Mudroom Makeover
About a year ago, I completed an overhaul on our mudroom, and it still happens to be one of my favorite projects to-date! With a little paint, some Sharpie Paint Pens, and a few Ebay and Craigslist finds, this space had a whole new feel. I wanted to share it will all of you today because if you're anything like me, the new year gets you all excited about changing things around the house and there's nothing better than an inexpensive and simple DIY!
First off, I have to give all of the DIY Wallpaper credit to Mandi of the blog Vintage Revivals. Her work is AMAZING! I wish I had even half as much creativity as she, but I'll settle for following her lead and making some amazing DIY projects in my own house. :) Mandi gives step-by-step instructions on her blog of exactly how to create your own DIY Wallpaper, and I followed her advice to a "T". (Just remember, you must use Sharpie PAINT PENS, not regular Sharpies for this project!)
Unfortunately, I have zero "before" photos of our space, but take my word for it when I say it was BORING. Major yawn fest. So what did I do? Paint, of course! I painted all of the walls my favorite shade of white - BM White Dove. Once everything dried, I gathered up some Sharpie Paint Pens from Jo-Ann Fabrics, a straight edge, and a stool to get to work. Surprisingly enough, it was super easy to complete this project. I was a bit hesitant for the first 20 minutes or so because the initial lines just looked so.... blah. After a bit more time and a few more intricate lines, everything quickly came together.
I love the way it turned out. It brings the eye up, making the room feel more spacious. I also like that the design is fun but not busy. The best part? If I get sick of it, I can just paint right over it! No time and labor like removing regular wall paper.
To finish off the space, Tyler and I added a few more items:
- Bench - I found this guy on Craigslist. Isn't he the coolest? I originally bought him with intentions of making him into a coffee table or something, but the height and size were all wrong. When I moved him back here, he was the perfect fit! It looks like he was originally an awesome shade of green, but the previous owners attempted to repaint him silver. It definitely wasn't the best paint job I've ever seen but luckily, the gold pulls were still fairly in tact. I simply taped over all the pulls and gave the thing a nice new paint job in a gunmetal gray. We also added some hairpin legs I found on Etsy.
- Reclaimed Wood - As I've mentioned several times on the blog, Tyler, my parents, and I found the deal of the century last summer when we stumbled upon some raw-edge mahogany boards at the Antique Mall in my hometown. We have used this stuff for all kinds of projects around the house. I love the way it adds a bit of warmth to the space, and it really shines when the morning light hits back here. We didn't do much to the board except wash it and cut it to size.
- Hooks - These puppies were a real splurge, but I LOVE them. They may actually be one of my favorite Ebay purchases ever. They are 100% antique brass from France and date back to around the 1930s. They are solid and absolutely perfect. It was love at first sight.
- Message Board - My Mom and Dad actually got me this board and the magnets for my birthday many many years ago. I'm thinking junior high, or so?? It's from IKEA. I used this thing in my bedroom growing up and then it came with me to college for the next four years. It's held birthday cards, to-do lists, photos, and everything in between. For all of that time, the board was silver. I decided I wanted something a bit darker for this space, so I painted the whole thing in Chalkboard Paint. Now we can hold up cards from Tyler's neice with magnets as well as write quick notes and reminders.
- Flor Tiles - It was tough to find a rug to fit this space and allow for enough door clearance, but a few Flor tiles fit the bill. These things are also great for easy clean-up or even replacement. Since this is the landing spot near our backdoor, a ton of dirt and grime gets tracked through here, so these make it much easier to keep clean.
