When designing my daughter's room, I knew I wanted a gallery rail all the way down her headboard wall. Well, turns out that brass gallery rails were not in the budget (especially one that is nearly 11' long). So after some research and brain-wracking, I came up with this pretty simple DIY version that I think is still LOVELY!! And the more pictures I add, the more I know that sometimes its the handmade pieces that bring love into a room..
How perfectly does the gallery rail match the sconce?! Anyway, onto the process!
These little do-dads are called finials. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, finishes, materials, etc. I purchased this bag from Amazon. These pieces act as stabilizers for the "rod" which is actually just 4 foot 1/4" dowels from Lowes but you can get them from any craft store/hardware store/Hobby Lobby/etc.
After taping the finials in painters tape to help prevent splitting, we drilled 1/4" holes through the thick part of the finial. This is where the wood dowel will go through. Now, not every piece turned out. Some splintered, some took a wonky angle... But when you have a bag of 25, there is room for error. Oh! Also, the two finials that will go on the end, we only drilled halfway through. This not only looks better serving as an "end cap" but it prevents the dowels from sliding.
After all the holes were drilled, I drilled holes into a scrap piece of wood that would house the finials and dowels as I spray painted them. This ensures a smooth and even finish since you don't have to lay them down, spray them, wait until it dries, then roll them over and spray another side.
This is the spray paint I used. I cannot figure out for the LIFE OF ME why the paint cap is never even remotely true to color. Makes no sense. But this is a pretty brassy/gold color that works well in the room.
Next it was time to pre-drill some holes in the ledge. Space your finials out evenly making sure to put one on either end to create a stopping point. Then do this to your drill. When you wrap your drill bit in tape, that will give you a guide so you don't go too far into the wood. We just want a little nugget hole to put the finial in, it shouldn't go all the way through. So wrap your big the same length as the little nub on your finial.
Next it's really just about assembly. I put a dab of wood glue in each hole and placed the finial inside. The end pieces I put in by themselves but for the rest, I slid the finials onto the dowels and placed them in the holes that way. It just made it easier so I didn't have to bend the dowels too much.
Also, if your dowels aren't long enough, cut them so that they "meet" inside a finial. That way when it is up on the ledge, it looks like one long dowel instead of several pieces put together.
Then once the glue sets, its time to decorate!!
