A little paint, stain, and trim are what this dated former pantry space needed to be completely transformed into a welcoming entryway at my fixer upper.
MACTAVISH HOUSE | Updated October 29, 2024
As one reader pointed out to me last week, it is amazing what a coat of white paint can do.
It is week four of the One Room Challenge, and I am beyond happy to finally be able to share something presentable and cleaned up in regards to my fixer upper entryway. Demo is done. Design plans have been made. And now the walls, ceiling, flooring, and trim are refreshed and restored.
In case this is your first visit here, please be sure to check out my entryway before tour of this fixer upper space so that you can fully appreciate the transformation that has happened so far.
MISSED THE START OF THIS SERIES?: Have a look at the Before Tour to see where the room started.
So here has what has transpired since showing you the room in it's demo state:
FLOORS
As I mentioned in my design plans post, my original idea of installing luxury vinyl tile in here didn't work out and I was then hoping to salvage the wood floors. It was a messy job to sand the wood because is was covered in paper tape and a weird concrete-like adhesive.
Unfortunately, when the floorboards were finally cleaned up and sanded to bare wood, I discovered that not all the boards are the same color/type of wood.
It is hard to say why this would have been done, but as I had mentioned during the demo of this room, I'm pretty sure this was the former homeowner using the supplies he had available to construct this space when the bathroom was added. These planks are similar to what was uncovered in the living and dining rooms, but not exactly the same because the floor would have been laid much later.
I decided to continue with the revised plans and see how these boards would stain. I used Fusion Stain and Finishing Oil in Cappuccino (the same as I used in the living room).
Thankfully, for the most part all the boards look about the same once stained. There was one against the wall that I switched out because it was very noticeable. The other few boards are going to be covered by a rug, anyways.
WALLS
Even though at one point the walls looked pretty bad with the old vinyl tile and adhesive still attached in many spots, the drywall was able to be cleaned up pretty well. Everything was freshened with a layer of joint compound for a smooth paintable surface.
The wall where the drywall was removed was pretty uneven given the old exterior boards and the way the addition was put on. I'm not actually sure how they had the drywall attached in some areas, especially near the floor.
The proper way to drywall would have been to stud the wall out with 2x4s creating an even, level surface. But this would have eaten up four inches of the already small space.
So I decided to keep in line with the previous owners DIY renovations and create a board and batten effect on the walls using thin trim and the paneling I removed from the breakfast nook. This allowed me to cut the paneling boards to fit over the trouble areas that I knew I could cover with trim and kept the large panels from going to the landfill.
It wasn't the prettiest job in action, but once everything was installed, caulked and painted, you'd never know how it was actually constructed.
The main reason I opted for the board and batten look was to tie into the walled area I created around the heating duct in the corner. I felt like extending the trim across the entire wall made the bump out section a bit more intentional, plus it adds interest to the wall in a space that doesn't have room for many decor details.
CEILING
I had hoped to save the ceiling in this room, but it was badly damaged and falling down.
I was unsure about what to do. Hiring someone for this tiny space didn't seem possible (and this was after contractors were no longer allowed to be working in my state after the stay at home orders due to the pandemic), but I've never done drywall work before.
All the projects in this house seem to be about me figuring out ways to just get the job done. So, I decided to try something that is highly frowned upon in the drywall world.
In case you don't know anything about drywall, the proper way to do it is to have as few seams as possible because that is where you have to tape and mud to make it all even. Ideally, you need as few cut pieces as possible so that you have very little to try to make smooth.
But me installing a 4x8 sheet of drywall on the ceiling by myself was not possible. So, I bought 2x2 square drywall at Lowes and installed those. Theses squares are meant to fix small areas of drywall and it wasn't exactly an economical way to do this. But I was able to do it myself and after a bit of extra work for a smooth finish, I'm extremely proud of how it turned out doing it this way.
PAINTING
The walls and trim have been painted in the same Valspar Snowcap White I used in the living room. I used eggshell for the walls and semi-gloss on the trim.
READ NEXT: How to Choose the Right Paint Sheen in Every Room
For this project, I've had the pleasure of trying out some supplies from Handy Products, a company that manufactures paint trays, handheld cups, and liners. The Handy Paint Tray holds an entire gallon of paint which is really helpful to not have to keep refilling it as you paint. It is really deep. And the Handy Paint Tray Liners that fit securely inside make clean up really simple.
The Handy Paint Pail is especially nice when painting trim. It is lightweight and has a comfortable strap that fits around your hand as you hold it.
I will definitely be using these products as I paint other rooms in this house!
ENTRY DOOR
The entry door, while not original to the house, is still old, so I wanted to preserve it if possible. It is the only one that was not changed when I had new doors and windows installed.
The exterior side was sanded and stained recently, but I wanted more contrast with the wood floors here on the inside. The wood door was sanded to remove the old layers of shiny finish, cleaned well, and then given a few coats of the same Snowcap White in semi-gloss so that it wipes clean easily.
I spray painted the old hinges in metallic black to match the doorknob that was replaced when I worked on the exterior.
BATHROOM DOOR
I'm working on sanding and painting the bathroom door, transforming an old solid wood door from elsewhere in the house into a sliding barn door.
But in order for this idea to work, I needed to make the bathroom door opening smaller so that the door will cover the opening. I formed a cased opening with new trim boards, but was able to reuse old trim around the door. I also reused the old trim around the entry door.
Can you believe how much this room has changed? It is so much nicer walking into the back of the house now being greeted by this cleaned up space. I've really enjoyed hearing from so many of you how much you like following along with this fixer upper and hope that you are as excited about these changes as I am!
In the next post of this series I'll show you what has been done to repurpose the door for the bathroom.
More Posts in the ORC Mudroom Makeover Series
WEEK ONE: Entryway Before Tour - Discover what this space looked like before the demo started.
WEEK TWO: Demo in the Entryway - See at what is uncovered beneath layers of dated paneling, linoleum, and ceiling tile.
WEEK THREE: Entryway Design Plan - An in-depth look at my original design and the changes I was forced to make.
WEEK FOUR: Cleaned Up and Painted - You are here!
WEEK FIVE: Building a Console Table - Follow as I DIY a table inspired by Restoration Hardware using boards saved from my childhood sandbox!
WEEK SIX: Barn Door Project - Adding a track to an old door saved from this house for the bathroom
WEEK SEVEN: Mudroom Entryway Revealed
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