I had a picture in my head of how I wanted my family command center to look. I wanted a clean and uncluttered look that went with the rustic industrial design. Some of the pieces that I purchased didn’t need any customizing to fit that description. Some did.

I’ll start with the shelf and brackets. I purchased two Ekby Robert brackets from IKEA in a nickel plated finish. I would be using them upside down with the shelf on the inside of the arch. Since I was going for a rustic industrial look I needed a darker finish. 

via IKEA

I laid these out of a piece of plywood to spray paint them. Two coats of  oil rubbed bronze spray paint later I had some rustic industrial brackets. I used the spray paint for metallic surfaces. Once they were dry I screwed them in upside down so the shelf could rest on the inside of the bracket. This allowed me to place the shelf at the height I wanted it without losing inches underneath. I wanted the calendars to come close to the shelf and not have a big empty space.

Have you ever been to this section of Target by the way. It is so tempting to buy the whole line of products. They are perfect for an entryway, mudroom or even (gasp) a family command center! The mail holder got the same treatment as the brackets. Two quick coats of oil rubbed bronze for metallic surfaces and I had a sleek looking in box.

So the moral of the story is everything is customizable. If you find the perfect item in the wrong color, spray paint it. If you love the shape and frame of a memo board but hate the fabric used, cover it with new fabric. If something you see in a store is almost perfect see what you can do to make it perfect. The new pieces I spray painted fit in with the rest of the wall and the other items I purchased.