea for using the BB for the children and still doctor it up. Our upstairs is more 'individual' and colorful than downstairs so I think that making it into a kids board and putting in the hallway outside of all of their bedrooms would be wonderful!