DIY Herringbone Art Installation

Well the weekend went by way too fast once again, but hopefully today's DIY will help to start your week out right! I designed this installation (below) specifically for our photo shoot, however I also knew that I would proudly display it long after our day of posing was over.

I chose a wood tone, silver, and gold color palette because I wanted it to feel rich and knew that our outfits would bring the color to the photos. Here are a couple of fun shots we took with the piece.

Ok, so are you ready to hear how we made it?

1. First, I had my mom and brother's girlfriend stain and paint hundreds of wood pieces. And here's the big tip- we used shims!!!! They are already cut, are fairly cheap, and are easily bought in bulk- perfect for this project!

2. Once all the pieces are painted, it's time to come up with the exact pattern you want to pursue. We laid out a couple of different options and then chose a favorite.

3. Once I was confident with the layout, we started to glue (with construction adhesive) the shims onto a piece of masonite (you can find masonite at your local home improvement store, it comes in 4' X 8' sheets and is very thin). Be forewarned, this whole process takes a while but it's totally worth it!

4. Of course, once you've been on the job for a couple hours, it's customary to take a dance party break! Nothing improves morale like a good let your hair down, shake what your momma gave ya dance party! :)

4. Once everything is glued down, we let it sit overnight to make sure the construction adhesive was completely dry.

I wanted this piece to be a bit more interesting than art you simply hang on the wall, so I designed it with the idea that the piece would come from the wall and continue out onto the floor. To do this, Tim simply used a circular saw and cut the masonite about 3 feet from the bottom. That piece was then place directly on the floor while the other piece was placed on the wall.

I love the dimension that this element brings to the piece and to our pictures. I also love that the herringbone pattern brings a movement to the piece as it resembles arrows. Lastly, I like that the art and our clothing choices show a bit of native american inspiration, which hints at and celebrates our Oklahoma ties. Ok, so Tim's shirt really spells it out rather than hints at it. . . but I'm ok with that! :)

So, that's how we created this pretty awesome DIY art installation! Are you a fan?

PS- A big thanks to my mom and Madison for their help! We couldn't have done it without you lovely ladies!