Hello lovelys!
Over the last few weeks I have been working diligently to spruce up our back entryway/hallway and I'm finally ready to share it with you!
I've decided to break up this DIY project into 2 posts. Part 1 will be about how I repainted the back door and Part 2 will include a DIY tutorial on the wall of hooks that I installed.
First let me show you a "BEFORE" picture of the space...
This photo was taken with my cell phone so it's not totally in focus, but you get the gist. We use to hang our keys on this old window frame that I turned into a key rack and we threw the rest of our junk on this
bow-front cabinet as sort of a "catch all" /"stop and drop" type place. You can imagine how we grew out of this system fairly quickly. Also, you can't tell in this picture, but the back door had gotten pretty gross!!!
So the first thing I wanted to do was clean up the door. It had 5 years of smudges, scuffs, and dings on it that just wouldn't come out. I decided to paint it a color that was more conducive to hiding dirt since I consider this to be a "high traffic" area of our home, AND I wanted to use a "pop" color to add some character to this boring hallway! Take a look at the first stage "after" pics....
I am so in LOVE with this paint color!!! It's called
Mopboard Black by Benjamin Moore. It's the perfect shade of DARK navy/pretty much black, without looking blue. It hides dirt and finger prints like a dream!
Here's a closeup...
 |
I made this wreathe out of a wire coat hanger and some branches from our citrus tree.
(Super easy, tutorial later next Spring) |
To paint the door I did a quick "scuff" sanding job with some 120 grit sand paper. I didn't sand it down to the wood or even make a significant difference in the sheen of the original paint, I just gave the new paint a rough surface to stick to. The original paint was enamel with a satin finish. I bought the new paint in an enamel, eggshell finish. I chose eggshell because I knew that the dark color was already going to be more shiny than we were use to so I didn't want to go over board with satin. Either one would have been fine. Satin would have just given a slightly more formal look. I followed this chart while painting to ensure that my brush strokes looked correct as they dried...
After I finished the door, I wanted to upgrade our old organization system by adding a wall of hooks for us to hang our keys and backpacks on. The wall to the right in this picture was the perfect space to do this...
So I'll be back soon to show you Part 2 of our back hallway makeover with a DIY tutorial on how I installed a wall of hooks/"stop and drop".
Remember, when life hands you lemons, turn them into something lovely!
-Marci
Labels: beadboard, bench, benjamin more, hallway, hallway makeover, home depot, moderate white, mopboard black, paint, painters drop cloth, paul michael, revere pewter, runner, Target, wall hooks, world market
