DIY Geometric Wood Art Piece
Since moving into our studio, my other half and I have been on the hunt for an awesome art piece to hang above our couch. Well, it took me a year, but I was finally able to come up with something cool that fits the bill! I partnered with my friends at HANDy Paint Products to create a really awesome and large piece of geometric wood art for our pad for under $50 in supplies!
How To Make Geometric Wood Art
So, this piece is pretty big. Like, 2 feet tall and 4 feet wide, big. But, there were a few steps along the way that made this project a lot easier. Overall, this project took me 2 work days to create!
One of the things that I was nervous about when creating this piece was how long it would take me to paint all of the tiny pieces in this project. But, because I used the HANDy Pro Pail, I was able to set up a painting station to help streamline the entire process! You can check it out in the tutorial below!
What You’ll Need:
Tools
Miter Saw
Circular Saw
Nail Gun
(3) HANDy Pro Pail
(3) HANDy Pro Pail Liners
Tape Measure
(3) Paint Brushes
Sander/Sanding Block
Materials
(1) Lath Bundle (50 Pieces)
12 Foot Long ½ x ¾” Trim
Half Sheet ½” Plywood
¾” Brad Nails
Wood Glue
Light Brown Stain
Dark Brown Stain
White Paint
The Steps:
1. Use a straight edge and your pencil to divide your sheet of plywood into four sections. This will help make sure everything is even when you are working.
2. Cut the end of one lath at 45 degrees. This will be used as your stencil.
3. Use your stencil to begin tracing out your design.
4. To create the small sections in the middle, use your straight edge to create small lines that intersect your longer lines. I started mine about 3 inches up and moved up my lines at 1″ intervals.
5. Once you are happy with your layout, begin cutting pieces for the design. All cuts are made at 45 degree angles. Use a pencil to mark an estimate for your overhangs. These don’t need to be perfect, as they will be trimmed down later.
6. If your lath pieces are rough, use a sander to sand away the imperfections.
7. Decide what colors you wish to use (kind of like a giant paint-by-numbers) and mark them in the design to make matching pieces easier as you go.
8. Use yourHANDy Pro Pails to create a painting station! I used 3 pails and dumped my paint in the liners of each one. I also made sure to designate one paintbrush per pail and let them hangout on the awesome magnets that are included in each one!
9. Now life gets easy! As you cut, and decide what colors you’d like to use, bring your pieces to your paint station and begin adding color!
I started with my white pieces first…
and then moved on to my stains!
10. Allow your pieces to dry, and then begin adding them to your artwork with wood glue and brad nails!
11. Continue to add as you go!
12. If you need to do any touching up, grab your HANDy Paint Pail and bring it over to your piece. I used a small detail brush for touching up pieces that were damaged in the process.
13. Once your piece is complete, use a circular saw and a track or straight edge to cut away the uneven ends. This will make the piece perfectly straight all the way around.
14. Next, cut and add your frame pieces with brad nails and wood glue. I stained mine to match the lighter color from the arrows. You will need:
(2) 24″ Short Frames
(2) 49″ Long Frames
15. Last, add your wall hangers!
Now hang that artwork and admire your job well done!
How’s that for a budget friendly statement piece!?
Now that the last piece of our puzzle is finally in place, our apartment feels like more of a home than ever before. I am so excited to have our friends and family back over to check out the completed space!
Love the idea, but don’t have the space yet? Make sure to save this idea for later on Pinterest!
I hope I have inspired you guys to get busy and make some art for your home! Heck, you can even make a HANDy Paint Station and I’ll be happy! Just get out there and make something cool and share it with me on social media. I love checking out your projects! In the meantime…
* This post is sponsored by HANDy Paint Products. Although I am receiving compensation for this post, all opinions are my own. This post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.
23 COMMENTS
Fred
6 years agoNice job Sam! 👍
Sam Raimondi
6 years ago AUTHORThanks Fred!
Tom
5 years agoNice work!
Just a question…assuming 1/4” thick lath, 1/2” thick ply, but you used 1” brad nails…did they not stick through the back of the ply?
Sam Raimondi
5 years ago AUTHORAh! Good catch! I used 3/4″ nails. My lath strips came in the bundle at mostly 3/8″ thick. I’ll fix now – thanks!
Colton
5 years agoSo I planned to do this a while back, but this lath bundle isn’t available and other bundles I’ve seen aren’t readily available at my store. Any thoughts on other options that are also budget friendly?
Sam Raimondi
5 years ago AUTHORHi Colton! Had a few people make this piece using 1×2 pine boards! You can get 6-8 foot boards for right around $6 a board at Home Depot.
Parker
3 years agothis was my question too. thank you! this is going to be my first “big” wood working project and i am terrified. any beginner tips?
Megan
5 years agoCan you share what brand and name of paint/stains you used!?!? I’m in love!
Abi Stern
5 years ago@sam Raimondi This looks amazing!! Loved it so much that I am half way through making this one! All the pieces are cut and the white pieces are painted.
The hardest part is to choose the which wood stain to use. Do you remember which one did you use? I get quite overwhelmed with all colours out there.
Thanks a lot!
Lisa
5 years agoThis really looks great! Amazing that just plain old wood can result in this in the end. Can play with different shapes and stains and cuts and sizes! Very inspiring, thank you for sharing!
Sam
5 years ago AUTHORThank you so much for the love! So happy you like it!
Renee
5 years agoWhere did you get the wood lath? I can’t seem to find it at Home Depot, Lowe’s or Menards!
Sam
5 years ago AUTHORHi! I got it as a gift for the holidays last year – it’s a Central Machinery benchtop lathe. Hope that helps!
Anna Sue Kramer
4 years agoThis is exactly what kind of tutorial I have been searching for. Thank you!!
Sam
4 years ago AUTHORGlad you found it! Good luck on your project!
Cole Gilbert
3 years agoDid you have extra lath
Sam
3 years ago AUTHORI want to say yes, but I don’t remember 100%!
Joelle
3 years agoI just picked up 2 bundles of wood lathe for this project from Home Depot! They are all pretty gnarly. Did you just sand yours down to look so nice?
Sam
3 years ago AUTHORYeah… they’re in rough shape. I just sanded mine until I was happy with them!
Ec
3 years agoI really love this project, but I don’t love the nail look. Do you need to use brad nails or can a good wood glue and clamps work?
Sam
3 years ago AUTHORYou can use glue and clamps! It might take longer, but could be worth it.
Jamie
3 years agoI’m assuming the half sheet of plywood made it 2’x4’? Thanks for much for this! I’m excited to give it a try
Sam
3 years ago AUTHORYes! A full sheet is 4×8′. So excited to see it!