Family pinboard

Our family needed a pinboard in the kitchen, fulfiling the following requirements:

• Space for a small photo gallery
• Mounting of heavy objects
• Time and temperature display
• Space to hang up all our keys
• Writing surface for daily notes
• Space to hang up paper and photos

One weekend we created this "ideal" board ourselves. It offers ample space for keys, notes and cards. Thanks to the combination of magnetic paint and blackboard paint, the top portion can be used as magnetic board and wipeable writing surface.

The base board is made of massive beechwood and measures 550 x 1000 x 15 mm.

Space for photo gallery

A small shelf on the bottom of the baseboard creates space for a small photo gallery. I used a milling cutter to make a 8 mm furrow in the beechwood. I found beechwood ledges that fit right in there.

Mounting heavy objects

I integrated a magnetic key rack for heavy objects and thicker paper. I mounted it with the enclosed plastic fixture.

Time and temperature display

I milled an indentation into the board and embedded a radio clock. The next board would feature a digital picture frame, which would also serve as weather station and clock. With a wireless access you could even send current news and pictures there :-)

Hanging up keys

At the bottom of the board you can see a row of metal nails to hang up keys. Above are 8 mm deep drill holes at a 45 degree angle. In the future, we'll use aluminium nails with round heads here, so we won't lose any keys anymore.

Writing surface for notes

In order to be able to create notes that can be wiped off, I combined magnetic paint and blackboard paint. I used masking tape to cover up the rest of the board and painted three coats of magnetic paint (1x horizontal, 1x vertical, 1x diagonal). You definitely need three coats, otherwise, it won't have enough iron content. After it dried I painted a coat of blackboard paint over the magnetic paint.

And there you have a board that you can write on with chalk markers (real chalk is so dusty).

Magnets for notes and photos

You can also hang up notes with a magnet. I used disc magnets 10 x 5 mm. They are very strong and hold notes very well. Office magnets are less suitable - they are a little weak.

In the end, I painted wood stain on the bottom portion of the board. I used one that is also suitable for toys.

I anchored the whole board to the wall with four screws - the board is rather heavy. I recommend using mirror screws with flat removable caps. They give the whole thing a clean look.