one man with a dream and some steel cable.

June 25, 2007 12:32 PM

I have seen steel cable used as cool magnetic bulletin boards before, which got me thinking.... If I were to run horizontal steel cable at a consitent heigth around all 4 walls of my home office, what could I do with it?

The original inspiration came from the cool old moveable ladder systems that you used to see in old fashioned hardware stores and book stores. (My ceilings are not tall enough to have any reason to support human weight.)

My ideas so far:

1. affix white showerboard to plywood, and hang with hooks for a sliding/moveable dry erase board.

2. obviously the hanging of pictures and other decorative stuff.

3. Perhaps suspend shelving from the cable? How?

Any other creative ideas? Any reasons why this is a stupid idea? I am also open ideas that would require more than strand of cable or a variety of other materials.

posted by jlowen to home & garden (6 comments total)

This item from Crate & Barrel seems to go with your idea. It can be hung vertically or horizontally. I bet you could attach picture frames to steel cable somehow for a similar look.

I've also seen wire or string strung along one wall, and then people hang photos or objects from it with clothes pins. That's probably a little cutsey for you, but you could maybe substitute clamps for a more industrial look.
posted by christinetheslp at 2:06 PM on June 25, 2007

I've always wanted to suspend false walls in front of real ones. They could be drawn upon, painted, scratched, distorted and otherwise abused without doing any lasting damage to the real walls. Handy if you (or your toddler) gets the creative urge. The cable system would be an ideal start. You could then hang canvas like a shower curtain or a sail, or hang thin plywood or composite board from the cable.
posted by lekvar at 2:09 PM on June 25, 2007

Obviously an elaboration on the "hanging of pictures and other decorative stuff" idea, but how about hanging photographs that depict an evolution?

Imagine a long, long line of, for instance: your daily lunch, your weekly weight loss pictures, growth of your pet/children, monthly family portraits, weekly nights out with friends, unusual things you spot on your commute,...

It sounds a bit lame (and probably is), but it could be really cool, especially if you're into photography.
posted by lioness at 2:43 PM on June 25, 2007

If I were to run horizontal steel cable

[emphasis added] With anything but the lightest of loads, it will sag a surprising amount. Still a cool idea, but do some experiments!
posted by Chuckles at 7:12 PM on June 25, 2007

I've used this cable system from Ikea several times. The attachments have a sort of built in turnbuckle system so you can get it very tight, and since you mount them with three screws it's much sturdier than just using a single eyescrew. You have to be very careful measuring the cable though, because it's kind of a drag if you cut it too short.
posted by oneirodynia at 8:00 PM on June 25, 2007

Spectra cord will not sag.
posted by hortense at 11:16 PM on June 25, 2007