I write about homes for a living – this £9.97 DIY trick makes displaying artwork so easy

My DIY projects have slowed down since having a child (understandably), so I’ve got a fair few things still burning a hole in my to-do list. But I’ve finally gotten around to a bedroom project – and my only regret is that I wish I had done it sooner! I’ve added a simple but effective picture rail to create a feature wall in our spare room. It was surprisingly affordable, with the MDF costing just £9.97, and so easy to do, so I thought I’d share it with you. Here’s how you can recreate the look.

My materials/tools to add a picture rail:

How to add a picture rail

1. Firstly, you’ll need to measure your wall to see if one piece of wood will fit the width; if not, you may need two. I used two, so that doubled the cost, but it’s still so affordable.
2. Cut the wood to size to fit your space. I just used a hand saw for this – it doesn’t need to be overly neat. Don’t worry if you have a few mm gap at either end, as this can easily be filled with caulk at the end.
3. Then, I used a spirit level to draw a perfectly straight line to give me a guide for putting it up.
4. As the piece of wood is rather long and needs to be suspended, I decided to use screws to affix it to the wall, as well as grab adhesive. Drill pilot holes in the wood. I chose to do three equally spaced ones for maximum support and then mark where you’ll need to drill on the wall.
5. Drill the holes, tap in the wall plugs, add No More Nails to the back of the wood and then add a screw through the holes in the wood and into the wall.
6. Now, you can caulk in any gaps.
7. Paint your desired colour, and then stand back and admire your work.

It’s worth noting, you’ll need to use very thin picture frames with this rail, or you can use a traditional picture frame hook and hang your prints underneath. Here is some styling inspiration I’ve found on Instagram. Happy DIY-ing!