Your budding Picasso’s works of art deserve a proper display! Encourage them with a kid’s art display that will be both attractive and show your pride in their work.

In my craft room makeover, I am happy to share the space with my son as he works alongside me on homework, doodles, and building Lego villages. Like most proud mommas, I could probably wallpaper an entire room with just his favorite artworks. Of course, I want him to feel pride in his art (while saving our poor fridge from looking like a mummy).

Three wooden planks hanging on white wall as a kid's art display hung on metal wire above work desk with black chair.

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As part of that makeover, I wanted to display some of his original artwork on the walls and found a really fun way to showcase it in a kid’s art display (more on that in a minute). It is really easy, but I also want to give you some of the best ideas I have seen around the internet to show off those heartfelt creations.

Children’s Artwork Display Ideas

Years ago, when I made my son’s gallery wall, there weren’t many options so we had to make one. But times have changed! These are my favorite ideas you can use to create a kid’s art gallery wall or mix and match with our tutorial below for a custom display.

Oversized metal art frame with clips on a desk.

Oversized Photo Holders – Includes 25 clips and mounting hardware to make it so easy to hang! I have also seen cork boards used in much the same way.

Personalized Sign with Wooden Clothespins – The clothespins are actually glued to the surface here rather than hung by string, which means the string won’t bend. The sting in the photo is only decorative.

White Clamp Style – Powerful magnets secure the artwork between the two wooden slats, which separate easily to allow for a frequent rotation of their latest and greatest creations.

Steel Rod Hanging Apparatus – Make your child feel special by displaying art projects, photos, greeting cards and other family keepsakes on the hanging clips, which cascade down or you can buy multiple rods. Wire cable can support 30 LBS and the mounting cylinder brackets have a contemporary chrome finish.

How We Built Our DIY Kid’s Art Display

Supplies

1 x 6 boards (we bought 1 4-foot board and 1 8-foot poplar board, cut in half)
Screw Eye hooks (extra-long to go through the board and wall)
Cable Wire
Hanging Clips – we used these and used approximately 2 per linear foot of board

*Note: Boards are not really required for this project if you install the screw eyes into studs. We used boards to match the room aesthetic, and to prevent the cable wire tension from pulling the screw eyes together.

Wooden plank on blue surface next to pile of metal eyelet hooks.

1. Prepare the Back board

We cut the boards to our desired length, 48 inches long.

I used poplar boards with no knots and Early American Stain. I sanded them with 320 grit sandpaper and very slightly rounded the sharp edges. I used a brush on the first coat, but the boards were so dry, they soaked in the stain in seconds which made it difficult to fix runs or blemishes. After that, I used a soaked, wadded-up t-shirt for the last 2 coats.

Wire mounted to stained wall plank with eyelet screw with hanging metal clips to hold artwork or photos.

Step 2: Pre-drill the Eye Screws

The boards are hung directly on the wall using the eyelet screws. Of course, we pre-drilled a hole in the board and the wall to anchor the screws.

Pro Tip: Screw eyes aren’t the easiest to drive in. You can use a screw driver put through the eye and turn it by hand to get more leverage. However, you can also use a Wing Nut driver on a drill.

Step 3: Decide Positioning and hang board

After deciding the distance necessary between boards, we held them up to the wall. We used a level and finished screwing the screw eye through the drywall.

Three wooden planks hanging on white wall with Child's art clipped to hanging metal wire.

Step 4: Add wire and clips

After hanging the art display boards, I used wire to string the clips between the eyelet screws. I simply twisted the ends very tight. Because my child’s artwork can vary wildly in size, I mostly use two (or more if really large) clips to hang each piece of art.

Create a fun children's fine art gallery in your playroom to display your kid's art

Looking for More Kids Organization Ideas? Check These Out:

I love how it finished out his desk area. Now he has his own personal art work area. I thought about putting something like this in his room but it definitely feels like it belongs here.

The craft room is complete! Check it out:

Craft room organization with colorful supplies on the walls and a row of cabinets for storage. — Craft Room

Craft Room Makeover Reveal

Weekend DIY project. A pegboard organizer in the craft room above the desk workspace.

More DIY Projects For Kids

DIY Kid’s Art Display

Your budding Picasso's works of art deserve a proper display! Encourage them with a kid's art display that will be both attractive and show your pride in their work.

5 from 9 votes

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Project Time: 1

Total Time: 1

Author: Rachel

Cost: $40