DIY Hall Update

Who else turns 29 and asks for a nail gun for their birthday? No one? Just me? It really is the gift that keeps on giving! So many fun projects in my future. Now this post isn’t sponsored by Ryobi but it should be. This post does however include affiliate links (which means with no extra cost to you I make a little bit of commission if you shop through them).

Ok so first! The idea.

I have always wanted a house with a mudroom but unfortunately there was not any space in our house for that. We just had a small narrow hallway from the garage to the laundry/powder bath. Here was the inspo picture from pinterest. I knew I wanted a wall of hooks and a bench to put on shoes/put shoes under so this image was perfect.

I am no professional. I am a full wing it type of person. So therefore, If I can do it. You can definitely do it. Here is my super unprofessional explanation post of my first big DIY without ANY of my husbands help. Can you tell I’m proud?

Here are all the materials + tools I used:

• Nail Finisher

• Circle Saw

• Multi-tool (to cut hole for outlets)

• Shiplap wood panels

• 5”x8’ pre-primed finger joint board

• 1”x3”x8’ pre-primed finger joint board

• quarter round molding

• caulk

• wood filler

• Stud finder

• Drill

• wood pegs

• paint brush kit

• paint (I used sherwin williams agreeable gray in a satin finish)

Ok I know that seems like a lot but if you don’t have any of those tools and plan to do more DIY projects then these are good to have! Other than the tools the materials itself cost less than 200$ so from here on out I will have the tools already and be able to do more projects! My husband and I started buying all Ryobi tools so we could use the same 2 batteries for all of them and not have to worry about buying other tools with different batteries.

Steps:

First: Find your inspiration.

I used my inspo picture to see what kind of materials I might need.

Then measure! And write it all down. Fun fact, Home Depot will cut the wood for you for free if you purchase there! So it’s important you measure first and know how much of each material you’ll need. I placed the online order and picked up all the materials without having to go into the store. Game changer.

So, If I were super professional I would have removed the baseboard but the panel was thin enough that it didn’t leave a huge gap so I factored the height of the baseboard into the project. My largest wall is 11 feet wide so I would need two 4’x4’ panels and then one 3’x4’ (I had to use the circle saw to cut this one myself). It ended up not being a perfect cut which is where the quarter round molding comes in for the corner piece. My second wall was just a little short of 4 feet so I had to cut that panel myself also. I used the multi-tool to cut a rectangle for the outlets.

I used the stud finder to mark all of the studs on the wall so I could make sure I used the nail gun in those places. Then I just started nailing! I put the 5” finger joint on top of the wood paneling. Then Nailed the 3” finger joint on top of that. I made sure to caulk all of the creases to give it that seamless look. Make your caulk line then wipe with a wet towel and it comes out perfect every time. I filled all of the nail holes with wood filler and then made sure to sand them down once they dried.

Then I used my drill and made pilot holes into the 5” board so I could screw the pegs in. Once everything was dry I put on my first coat of paint! I ended up needing to do only two coats. Buying pre primed boards is more expensive but I hate painting so if it saves me a step its worth it to me.

Ok probably the worst instructions for a DIY project you’ll ever read but it was actually really simple! I finished in about 2 days just working from around 7 pm (when the kids went to bed) to about 10 pm.

Here is my tiktok super speed video of the process. Tag me on instagam (@megansonnamaker) if you try this project!! And comment on my instagram picture of this project or comment below if you have any questions that I might have missed in this post.

xoxo,

Megan