Addressing the challenge of having lots and lots and lots of paint tubes
How many times did I try to figure out how to store my paint? How many pinterest pins and google searches did I explore trying to solve my problems? SO MANY! No doubt you have been in the same position. Art supply organization is hard. Really hard! Everything I found either involves buying racks, using pegboard that takes up a ton of space, or having filing drawers with custom inserts… I’ve seen it all.
For years I used a toolbox. It was portable, but nothing was easy to find. Everything was on top of everything else, and there was no way to sort by color or soft/heavy/etc.
I don’t believe you should have to spend a lot of money to solve this problem. I am firm in my believe that the solution should be elegant. Let me introduce to you my ultra minimalist art supply organization storage system for my paint.
Neat, right? It’s up on the wall, visible, I can sort by color (If I wanted to) and I never have to dig through a bin or drawer to find what color I need. It’s ultra low cost, as I had this wood hanging around in my garage as scrap. I believe this should probably cost no more than $5 in materials, especially if you already have a drill, nails, screws, and wood.
Here’s how to make your own
What you need
- 1″ Nails
- Screws (for attaching to wall)
- Wood – I used 1×3″ boards
- Paint (optional)
Instructions
So, I measured the space I had – there were already two posters on the wall and I wanted to use the space below. That came out to approximately 26″ wide. I cut two pieces of wood to this length and then measured for the paint tubes. Placing them side by side and approximating really helped, especially if you are using a different brand or have different sizes of tubes. My nails are spaced approximately 2″ apart. Your results may vary, but I wouldn’t go any closer than that. Besides, measuring every 2″ is *very* easy.
Because I want the paint to hang nicely and place the boards closer together on the wall I decided to put the nails in 1/4 of the width down from the top of the board. You can see from the pictures that they aren’t nailed in along the center line. After this I drilled a screw on each end of the board so that I could fasten it directly to the wall. Your paint tubes will likely cover the screw. I drilled a countersink so the screw would be flush with the wood, but that was an aesthetic choice. It’s completely up to you!
Finally, every painter’s favorite part, color! You could leave the boards au natural, stain, or paint them. I chose to paint them. I watered down some acrylic paint and applied it directly to the wood without priming it. It gave the wood a lot of character while still showing off the grain.
There it is! If you have any other interest in DIY painting related projects please check out my other post on making a Still Life Shadow Box.
I hope you’ve found this helpful – if you do please let me know in the comments and show me your version! How have you solved organizing your art supplies?
