Why this has taken me over a year of us living here to make this space more functional, I have no idea! At least having some sort of shoe organization here should have been the one thing we had from the beginning. It has been pure and utter chaos in this room, up until last night at 10pm! I’m so freaking proud of myself for starting my first DIY project in our home. I grew up with my Dad building things, he helped build and renovate our family home when him and my Mom decided to add a WHOLE level to our ranch home! He built a desk and a sofa table that I wanted just from looking at a simple inspiration picture I had, which I still have both by the way! I aced a wood workshop class I took in junior high and have always loved all the DIY/Home Reno shows. Everyone on my Dad’s side knows how to do everything haha so I feel like it runs in my blood. If I didn’t have small children there are definitely bigger projects I’d love to take on but for now, I’ll stick to projects that don’t include tearing down walls and leave that to the professionals.
I’m fortunate enough to have had my Mom stay over this whole weekend to help me shop, measure and be my cheerleader/guide on my first DIY project. I must note, my Mom is also incredibly handy and a fellow DIY lover (telling you, it runs in my family)! On to the project….
I knew I need shoe organization in here since this is a really small, narrow entryway that we use from our garage everyday, all day! When Maddy was in school & during the winter it was a SHIT SHOW. We had not enough hooks to hang backpacks, purses, coats and no where but piles to put our shoes in. I patched up holes, sanded, primed and painted, this whole blue wall we had knowing I would put up this Ikea Hemnes Shoes Cabinet I bought, a round black mirror I already had not being used and maybe a handful of hooks to hang our stuff on it would be exactly what the space needed.
I then changed out the door knobs to the black ones I have throughout the upstairs to match. I’ve been meaning to change out the downstairs ones, just have gotten around to it so now was a great time. I also had a keypad lock from our old house we never used to put on our interior garage door and after one day our kids tried to lock us out, (thankfully Kev had his keys on him) I knew I needed a door I could access without a key for a little piece of mind. But then after I had it all together, I knew I wanted to add something else to it. I scoured Pinterest and insert the Board & Batten ideas.
I mapped it out, multiple times, different spacing. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to add a bottom board, replace the trim, there were so many ideas. I also knew I couldn’t add the battens behind the shoe cabinet, since it’d stick out too much and wouldn’t be to anchor it the best way and also knew I wanted to be able to remove the cabinet if I need to (especially since a floor vent is under one of the legs). I ended up not putting up a bottom boarder and not replacing the trim only because if I did I’d want to replace the trim in the whole house .. all I think of is a whole lot of money I’d rather spend on other projects than trim work. I also ended up cutting my 4ft battens on a 45 degree angle and just did straight cuts for the 1ft battens to sit flush on top of the shoe cabinet to still give it a custom look. I also have a little bit of a difference on each spacing due to where the cabinet needs to sit because of how the doors in this room. I would have done like a 8-10″ spacing across the wall if I didn’t have that shoe cabinet and two different types of doors on either side.
What I used
Zinsser 1-2-3 Primer
SW Chantilly Lace Pearl Finish
Behr Marquee Satin Finish (color matched to) SW Accessible Beige
2 – 1in x 3in x 8ft MDF Primed Trim Board (My wall is just over 8ft, of course)
5 – 1in x 2in x 8ft MDF Trim Board
Liquid Nails
Paintable Trim Caulk
Nail Gun
2in Brad Nails
Wood Filler
Mitter Saw
Level
Stud Finder
Measuring tape
I went back and forth on colors and if I wanted to carry the color over to the trim and or the doors. Since we’d be leaving the door open more, especially since when we have company over and the beer fridge in the garage I wanted the color I painted to be neutral and flow well with the downstairs area. I ended up having Home Depot color match SW Accessible Beige for me and I’m in LOVE with the color. I carried it over from the B&B to the trim and even the metal garage door. The door was so beat up and scuffed up, so I sanded, wiped it down and painted it. I found these cute hexagon wall hooks on Amazon, hung the mirror up it was finally done!! I may paint the inside of the door going into the dining area when I finish the rest of the room but I can not wait to figure out what I’m doing on the opposite side. For now, this space is so much more functional, it’s pretty and I have no problem with keeping the door open to see inside this cute space!
I have everything linked below for you to shop, along with similar shoe cabinets I was looking at before buying this one that fit my space. My exact shoe cabinet from Ikea is linked here.
