Simple DIY Small Entry Way Makeover

The month of May is already half over…how is this month going by so fast? I’m working on projects and I cannot wait to show you my GORGEOUS DIY small entry way makeover. This entry way turned out even better than in the vision I shared about in my upcoming project blog post.

Our entry way was a bore. Lifeless. Dull. Who would want to come visit us if they were welcomed in with such a boring space? Ok … so it wasn’t that bad, but it definitely needed some help. From the flat builder’s paint to the incohesive design, our entry way was BEGGING for an updo! I mean, how boring are these before photos?

Goodbye, my Shadow … goodbye

Oh, and you see my dog Shadow in there posing? I have to give him a few paragraphs … I know I just mentioned his birthday on May 5^th, but he has now gone to doggy heaven. He’s been dealing with glomerulonephritis for the past couple years and he came to a point the week of his birthday that he was in severe renal failure. He wasn’t eating or sleeping well and not feeling the best … so on May 11^th, we said goodbye. We let him eat whatever he could, spoiled him with lots of rubs and just loved on him for his final few days.

This meant eggs and toast for breakfast, hamburgers for lunch and ice cream for dessert. Shadow was a big part of our family and our hearts are mending after saying goodbye. Have fun with your brothers, Titus and Charlie, on Rainbow Bridge … we love you buddy!

Board and Batten

As I mentioned in my post about this upcoming project, I was going to do board and batten with our white trim color and a complimenting color up top. We did end up going with Rainwashed from Sherwin Williams.

So, to kick off the project we first determined a plan of attack. We needed to choose the height of the board and batten and then how far apart we wanted each vertical piece to be. We chose 4’ height for our vertical boards for two reasons: 1) We could grab 8’ boards and cut them in half and 2) It would put the top of the board and batten above our light switch, which just seemed to be the right height for this space.

Next, we measured the length of our walls to know how much wood to buy for the board and batten. We wanted to do a wider horizonal top plank at 6” with smaller vertical planks at 4”.

We also needed to figure out a way to keep Sawyer from “helping” during our project. Turns out a bench on it’s side blocking the entry way hall did the trick!

After all the measuring, we had 46’ of wall to cover. We’d need at least that many feet for our 6” boards, which meant purchasing five 10’ boards. For the vertical planks, we estimated a board every 3’, so about eight of the 8’ boards were needed.

Bottom trim decisions

For the bottom trim, we had a few options: remove the existing trim and place new trim at the bottom, place a horizonal line above the trim or cut the vertical planks at the bottom to angle to the same width of the existing trim. We chose to cut the bottom angle to be the same width of the existing trim. This no only saved us money on wood, but saved time too!

Once we had the wood, we emptied out the entry way. I took down all the wall art and wiped down the baseboards. It was time to start the board and batten for our DIY small entry way makeover! My husband did all the placing of the board and batten. He started with the horizonal top boards first and used his nail gun to lay them throughout the hall.

Once the horizonal boards were placed, we were ready for the vertical boards. We knew each board would be about 4’, but with potential height differences due to house shifting or what-not, we measured each as we went. We would cut one side flat and the side that would mesh up to the baseboard, we cut the same width of the baseboard. This made it flow nicely in the room.

The board and batten went up fairly quickly and nicely! There were some uneven parts, so I used a sander to mesh it a bit better … now it was time to caulk and DryDex.

Caulking time

When I say it was time to caulk, I mean it was time to caulk … this is the labor of love part to board and batten. It’s tedious, but also an important part to making it look A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Make sure to grab some paintable caulk and then caulk all the edges of the wood connected to the wall and also the seems between the wood.

For the nail holes, from putting up the boards, use DryDex to fill those. Put some on with a putty knife and let it dry, then simply sand it off.

Painting time

Once you’ve finished caulking and filling in the nail holes, it’s time to paint! I used a pre-primed wood for my board and batten, so I didn’t need to prime. I was ready for the first coat. I grabbed my paintbrush and painted around the wood pieces on the board and batten first, saving the inside flat area of the board and batten for a roller. I did three good coats of paint before I was happy with it. I used a semi-gloss so it’ll be easy to wipe down. It’s the same paint and sheen as the trim in my house, which is Pure White from Sherwin Williams.

After our board and batten was painted white, it looked so beautiful … but we weren’t finished yet! We needed to paint the upper portion of the wall. Since I had just done the laundry room and the kid’s bathroom in Rainwashed, I thought it would also work perfect for the entry way.

As always, I started with the trim around the entry way and then rolled on two coats of Rainwashed. I’m telling you, the room transformed into GORGEOUS when I put the paint on, I could hardly believe the transformation! The tone was perfect next to the board and batten and I knew I picked right!

Putting the pieces together

With the board and batten up and painting complete, I was ready to put the pieces together. I had a wall shelf from Miles’s original nursery that I put up on the wall. It’ll be a good place for guests to put their gloves or pure or whatever else they have. I found a bench from Ashley furniture on Amazon that was perfect for the space and placed it.

I found a new Home sign to put in the entry way and placed that above the kid’s timeout bench … which, by the way, I updated the timeout bench, too! I painted over the girly pink letters with Rainwashed and now it’s gender neutral … so the boys won’t have any excuse (haha) to not go to the timeout chair!

I had some Ikea frames on hand ready to be utilized so I found some prints and ordered those to place in the frames. I hung the clock I’ve had hanging around, as it was large and looking for just the perfect spot in the house!

Then, I hung my state art. I did this art a few years ago. It has Georgia, Montana and Alaska painted on pallet wood. I’ll do a future post on how to make these, for sure! The states are where I’m from, where Ben is from and where we met! It’s meaningful and this was a great place to hang them!

I still need to place a few hooks near the bench at the front of the entry way for guest to hang their stuff, but I’m still looking for the perfect fit. Until then, they can use the coat closet in the entry way.

How’s it look?

So, with all the pieces put together … all the décor hung, I think this simple, DIY small entry way makeover turned out pretty amazing. Don’t you think? The area seems so much brighter and much more functional … I can’t wait to have some guests over!