This $30 Entryway Makeover is one of my FAVORITE home DIY projects I have ever done! Not only did it turn out beautifully, but it was super cheap and only took about an hour. That includes the paint drying time!
For such a quick project, it definitely was a dramatic change! In fact, my husband had fallen asleep right as I was about to get started. When he woke up from his nap he was shocked! Dare I say, impressed?!
The Details
The wall I had in mind is right when you walk in the front door. It was completely blank, nothing but shoes laying next to it. Very plain and blah. I wanted to make use of this space so it only made sense to add some coat hooks. But coat hooks alone wouldn’t do much for the way it looked. That’s when I decided to look into some entryway ideas. I saw a lot that I liked. Some with benches and some with lockers, but I really wanted something very clean and simple. I didn’t have much space to build out anyway because the door swung open to that wall.
I went to Home Depot to get some inspiration and found these moulding boards that I thought were just perfect! They weren’t too thick or wide AND they were already primed white. I also found them to be really high quality, with no bowing or chips on them. My store carried them in 8 foot and 6 foot lengths. These just so happened to work great for my wall! I ended up buying two 8 foot boards and five 6 foot boards.
Putting it Together
When you see how easy this is to put together, you might be shocked! You might even go to the store right now and buy the materials to do it in your own home this weekend!
My first step was to take one 8 foot board and rest it on the top of my baseboard, horizontally. This gave me a level surface to work with. Then I made sure there was equal wall space on each end. I attached the board to the wall with 2 inch screws using a cordless drill.
The next step is to take one of 6 foot boards and place it on top of the board you just screwed in, near the left edge. Use a level to make sure this vertical board is straight and then secure it to the wall by screwing in 2 inch screws. Repeat this step for the right edge.
Now, you’ll get your second 8 foot board and rest it on top of the two vertical boards. This will create a big box, almost like a picture frame. Again, secure this board to the wall using 2 inch screws.
At this point, you will have three 6 foot boards left. These will be spaced evenly inside of the box/frame that you just made. Secure to the wall using 2 inch screws.
Your wall should now look like the picture above.
For a finished look, I recommend filling the screw holes with a little bit of wood putty. After it dries, you can give it a quick sanding and it will be ready for paint.
Painting
I always seem to have white paint leftover from another project for some reason. But that works in my favor since I already had it on hand and didn’t have to buy any! I ended up putting two coats on the wall to cover up the wall color and I also put a fresh coat on the moulding boards. They are already primed, but there seems to be hundreds of shades of “white” paint out there so to ensure everything blended, I gave it a quick coat.
Once the paint dries, it’s time to attach your coat hooks. I chose a pretty simple look, similar to these, to finish off this project.
The Result
Not bad for a 1 hour project, right? Did I forget to mention it was only $30?! What are you waiting for?
