Hi!! I am Amy Renea and I live in Hershey, PA with my husband, three little boys, 4 chickens and a cat. I spend my days herding children and critters and working as a freelance writer and photographer. I’m a thrift store junkie, Mad Men addict and a new convert to spinach margaritas! My photography and design work has been featured on a variety of outlets including the Nate Berkus show, Garden Design Magazine, Zest Magazine, Hobby Farm Home, BHG.com, Womansday.com, Fine Gardening.com, Design*sponge, Apartment Therapy and more! I blog about design, food, photography and the occasional personal insight over at ‘A Nest for All Seasons‘ — come say Hello!
We recently made a trip out to IKEA with our brother and sis-in-law and their baby B. It was a little slice of Heaven. Even though it was super crowded and the babies all started breaking down at the end and I’m SURE it wasn’t at all heaven for the boys, still it was IKEA. Land of cheap design…my kind of heaven.

My favorite section in IKEA is the as-is clearance section by the checkout. I don’t think I have ever left empty handed. We purchased my favorite rug there 1/2 price because it had been a floor model. It was a little dirty, but we have certainly dirtied it up even more.

Back to the present trip though…I found the biggest load ever this time. Tons of as is things to make projects out of. Mostly 1 or 2 dollars. (I know those aren’t complete sentences English majors…it’s ok…) So after I had already half filled the cart, I looked behind a giant door and found these big IKEA white metal grids. They were 4 sides of one of the big bins they put merchandise in. There was no bottom. Perfect.

{Wire grid – IKEA white}
They were $10 each, but happy for me, everything in the “Handyman special” area was 50% off. $5 each…$20 for all of them. Believe it or not, that is a little steep for me, but I knew exactly what I wanted to use them for. So we went around the whole store, had lunch, found cute things we couldn’t live without and I still wanted them, so after consulting with DH, I took the plunge. Not 1 panel…or a matching set, but all 4.

3 of the 4 panels against the wall…the door is for a later project…it was 5 bucks too!

See that ugly thermostat on the wall…that big blank wall that stares you straight in the face as you walk in the door? I hate it. I’ve been on a mission covering those up while making sure they were still accessible. This is my latest cover job. All three of those panels got hoisted onto the wall and covered with photos and cards and all the things that make me happy to look at.

See!?
Photo Credit: Stubells

These grids are not at all static. They can change to hold artwork, photos, cards, inspiration.
They are basically corkboards that blend into the wall and actually lower priced than a basic corkboard at WalMart. 
On this board, I put Christmas cards that coordinated with photos around them.
One of my favorites…T with a gun…with no pants…
Can you find the thermostat?
Eventually, I will probably get bored with basic clothespins and put fabric or paper on the front, or spray paint them or choose another type of clip altogether.

Eventually, I will probably get bored of the grids being white. They might get spray painted green, or pink, or blue, or whatever the color of the year happens to be. (My husband loves this compulsion…)

If you were paying attention, you might have realized I said I bought 4 boards, but I only have 3 hanging on this wall. That’s because I saved my favorite panel for last. It is on another big blank wall near the kitchen kid’s table/art table/drop the groceries on table…you get the picture, right?
The nerve center of the house. It is now happily a bit more organized.
This makes me unreasonably happy 🙂
Total Cost: Grids – $20.00 (IKEA)
Clothespins (90) – $3.00 (Dollar Store)
_________________________________
$23.00!

…and when I said hundreds of dollars…I meant it. In Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware catalogs, VERY similar products are selling (ON SALE!) for $159.00.

~ Amy