8 Creative DIY Projects to Dress Up Your Cork Boards

Revamping your cork board is all about embracing a playful and personalized atmosphere in your organizational spaces. It is a break from bland and purely functional surfaces, letting your unique style shine through with a one of a kind, conversation starting piece.

Now let us take a look at some of the best DIY ideas for giving your plain cork boards a little more style.

1. Try Some Circles

So maybe the idea of cutting out intricate shapes feels a little intimidating. I get it! But you can still get a really cool, custom look by going with simple circles. You would be so amazed at how great they can look!

I absolutely love this idea from PopSugar that uses embroidery hoops to frame them. What a brilliant touch! Or, you can keep it super simple and just use a collection of plain mini circles, like this fantastic example from Drew and Vanessa.

Mini round cork boards — A cluster of simple, round cork boards

Embroidery hoop cork boards — Using embroidery hoops is such a clever frame idea

2. Find a Great Frame

If you actually don’t mind the brown cork background, then all you might need is a really bold frame to bring a touch of elegance to it. This can completely transform an otherwise simple-looking board.

Decor 2 Ur Door has a board that perfectly complements the room’s decor, and Hen Hurst shows one with a wooden frame that adds a bit of rustic charm.

Cork board with beautiful wood frame — A beautiful wood frame with rustic character

Cork board with stunning black frame to match decor

3. Go Big with It

Lastly, if you’re truly a fan of the plain cork aesthetic, you can achieve some really amazing results by using it to cover an entire wall. Just imagine all the wonderful photos, notes, and mementos you could hang on it!

Check out this one from Apartment Therapy which is right next to a whiteboard. And here’s another fantastic look from Amber Interior Design that puts a cork wall right beside a desk.

Cork board wall in an office area — A full cork wall in a home office space

Entire wall tiled with cork board and lined with mini lights — A whole wall covered in cork board with mini lights

4. Grab Your Paintbrush

If you feel confident with a paintbrush, you might want to add some paint to liven up your cork board. You really don’t have to be a master artist.

Just adding some simple stripes or some fun zigzag designs in your favorite hues can make a huge difference. I love these two examples from Pretty In the Pines and Apartment Therapy.

Cork board with white zigzag designs at the bottom — A simple cork board with a white zigzag pattern at the bottom

Cork board with gold painted stripes — This board has simple gold painted stripes

5. Cover It with Fabric

I think this is probably the easiest and cleanest way to completely hide that plain brown color. Just take a large piece of a pretty fabric and wrap it over the entire cork board.

Beach House In the City gives you the steps for how to do it, and even adds a beautiful border for a finished look! What a great way to add pattern and color.

Tropical black and white fabric covering a cork board — A bold black-and-white tropical fabric on a cork board

Tropical white and yellow fabric covering a cork board — A cheerful white and yellow fabric-covered board

6. Repurpose and Upcycle

Your cork board doesn’t always have to live on a wall holding photos and paper! You should see some of the brilliant DIY projects from BHG.

They have some really creative ideas, including ways to use cork board for coasters and even stationery holders!

Cork board repurposed as a pencil holder — Cork board transformed into a pencil holder

Cork board repurposed as coasters — Cork repurposed to make drink coasters

7. Make It Pretty

Let’s be honest, a cork board doesn’t have to be just for office notes and papers. It can be so much more! Katelyn Brooke came up with these stunning cork board tiles that have white stencil patterns for hanging jewelry.

I also love this similar idea from I Heart Organizing, but this one uses fabric.

Cork board jewelry organizer using linen fabric and thumbtacks for a nailhead border — A jewelry organizer made from a fabric-covered cork board

Cork board with stencil patterns used as a jewelry organizer — This stenciled cork board is a beautiful jewelry holder

8. Get Inspired by Geography

Your cork board arrived in a square or rectangle, but it definitely doesn’t have to stay that way. Brit + Co has a seriously cool tutorial that walks you through how to transform your board into state-shaped designs.

And if you’re really feeling ambitious, you could kick it up a notch and go for a full world map design! Can you believe that?! So beautiful.