The only thing on my mind this Friday is how happy I am to be wrapping up the longest project in the history of our fifth house. Project turn-a-hallway-into-a-mudroom is done! Finally! You know that project I started way back in March of last year – yep, that one – well, it’s finished and I lived to blog about it – so here we go.
We had a problem……and I was determined to solve it.
Even though that coat closet was nicely organized I was tired of dealing with the closet doors constantly in the way of the garage door in this narrow hallway. Coming and going through this hallway was kind of a nightmare. It was a giant cluster of crazy trying to get out the door each morning.
So I concocted a plan that seemed simple enough. But in true Carmel fashion I underestimated the amount of time it would take considering my level of diy skills. Paint brushes I can handle but power saws, ummmm, not so much.
Taking care of the second item on the above list was pretty easy. Thanks to a pinterest challenge I participated in last year I turned the big blank wall into a giant chalkboard calendar or “the motherboard” as we call it around here.
Dealing with the third item on the list, re-doing the bookcase around the corner from the hallway, ended up taking a lot more time than I anticipated.
Genius over here, I’m talking about me, covered the top with broken wine glass pieces when we first moved into this house. It seemed like a cool idea at the time. Apparently I drank too much wine. Removing all that glass was a giant pain in the ……..
but when the mudroom landing spot was all finished and looking pretty it was worthwhile.
Then I finally took the doors off the closet and cleared out everything that was stored in there. Adding the bead board wall paper was by far the easiest part of the whole project.
Next up was the hardest part. Adding shelves and moulding might seem like a simple task for someone who knows how to work a power saw, but when you’re cutting everything with just the power of your right arm it takes a looooonnnnngggg time. Then there was all the hooks I just had to have in there that had to be perfectly spaced due to my insane type A personality. Oh, and then the bagillion coats of paint. Okay maybe not a bagillion, but a lot. I wanted the bead board wall paper to look like the real thing, and the paint is what really brings that look home. Long, drawn out story short, I’m happy to say I got ‘er done! Woot!
I also painted the door. I chose to highlight the panels of the door to add some architectural interest. Thanks for all of your ideas on what color I should paint. I used the same black paint that I used on our sliding doors. Many of you suggested red, but you didn’t know I already had a healthy dose of red in this space thanks to the new West Elm bench I snagged on sale because of a tip from my friend Courtney.
All in all, I’m just happy to be putting this project behind me and making use of our new hallway turned mudroom.
This is so much more functional for my busy family!
As for all the stuff that used to be stored in this closet, if you remember back in January I reorganized our linen closet and made space for the kids coats to be stored in there. And our coats are still cleverly stored in this space.
You only see them when you’re coming in from the garage. The shelves hold baskets filled with lightweight jackets and other grab-n-go essentials like sunscreen and sunglasses.
The only part of this project I didn’t do myself was adding a recessed light to the inside of the closet. The wiring was already there so it wasn’t a huge job; but I still felt better having a professional do this for me.
This light comes on with 4 others in this area, so I added a small lamp in here for times when we just want a little night light.
It took a great deal of time from planning to completion, but I’m super happy with the end result. I am just so thrilled to come home to see this when I walk through the door.
Thanks so much for sticking with me on this! I bet you all thought I’d never get this done!
Source List:
bench – West Elm
patterned pillows – Target
no place like home pillow – Joss and Main
numbered baskets – diy project
oval baskets – Meijer
clock – Target
lamp base – Meijer
shade – Target
bowl – Anthropologie
black iron hooks – The Home Depot
bead board wall paper – Lowe’s
*Sharing with Thistlewood Farms and Thrifty Decor Chick
This is just beautiful! I love how all of your color choices, texture choices, and decorative choices come together so nicely to create a truly beautiful, unique space. Thanks for sharing.