Airplane Wall Decor: Use That Wasted Bulkhead

Airplane wall decor is the solution to that wasted space above the kitchen cabinets or in the basement hiding mechanical runs. I’m talking about bulkheads (or soffits). Most people hate them. By the way, most people hate propeller puns too, but I’m a huge fan :). Today I’m showing you one way to jazz up a bulkhead with an airplane propeller!!

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We’re not yet finished construction in the basement, but I couldn’t wait to start decorating. Specifically, we had this boring bulkhead over the entrance to the man cave and I knew it would look great as a feature. That’s because it can be seen as you descend the stairs.

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Airplane Wall Decor

Conveniently, the propeller we want to hang conveniently has a hole in the middle.

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Hubs decided to enlist the help of a friend to make us a metal post to hang it. Although we opted for custom, you could probably achieve the same thing with threaded plumbing pipe and collar. It’s essentially a piece of steel pipe welded to a circular base (also made of steel).

The base has four holes around the perimeter so we can potentially hit a stud or two when we’re mounting it onto the bulkhead. Here’s the front and back view showing the welding.

C_metal hanger_bof

How to Hang an Airplane Propeller

This first step in hanging a propeller is to make a cardboard template. Mark the template in the centre and then tape it up with painters tape. This help us determine where to position the propeller along the bulkhead. Lift the painters tape and nudge the template if necessary until it looks good to your eye.

Mark the centre with a piece of painters tape right on the bulkhead and hope there’s a stud nearby!

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Locate Stud

Hubs used a stud finder to check the bulkhead. Ultimately he found his stud (and I found mine)! Pre-drill to make sure you hit wood.

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Luckily our stud is centred in the bulkhead. By positioning the base vertically, Hubs was able to drill two pilot holes into the stud.

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Once you’ve located the studs, screw the hanger to the bulkhead.

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Lift the propeller up to the bulkhead and slip it onto the piece of tubing sticking out from the base. The tubing is tight enough that the propeller can’t slip off, but loose enough that we’ll be able to remove it if we want.

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Here’s the before and after. The propeller really warms up the space and adds visual interest as you enter the man cave!

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I think our aviation decor is a success. Now to finish and furnish the rest of the man cave! Hubs really needs to get around to covering up the massive hole in the wall that houses our electrical panel. But that’ll be the focus of a future post!

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Here are a few other basement ideas to check out.

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At Birdz of a Feather, we’re feathering the nest… one room at a time. If this airplane wall decor project inspires you, please pin.

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4 thoughts on “Airplane Wall Decor: Use That Wasted Bulkhead

  1. Nice job, your problem solving skill has great results. I love it! thanks for sharing

    • I think bulkheads are an easy (or lazy?) way to hide electrical and plumbing – especially in two story houses. Could be that your builders take the time to integrate these things in the walls lol!

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