Posted by
Katherine Scarrow
Tuesday, April 10, 2012 5:46 PM EDT
Real People, Renovating. Today we continue our seven-part series written by Katherine Scarrow, who decided to renovate an original condition 1940s bungalow with her boyfriend, Chris. “It didn’t seem like such a big fat scary deal to him,” she says, while she brought “abundant enthusiasm and profound naïveté” to the project. Why the difference in attitude? Chris was born into a family of builders and designers, while Katherine “grew up in a home where no one was even remotely deft with a hammer.”
Part 3: The Hallway and Front Door
The look:
Country farm cottage.
The challenge:
Aside from the square of floor before the door, there was no entryway to speak of. We decided to close off the front entry way into the kitchen (visible in The Before photo) to create more of a foyer, as well as to give the kitchen more usable wall and counter space (essentially turning it into a galley kitchen). The new wall allowed for a place to put our keys, coins and mail, restricted us with respect to something like a bench or console -- there simply wasn't any room. The challenge was to figure out how to create front-door storage without pushing out into the space.
Approx. cost:
TOTAL: $500
Sheet of drywall: $20
Mirror: $100 + paint: $120
May: $40
Eagle wall decoration: $50
Vinyl flooring: $75
Wainscot panel board: $10
Light: $40
Shelf and brackets: $100
The Before:
You can see the doorway into the kitchen which is now closed.
The Result:
The new wall clad in beadboard.
The Splurge:
Sky-blue Amish barnwood board and reproduction black ornamental brackets from SMASH, in Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood.
The Steal:
The Eagle wall decoration we bought on a road trip through Buzzards Bay, MA. We agonized over where to put it — the traditional place being on the “forehead” of a house — but figured above the mirror it would add the illusion of height in the entryway.
What we would have done differently:
The closet, like the shelf and cabinet, is next to non-existent, so we wish would have taken time to create a bigger, more functional closet for storing coats, boots, umbrellas, etc.
Potential for DIY Disaster?
On a scale of 1 to 5 Bryan Baeumler heads we give this project about a 2. Not much DIY risk involved if you're confident with drywall. It took Chris about a day to put up the sheet and clad it in beadboard.
Design Difficulty?
On a scale of 1 to 5 Sarah Richardson heads — 5 representing the highest level of design difficulty — we give this space 2 SRs. While a few of the elements were unique finds, the overall look and design was fairly easy to achieve.
We strongly recommend:
In a compact space, design must be functional. If your vision is purely aesthetic, you might need to scrap it.
Resources:
Mirror: Christie’s Antiques Show
Vinyl flooring, light, wainscot panel board: Home Depot
Painted Amish barn board shelf and brackets: SMASH, Post + Beam Reclamation Ltd.
Paint: Benjamin Moore
Eagle wall decoration: Christie’s Antiques Show
Next Up — The Living Room and Dining Room!