Pottery Barn Inspired Rustic Message Board Project

Make your own Rustic Message Board inspired by the casual farmhouse style of Pottery Barn – and save yourself lots of money by making it yourself!

Years ago, I used to scour the pages of Pottery Barn as I looked for inspiration and ideas for my own home decor. I couldn’t afford to buy any of it, but it gave me ideas for things I could maybe make using supplies that I had or were inexpensive.

This Pottery Barn message board idea came about when I was preparing for a Christmas craft fair where I sold handmade decor at local craft fairs. I had so much fun working together with my husband for months as we built, painted, and put together handmade decor items for sale.

This post documented some of the items we sold back then. I never had a chance to use any of these in my own home. They sold really fast!!

Here is the original post, with a bit more information that I hope is helpful!

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As I’ve been busy getting ready for a craft fair, I was looking for ideas of things I could possibly make with reclaimed wood. This picture caught my eye:

{Image via Pottery Barn}

A message board!… I loved it very much. {And by the way, it was priced at up to $150.}

I took that idea and modified it to use items I already had on hand. Here’s how.

Materials used for Pottery Barn Inspired Message Boards

• Plywood
• Cream colored canvas fabric, or painter’s drop cloth
• Burlap
• Staple gun and staples
• Jute
• Upholserty or carpet tacks
• Iron on transfer vintage postcards (optional)
• Staz-on Ink and rubber stamps (optional)
• Sewing machine and thread (if you want to make pockets and ruffles)
• Wood strips to use as a frame.

The Basics of How to Make Pottery Barn inspired Message Boards

I wrapped the plywood with some painter’s drop cloth and stapled it in the back.

Knotted jute attached with upholstery tacks or carpet tacks became the “lines” for attaching notes to.

Those French postcards are images I found at the Graphics Fairy blog and applied by using iron on transfers. {The images can be found here.}

I sewed little pouches for holding mail, and stamped on them with Staz-on ink (a permanent ink) and some acrylic stamps. {These are from Close to my Heart.}

When they were all finished, my husband nailed a frame stained in Dark Walnut around the edges.

The one on the bottom left is made from a burlap coffee bean sack. I can’t decide if I want to add a clip for papers, or if I should leave it as just “art”…

Other Pottery Barn Inspired Home Decor Projects:

• DIY Pottery Barn headboard
• Pottery Barn Inspired Throw Pillow
• Message Center (Out of an Old Window!)