8 aesthetic pinboard ideas – pretty and functional ways to elevate a simple cork board into something inspiring

Whether you are sentimental and like to help hold of ticket stubs, polaroids and little mementos from holidays, or are looking for a way to see upcoming events or chores, pinboards can come in handy.

We’re all probably aware of a simple corkboard or basic pinboard, a staple in student rooms and cafesacross the country. If you're not a fan of the utilitarian notice board look, their are plenty of aesthetic pinboard ideas that will elevate yours into something you will proudly have on display.

Your starting point should be thinking about how you are going to use your pinboard, is it as a vision board to inspire you each morning or will it be used as a home organisation tool? Then think about the themes, styles or colour palettes that resonate with you and start curating a board that is interesting to look at and functional.

When arranging your board ensure 'larger images or items are balanced with smaller ones and incorporate texture like fabrics, ribbons or dried flowers to break up the flat imagery,' says Jason Brownless, Senior Editorial Designer at Dunelm.

Whether you have a specific design or idea already in mind or have been wanting to jazz up your existing pinboard for a while, we’ve put together some of our favourite aesthetic pinboard ideas to give you plenty of inspiration.

1. Curate a vision board

It doesn’t need to be the new year for you to focus on some of your goals or visions for the future. Dedicating a pinboard to what you hope to achieve, whether that be in the short term – such as starting a new hobby or exercising more – or the long term – changing jobs, buying a house or planning a dream holiday – seeing it up in front of you day after day will remind you to keep chasing it.

You might be a fan of manifesting, in which case this type of pinboard can certainly come in handy. ‘Combining affirmations, inspirational quotes, images that represent your goals, motivational phrases and vision-related content,’ will all move you in the right direction, Jason says.

2. Mix materials for a dynamic mood board

If you’re in the middle of a renovation or are moving into a new home and planning how to decorate it, one of the best ways to utilise a pinboard is to make it into a decorating. That way you can ‘experiment with different design ideas before committing yourself to a definite choice. Plus, you can have more than one for each of your favourite colour palettes or styles,’ says Ryan McDonough, Interior Design Expert at MyJobQuote.co.uk.

‘Using a pinboard to explore ideas and concepts for a redecoration or renovation project can help you to narrow down your choices, play with various layouts and give you a starting point for colour and texture options,’ he continues.

Think colour wheels, fabric swatches, texture samples and inspiration photos. Seeing them right there in front of you will also allow you to work out if you still like the way that everything looks together weeks or months later, saving you from making the wrong choice when you actually go to decorate.

3. Create a seasonal gardening board

Pinboards aren't just for indoor use, try turning one into a handy gardening or lawn care calendar. A smart way to do this is by dividing the pinboard into the four seasons or months and decorating each section with a mix of the practical such as packets of seeds to be planted and the pretty, like pressed flowers from the garden.

‘Experiment with different planting ideas such as companion planting, raised beds, and sustainable gardening concepts. Or why not use pictures to plan your garden for year-round colour and include a sun map so you know what to plant where,’ Ryan adds.

‘For nature enthusiasts, this board also helps bring the outdoors in, creating a calming and refreshing space,’ Jason affirms. And you can really lean into this aesthetic by using ‘pressed flowers, botanical prints, natural fibres like twine and jute, as well as things from nature, like leaves.’

4. Use a playful design

If you need your pinboard to be purely functional for tacking up reminders, important notes or trackers in a home office or as part of a family command centre idea you can easily elevate it with a patterned packing.

Many brands such as Dunelm sell pinboards with pretty backing designs like the one shown below. However, if you are looking for an easy DIY project to transform an existing pinboard consider using paint to create a quick stripey or geometric design, or back the board with a leftover piece of wallpaper or fabric.

5. Focus on a central design

If you are looking for an aesthetic way to showcase some of your favourite memories a pinboard with a central design is a great way to do so.

For example, this world map pinboard is perfect for tacking ribbon and images from your travels too as an evolving piece of wall art. If you have another hobby, simply use a stencil to create a central motif that speaks to it and start pinning away.

‘You can use it to attach photos, concert, travel or sporting tickets, posters, prize ribbons, handwritten notes or even pieces of jewellery,’ Ryan explains. And ‘depending on the look you want to achieve you can include as many or as few items as you want.’

6. Create a giant family calendar

According to Ryan, ‘a pinboard family calendar will be so useful you’ll wonder how you ever managed without one.’ Depending on the size of your family and how much space you have, you can make your pinboard as big as you need. Or you could have a separate pinboard for each family member so they can add their own reminders, memos and prompts.

‘For a single pinboard, choose a theme that you as a family enjoy such as a love of dogs, travelling or music and let that be your overarching theme. Then divide the pinboard into however many people need to share it and add your reminders for the coming month. A homemade pocket attached to the board can hold bills or other paperwork,’ Ryan affirms.

7. Make a feature of your cards

Even though we probably don’t receive as many postcards, birthday cards or Christmas cards as we once did, ‘why not make a pinboard or even several to display them aesthetically,’ Ryan says. Group themed images together to create little vignettes, and try to mix and match different card shapes.

‘Add other birthday or Christmas-themed items such as bows, bells, and stars or surround the pinboard with pretty fairy lights. A ribbon pinboard, where you tuck the cards into the ribbon rather than pinning them in place is perfect for Christmas cards,' he adds. Plus, you can use it all year round for other celebrations.

8. Make an interactive to-do list

‘Having an aesthetic pinboard for daily tasks and goals is a great way to motivate yourself to complete everyday chores, meet work deadlines and include personal well-being targets,’ Ryan proclaims. ‘Rather than having a simple tick list, an attractive and decorative reminder makes organising your day a pleasure and is a physical reminder of what you need to do each day.’

And Gareth Davies, Design Director at Classic Interiors, agrees. ‘Brightly coloured sticky notes can help highlight personal goals. This interactive approach makes your board unique and encourages daily inspiration.’

FAQs

How should you hang a pinboard?

How you hang your pinboard may depend on the surface of your chosen wall as well as if you’re allowed or want to put holes in the wall. ‘Picture frame hangers or similar which can be fixed into studwork or plasterboard with the correct wall anchors are the sturdiest option and you won’t have to worry about your pinboard falling down,’ Ryan reveals. However, you’ll ‘always want to use a pipe and wire detector before drilling or fixing screws into the wall.’

Alternatively, if you don’t want to use nails or screws to hang your pinboard there are a couple of specific products that you can use instead. Our favourite have to be Command strips. Not only can they securely fix the pinboard to the wall, even if it is rather weighty but it won’t damage the surface of the wall when you go to remove them, making them ideal for rental walls or those who like to frequently change their decor.

‘Other products such as mounting tape, adhesive hooks and hook and loop tape will also work but be aware that they may damage the wall surface when removed,’ Ryan warns.

How to attach things to a pinboard?

As you might expect, the most obvious way to attach things to a pinboard is with push pins. And there are lots of fun options to choose from, depending on your pinboard’s overall aesthetic. From sleek and minimal to eclectic and textured. Ribbon pinboards are also popular with the criss cross effect providing support for cards, photos, invitations and more.

‘Hanging a length of string or wool between two pins on your board provides a cute way to display photos, notes or fabric swatches from mini clothes pegs,’ Ryan suggests. And ‘if your pinboard has a frame you can also slot paper and card items or photos into the edge of the frame.’

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