Extreme Makeover: Entryway Edition

As I mentioned in my last post, we recently acquired a new bench for our entryway which set off a whole explosion of new ideas for a makeover.  Our bench is so large (I can comfortably lie down on it), it made the hanging shelf thing look so pathetic and measly in comparison and we knew a complete overhaul was necessary.  Going off some inspiration photos found on Pinterest, we decided to install some beadboard and build a wall mounted coat rack/shelf.

First step: hanging shelf thing gets the heave-ho.  More like gets the heck sawed out of it until John was able to rip it off the wall.  A stripped screw forced desperate measures.  As you can see below, John had to take the Dremel Multi-Max to it to first try to cut the head off the screw, and when that didn't work, he just cut the hole to bits until we could pop the shelf off.

Next step: building the wall mounted coat rack/shelf.  We're not carpenters or furniture designers, so it took me a couple months of poking around on the internet before I could find a plan of exactly what I had in mind.  In a stroke of luck, I came across this tutorial through a photo pinned on Pinterest (of course).  Going completely off of that tutorial, we picked up all our supplies at Home Depot and headed home to make our cuts.  Cutting the wood itself was easy peasy, but the crown molding was another story.  John had some difficulties getting the correct angles and our first attempt took approximately four hours... even though our Turkish neighbor's father (who speaks no English) came out to help... Once that first piece of molding had given all it could give, John headed back to Home Depot, found a piece of double-sided crown molding, made the cut, it fit perfectly, and it was all over in a matter of minutes.  I should mention this all happened the weekend before last when it was about 35 degrees and we were all bundled up in our winter coats, hats, and gloves.  After the cuts were made, we nailed on the trim, filled the holes, did some caulking along the seams, and took it downstairs for priming.

My lovely priming/painting station.

My lovely assistant.  He has a weird thing for plastic.

While the shelf was drying, we started in on the beadboard paneling.  Our first step on that was to install a thin piece of stop trim along the right side of the wall as a finishing piece for the paneling (so there wasn't just a weird raw panel edge).  After that was up, we cut the paneling to length (they come in 8' sheets and we decided to go with height of 5') and trimmed the bottom to fit over the baseboard molding.  We then did a dry fitting and used some old lipstick of mine (gotta love the Clinique free samples) to mark the register and outlet holes that would need to be cut out.

Step 1: Apply lipstick!

Step 2: Smoosh board on wall to create an outline!

John used his Dremel Trio to cut out the holes and the panels were ready to be installed.  John first used  paneling adhesive and 16 gauge finishing nails, but discovered the nails went all the way through the panel without securing it.  So, he switched to 18 gauge brad nails and that worked perfectly.  I was at work for the installation, but luckily, our neighbor was able to step in and help.

The paneling goes up!

We then installed a piece of chair rail molding along the top of the beadboard to cap that off.  John used some adhesive and brad nails to hang that, followed by some caulking to hide the seams.

The trim!

After everything was nailed into place, I filled all the holes with some Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler (in a little tub, not the squeezy tube which is awful and I would never, ever recommend unless you have a vice-like grip), waited for that to dry overnight, John sanded it down, and then it was time to paint.  Our first attempt went horribly, horribly wrong with the roller leaving a gross speckled/raised texture that was just nasty, so we gave up for the night and decided to take another crack in the morning.  So, I went to town sanding down the first attempt (which probably took an hour) and then painstakingly painted the entire thing with my trusty 1.5" Shur-line paint brush.  Luckily, it only took two coats and the beadboard was done.

In the meantime, I painted the shelf a nice light gray (Bedford Gray by Martha Stewart color matched to Glidden paint so we could just buy a little tester tub).  We had originally planned on painting the shelf white, too, but then realized we'd go from a blob of black to a giant blob of white.  Still wanting to keep it light and airy, we settled on a soft, kitteny gray.  When the shelf was dry, John drilled pilot holes and then counter sink holes so once it was installed, the screws would hide beneath the surface and we could patch over them.  John installed the shelf, patched the holes, and repainted and we were close to done!

Pre-hole filling, but it's getting there!  We picked up that giant cast iron "B" on sale at Restoration Hardware.  woop!

We had a slight delay in obtaining the hooks we had chosen to finish off the project.  Our Old Town Alexandria Restoration Hardware is sadly closing (boo), but we did score that giant "B" for 60% off.  The Tysons Corner Restoration Hardware was doing inventory the day I went in and wouldn't sell me the hooks (still don't understand that), so we had to order them and wait patiently for 4.5 days until they arrived this afternoon!  On the upside, they were on sale, so we saved about $36.  In case you're curious, we went with the Vintage Hooks.  After powering up with some Panda Express tonight, we came home and screwed those puppies in.

There's a tiny photo-taking John in the hook!

Bam!  It's done!

Don't you think the scale looks so much better?  And it's so much brighter!  Here's a side shot for you...

But how will it look all full o' coats and such??  Have a look!

We're still working on the shelf decor, so we just threw some stuff up there for photos.  Doesn't look half bad, though.  So, all in all, it took us about a week and half, with a lot of time spent on the crown molding and waiting for caulk/wood filler/primer/paint to dry.  I'd like to get a new appropriately sized rug for the entry way, add some pillows to the bench, and find some more or less permanent junk for the top of the shelf.  For now, though, we're happy... that it looks good and it's done.

Just another picture of Elliot because he's so darn cute.