So I was lucky enough to find the huge memo board in my kitchen at Homegoods on clearance so many years ago for $49.00. Growing up I use to babysit for a family that had a large memo board in the mud room of their home that they put calendars, school announcements, birthday cards, pictures, etc. on and I always loved the idea. So when it came to this large wall in my kitchen, I thought it was the perfect place to serve as a sort of command center for all the papers that come with running a home.

I pitched the idea of a memo board for my client’s sewing room so that she could put all her prints, patterns, and fabric swatches on the board when working on a sewing project. Unfortunately I was having a really hard time finding another large memo board to fill up this wall. That’s when I decided to build one for her using $20 foam insulation board from my local Home Depot. The best part about this DIY project was that I could really customize the size to fit the space.

Needless to say I’m pretty happy with the results:

My formula for this easy DIY Memo board is:

4’x8’ foam insulation board + (1) 1x3 + liquid nails + (2) 1x4’s + pocket hole screws + stapler + fabric of choice + furniture railheads

How I built it + Details on Supplies:

Foam Insulation board: I picked up a 4’x8’ (1 inch thick) foam insulation board (linked above by clicking on picture) from my local Home Depot and marked it out with a long level + sharpie to cut off 2 feet from the end making my board 4 x 6 feet to perfectly fit the space. Using a utility knife I carefully sliced down the line on both sides to take off the extra 2 feet from the end.
1x3 and 1x4’s: I used the 1x4’s to make the top and bottom part of a frame for the back of the memo board, and a 1x3 for the sides. Using my miter saw I cut off the excess wood and then secured the boards altogether with my kreg jig pocket whole screws.
Gorilla Glue: Next I put gorilla glue down the runs of the frame and clamped the frame to the foam insulation board overnight so that I could ensure the glue had dried and that the frame was secured to the insulation board.
Fabric: I bought 2 yards of linen-look fabric on a 50% sale at Joann Fabrics. I ironed out the fabric to get all the creases and wrinkles out. I then laid the fabric on a clean flat surface (the floor in my house) and put the board on top of the fabric.
Brad Stapler: Using my air compressor stapler (that came in the air compressor set above) and starting at the shorter ends, I had my husband help me pull the fabric tightly and stapled the fabric to the back of the wooden frame. Once I was done with the left and right sides, I then worked by way down the long run sides, periodically flipping the board over to make sure there were no creases and that the fabric was still pulled tight on the opposite side. You can use a regular heavy duty staple gun. I just used the air compressor one because it came with my kit.
Furniture Nailheads: To spruce up the memoboard I used furniture nailheads that I purchased off Amazon and evenly spaced them around the board, pushing them into the foam board itself. I used D-rings on the back of the wooden frame to hang the board on the wall.