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How to make a vintage board game display

how to make a vintage board game display

A couple of days ago I wrote about my collection of vintage board games, all picked up at local charity shops for a few pounds. The game tokens will go into my Etsy shop as soon as I have time to list them and this weekend I finally persuaded my husband to let me hang them on the wall.

Last weekend was spent painting and decorating our bedroom and we just have a few final touches to make. We obviously got bitten by the bug as we also went out and bought the things needed to decorate my daughter’s room too. We’re going to paint the walls then build her wardrobe which will hopefully eat up the explosion of soft toys!

I love the feeling of doing all these household jobs so was happy my husband bought a new doorbell (no more missed deliveries!) and helped me hang my vintage game boards this weekend.

how to make a vintage board game display

How to make a vintage board game display

We have a huge lounge/dining room and we’ve decided it will be the last room we decorate, probably next year. It’s such a blank canvas I was really keen to add some colour. I’ve amassed a small collection of boards so we played around with them and decided which were our favourites and decided on a layout we were happy with.

You will need:

A selection of vintage board games, the more colourful the better!
Scissors
String
Picture hooks
A hammer
Fibre tape
Craft sticks

How do you hang vintage game boards?

The main problem was how to hang the boards. We decided to use string and a fibre tape which is very strong. The tape is so strong it will ruin the board if removed but as I purchased the boards for a couple of pounds I decided to experiment and not mind if they couldn’t be used again.

Although the boards aren’t heavy we wanted to make sure the string didn’t slip over time so doubled the string and held it in place with a generous piece of fibre tape. I did this on both sides of each board, leaving a little slack in order to be hung on a picture hook which would be hidden behind the board.

fibre tape

The second problem was how to ensure the board stayed flat when hung. My low tech solution was to raid my children’s craft supplies for craft sticks which I taped in place with more fibre tape at a couple of places on the back of each board.

craft sticks

You can see it looks a little messy but it works!

how to hang vintage boards

The final step was to position the picture hooks on the wall and hammer them in place. Then I finally got to hang my game boards!

vintage board game display

I’m so happy I’ve been shortlisted for a BiB in the Crafts category again and would really appreciate your vote here!

BiB2014craftsNom

 

25 Comments

  • Reply
    Joanne
    May 11, 2014 at 11:34 am

    what a cool idea – we have a 70’s edition of cludeo gathering dust maybe I should make it into a wall hanging too!

  • Reply
    Michelle
    May 11, 2014 at 12:33 pm

    What a fun way to decorate! A really great tip about the sticks to keep the boards flat too. Kinda makes me want to now have a spare room to set up as a games room so I can do this 😛

  • Reply
    Rachel Cooper (Activities4kidz)
    May 11, 2014 at 1:13 pm

    What a clever and creative way of adding some interest to a room! Really like that idea.

  • Reply
    Eileen Teo
    May 11, 2014 at 1:37 pm

    This is very interesting! Love the ideas of using board game to deco the wall.

  • Reply
    Jennifer
    May 11, 2014 at 4:10 pm

    That looks fantastic! Love the way that the vintage boards look, so bright and cheerful!

  • Reply
    Mummy of Two
    May 11, 2014 at 4:33 pm

    Such a great idea! I can feel a trip to the charity shop coming on!

  • Reply
    You Baby Me Mummy
    May 11, 2014 at 4:53 pm

    These look really great, I would never have thought of doing that but very effective x

  • Reply
    Jo Middleton
    May 11, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    They look amazing, very original. Good idea to use fibre tape and the craft sticks too.

  • Reply
    Sylvia @ Happiness is homemade
    May 11, 2014 at 5:59 pm

    What a superb idea! Very creative, remindes me of my times as a little girl and all those games we played with my family 😉

  • Reply
    Kate Thompson
    May 11, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    I had that Snakes and Ladders board game! Weird that things you owned are already “Vintage” lol

  • Reply
    Keri-Anne
    May 11, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    What an amazing idea and some of my favourite games as well! Board games always reminds me of my grandma as we played all the time when i was younger x

  • Reply
    Kara
    May 11, 2014 at 7:51 pm

    Very effective wall decoration idea – currently trying to decide what to do in my boys bedroom

  • Reply
    Cass@frugalfamily
    May 11, 2014 at 9:09 pm

    I love that – what a great way to display them.

  • Reply
    Downs Side Up
    May 11, 2014 at 10:22 pm

    I simply love this idea. Blasts from the past, brought sharply into modern focus.

  • Reply
    Vicky (@aroundandupsidedown)
    May 11, 2014 at 10:43 pm

    What a great use of the board games lurking in the attic rather than just throwing them out. I love it – it’s quirky, and I love quirky! 🙂

  • Reply
    Shell Louise
    May 12, 2014 at 10:18 am

    I’d never have thought about using the boards as decorations, it’s a great idea 🙂

  • Reply
    Bonnie Banks
    May 12, 2014 at 2:23 pm

    What a simple idea! And if I do this right I won’t damage the boards 🙂 I am a sucker for vintage game boards. Especially Carrom and wooden Chinese Checker boards. This gives me an extra boost to get out the old boxed games and find a display wall for them now too! Thanks 🙂

  • Reply
    Liz Burton
    May 12, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    What a clever idea! Love that they’ll be there to remind you to play rather than stuffed in a cupboard somewhere.

  • Reply
    A Patchwork Life
    May 12, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    Lovely idea! I picked up a fab old french board game and was hoping to stick it on top of a suitable small table – can’t find one though, so think I’ll try this instead 🙂

    • Reply
      jenny
      May 12, 2014 at 9:38 pm

      That’s such a great idea. I have just bought a small milking stool and I love the idea of putting something interesting on the seat!

  • Reply
    Fritha Strickland
    May 13, 2014 at 9:58 am

    what a great idea! love it! x

  • Reply
    Lindy Hamilton
    May 13, 2014 at 7:16 pm

    What a fun way to use old board games, I would never have thought of that.

  • Reply
    Clare @ Emmys Mummy
    May 13, 2014 at 7:24 pm

    Wow, that looks lovely. What a different idea

  • Reply
    Mum of One
    May 13, 2014 at 7:48 pm

    What a fantastic idea! And brilliant up cycling. Thanks so much for sharing with the #pinitparty. I have pinned 🙂

  • Reply
    Living the London Life | the-gingerbread-house.co.uk
    August 24, 2014 at 1:01 pm

    […] I particularly love the display of board games in the Kids section which as you know I’ve done in our own house. The walls of the shop are lined with distressed wooden doors and make use of vintage furniture to […]

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