6 Ways to Hide a Bulletin Board

From the coral and turquoise color combination to an inspiring view of my Birth of Venus folding screen, I really love having moved my office into the front room. It's brighter, less isolated, and vibrantly colored to fuel creativity. All in all, it's a great space to walk straight into after work – and perfectly situated for evening blogging or writing. 

However, there's one thing about it I'm not so smitten with: Having my giant inspiration board in full view. The gray, fabric-covered board is fine – it's where I post reminders, notes, blogging ideas, and cards from friends or family. It's the big white bulletin board that I don't like being so out in the open. It's where I pin up creative writing tips, influential quotes, and images that inspire my novel. 

Do I have anything to hide? No. But it feels more private. More personal. And I'd love to leave that aspect of my creative life to the imagination.

So I've been brainstorming and Pinterest-scavenging to find the best ways to hide, conceal, and disguise bulletin boards. Besides my personal "this-is-my-secret-creative-stuff," there are plenty of valid reasons to want to hide your bulletin board. Perhaps you just don't like the visual clutter. Maybe you keep more sensitive information on it. 

1. ON SLIDING RAILS

The Inspired Room

Better Homes and Gardens

You know those sliding barn doors that have been trending all over the place for the last couple years? This is the same idea – just applied to a bulletin board and chalkboard. It also kind of reminds me of those college lecture halls with the giant chalkboards professors could slide around to open more more empty chalkboard space. 

There's a lot of potential here. You could hang two bulletin boards – one "open to the public" and another more private one behind that. You could do a bulletin board / chalkboard combination as pictured above. You could even do a bulletin board in the back, concealed by a great piece of art or plywood covered in patterned wallpaper on the front. 

So many ideas branching off of those slider rails! But my main concern would be making sure there's enough space between the two items so that papers wouldn't get caught or crumpled when sliding.

2. BEHIND SHUTTERS

Dishfunctional Designs

Crafty Nest

Growing up (and actually, even to this day), my grandma has always had shutters on either side of not only her exterior windows, but also the interior windows. I've always had a fondness for that charming, vintage, private look that shutters lend to a room. So this solution is probably my favorite.

I'd just need some really tall shutters for my big bulletin board. And I'd want them to be on the distressed end of the spectrum – some wood showing through here, some chippy paint there. The one concern I have with this solution is opening the shutters. I'd have to leave enough space on my desk to allow for easy opening – or maybe just put my desk on wheels and roll it away from the wall when I need access to my inspiration board.

3. UNDER A CHEST LID

Martha Stewart

This concept definitely isn't feasible for my giant inspiration board, but I really like the idea – especially for things like bills, bank statements, and budgeting. All the important stuff could get pinned up, then filed away right below. So clever.

4. BEHIND A ROLLER SHADE

Martha Stewart

This is another favorite and very high contender as far as solutions go. Why? Because it's so simple, very functional, and totally aesthetically pleasing. All it requires is hanging a shelf above the bulletin board, and installing a roller shade under the shelf. Granted, I wouldn't be using a plain-Jane roller shade! This would be an ideal opportunity to use some pretty patterned wallpaper or even make my own art on the roller shade. Rolled down = inspiring art. Rolled up = inspiration board. Brilliant!

5. INSIDE A DESK ARMOIRE

Decorating Files

I've never had a desk armoire, but I've always flirted with the idea. This would lean more on the expensive end of things because I'd actually have to go looking for a new piece of furniture to replace my standalone desk and big inspiration board. But it's cute... and I like that it would conceal not only my inspiration board, but also my entire work space. (Sometimes "out of sight, out of mind" is really nice – especially after a busy work week.)

6. BEHIND A CURTAIN

Created by me on Polyvore

For the final solution, I couldn't actually find any examples online – so I put my own illustration together in Polyvore. It's a rather simple idea: hanging a curtain rod over the bulletin board and disguising it as another window. Eventually, I could take it a step further by trimming the bulletin board with trim similar to the window next to it. With the curtain pulled closed, it'd look like another window. With the curtain pulled open, I'd have easy access to my bulletin board.

Do you have any creative ideas for hiding a bulletin board?

Which of these clever solutions is your favorite?