Hello everyone!
Today I'm writing to share with you Part 2 of our back hallway makeover. If you missed Part 1 you can see it here.
So after I painted the door I wanted to install a new organization system for our keys, backpacks, purses, hats, etc. My intent was to create a place for all of our everyday belongings to "live" but not clutter up the hallway, particularly the floor. Also I needed it to be a system that was safe for our toddler. i.e. couldn't be pulled over or destroyed.
Before I started planning the design, I spent some time looking at pictures on Pinterest to get ideas. Here are some of my favorites that I found for inspiration...
1. I LOVE the frames leaning on top of this system but unfortunately I do not have the room for a ledge this size..
2. I don't have room for shelves, but love this very small ledge made from trim on top of the board of hooks...
3. Eventually I plan to incorporate a bulletin board system like this above each hook for upcoming events...
4. I love the clean look of this one and the leaning frames on top of the very small ledge...
5. I really like the shiplap look of this one but wanted to keep lumber cost low...
6. Another good one of a small ledge and bead board background...
After looking at TONS of images, I decided that I needed my plan to be VERY simple so that I could complete it by myself (well pretty much), AND keep it cheap! The problem with doing a design with 2 x 4's (as in most of the pictures shown above) was that it would require me to remove and re-install the base board because 2x4's are thicker than the width of our baseboards and would hang off the wall past the base board. I just didn't have the confidence in my abilities to do that, so I narrowed it down to this plan and drew it up on paper...
I know at first glance this probably looks very confusing so I'll explain. My plan consisted of using a big piece of bead board with 1 simple board on top, similar to but smaller than a 2x4 . This system would fit perfectly across our wall to the right of the newly painted door....
I chose bead board because it is very thin and would sit almost flush with our base boards. (*sidenote-notice I said "almost flush", it does have a slight lip that sits over the top of the baseboards but it is designed to hang this way. If you are the type of person who needs everything flush, plan on adding a few inches to your length and re-installing your baseboard over the bead board to achieve a perfectly flush look)....
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| this what it will look like against the base board |
This wall space is 80" wide. I wasn't picky about the height, I just knew I didn't want the hooks to hang higher than the top door hinge. The bead board was originally 47 3/4" tall when turned so that the lines run vertically, so I was ok with that height. *sidenote, if you attempt this project and you need your height to be less than 51" tall, you will need to trim it down because you have to factor in a few inches for the board on top that the hooks will hang from.*
Here is the bead board info from Lowe's website...
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| *sidenote-I purchased the raw pine bead board without primer. It's not available online so I had to use this one as a reference but they are the exact same price. |
So since the dimensions for my wall were 47 3/4" tall x 80" wide and the total width of the board when purchased was 7.98' (lines turned vertically) I had Lowe's cut the board down to 2 pieces that would equal 80" wide and I had a small piece leftover. (Refer back to the drawing if you are confused about this part) The nice guy at Lowe's cut Piece 1 for me to be 32" wide without the lip and 32 1/4" wide with the lip (*sidenote-the lip is what allowed the 2 pieces to fit together, flush like a puzzle) and Piece 2 to be 47 3/4" wide with no lip on the right end because Piece 2 was going to sit flush with the wall.
When I got the two pieces of board home, I set them up onto the wall just to make sure they fit before I did anything else. They fit like a glove except for the darn outlet plug, which I had accounted for. So the next step was to draw on the boards exactly where the outlet plug was going to sit, and cut a hole...
To find the hole for the outlet...
I knew it had to be cut into Piece 2. (Refer back to drawing if you get confused) So I took down Piece 2, leaving Piece 1 on the wall. Then I measured, on the wall, from the right edge of Piece 1 over to the center of the outlet. I then marked this exact measurement onto Piece 2. (from left to right) Then I removed the outlet cover from the wall and traced it on Piece 2 using the "center mark" I had just measured as a starting guide. Then my WONDERFUL friend Mrs. S used her jigsaw to cut along the traced rectangle of the outlet cover. (to create a "starter hole" to get her drill inside the board, she first drilled a hole in the center of the rectangle with a drill bit just large enough to accommodate the size of her jigsaw blade) and tada, an outlet hole in Piece 2 was created.....
After the outlet hole was cut, I was ready to secure both pieces of board to the wall. This was a 2 step process. First, I used a glue called PL Power Grab.
I applied an entire tube to the back of both pieces of board using a caulk gun and stuck the boards to the wall. Then I went back with a finishing nailer and nailed small nails around the perimeter of the board to keep the boards from bowing out and secured to the wall. I let this cure for 24 hours before doing anything else and applied a clothing bar/ tension rod just to add some extra pressure as the glue dried....
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| This pic isn't great, as I took it with my cell phone. The clothing bar is held in place with tension against a cutting board |
After the PL Power Grab glue cured, I removed the tension rod and went back to each nail and patched it with this paintable caulk...
After it dried completely, I sanded down the excess caulk so that the board was one flat surface and you could not tell where a nail went into the wall. Then I painted the first coat of paint. I used the exact same color as our trim because I wanted the area to look clean and continuous. Our trim color is Moderate White by Sherwin Williams. I made the mistake of buying eggshell instead of Satin because I mis-read the label on an old can of paint that I found in the attic. But that's ok because I'll show you how I made up for it in the end. 1 coat of paint did not go very far at all with this bead board. I quickly realized it was going to take at least 3 maybe 4 coats to achieve complete coverage because of how fast the bead board soaked in the paint. My advice to you if you attempt this project and plan on painting your bead board, buy the pre-primed board or prime it first with some cheap primer paint.
This is after 3 coats...
Next, it was time to install the top board that the hooks would hang from. To do this I first had to find the studs in the wall. I borrowed a friend's stud finder to do this. It worked pretty well. I definitely recommend double checking it by measuring to make sure your studs are the standard 16 inches apart. When in doubt, do the knock test. So I marked my studs on the wall and measured them to match up with holes I was going to drill into the board. I drilled the holes into the wall first with a dry wall bit 1 size smaller than the screws I was going to use. This was to ensure that the screws had something to grab as they entered the wall. If you make your hole bigger than the screw, it won't hold tight once in the wall. Then it was time to drill the same holes into the board so that the board would line up with the holes in the wall. I was much more careful when drilling these holes into the board as I did not want to split the wood. So I started with a drill bit about half the size of my screw, then I worked my way up the drill bit sizes until I got to the same size drill bit as I used for the holes in the wall. (this took 4 drill bits) Once my holes were drilled to the same size as the holes in the wall, I lined up the board to the wall and drilled my screws right in! I had my strong husband drive the screws in a little further than the surface of the board so that they were "sunken in". This way I could patch them without making it obvious.
Next step was to patch the holes. Since these screw holes were much bigger than the holes of the finishing nails, I decided to use wallboard joint compound instead of caulk to patch them. (it was readily available in our garage thank goodness) I applied a generous amount of this stuff to each hole and let it dry...
After patching the screw holes in the board, I also went ahead and caulked the seam between Piece 1 and Piece 2 using the same paintable caulk as above...
After both the joint compound and the caulk dried, I went back and sanded down the excess joint compound over the screw holes and the caulked seam so that the board was one continuous, flush piece. I was kind of surprised at how much sanding dust this produced for such a small area...
After the sanding was complete and cleaned up (this is important to do before moving on with more paint) I put another coat of paint on the boards and painted over all of the caulked/patched areas.
After the last coat dried, I went back and sealed the entire thing with 2 coats of clear, non-yellowing polyurethane in Satin finish. I did this because I knew that this board was going to need an extra layer of protection against key marks, backpacks, work out bags, zippers from jackets, etc. Also, this is how I made up for the difference in paint finishes as I mentioned above. (remember my paint was eggshell but the trim is satin so I needed to add a satin finish in order for them to match)
Then it was time to install the hooks. I found these hooks at Target...
They were definitely cheaper by far than the ones I priced at Lowe's, Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, and World Market. I also liked them because they were not going to interfere with opening our back door. (*sidenote-if you are attempting this project and have a door to work around, make sure you measure the depth of the hooks before installing) I also liked it that the hooks had 2 prongs so that as our family grows (God willing) I won't have to install more hooks.
To figure out the hook placement I first took in to account that the entire length was 80" and that I wanted at least a foot or more of open space on each end. So I started by measuring 14 inches on each end and leaving that as empty space. I then spaced out the 4 hooks evenly on either side of the center point in the space I had left over. I marked these holes with sticky notes and began drilling...
Lastly, I wanted to assign certain hooks to members of our family. To do this, I thought it'd be best to make some inexpensive, and non-envasive labels to go above each person's hook. I found these frames at Dollar Tree for $1 a piece and my plan was to paint the frames the same color as the wall (Revere Pewter by BM) and insert a black piece of card stock to make them look like small chalkboards. Then I would write out each person's name in white chalk on the paper...
To ensure that the wall paint would stick to the frames, I started with 1 coat of
Country Gray chalk paint by ASCP. (*sidenote-any color and/or brand of chalk paint would have worked, this is just what I had on hand leftover from another project. Primer would have worked too) After the chalk paint dried, I painted 2 coats of Revere Pewter over the top, letting each coat dry thoroughly in between...
Then I removed the white matte that came with the frame, traced and cut down a piece of black card stock to fit the inside and wrote our names with chalk on each one. Tada...
I hung each person's frame above their hook and stepped back to admire our new organization system...
I have to say I am very pleased with how this whole system turned out. We utilize it constantly throughout the day and it has REALLY helped to cut down on the clutter everywhere! (i.e. kitchen counters, floors, back hallway, etc.) And the best part is, my husband asks me where his keys are about half as often now! It's a Christmas miracle!!!
If you attempt this project, send me pics of your finished product!!
Remember, when life hands you lemons, turn them into something lovely!
-Marci
Labels: back hallway, benjamin moore, DIY, diy project, lowes, makeover, moderate white, organization, organize, rug, runner, sherwin williams, Target, wall of hooks, world market
