Do you have “wish lists” for your home? you know those places you wish you had but don’t? Well I do and as much as I love our home, there are so many design and layout changes I’d love to make. However with a limited budget and tearing down our house and starting over is not an option. One thing lack does is create best case scenario ideas in my brain. What do I have to work with and how can I work most efficiently and look pretty at the same time? Well, this mini mudroom is one of those things. If you don’t have a space for jackets and family “dumping grounds” this little project may be just for you.

Before this project, the only space we had to hang coats was on one side of a small entryway from the garage into the kitchen. One side we hung coats and the other I had a type of hall tree that stuck out and took up way too much space. So walking into the kitchen was always so crowded and coats sticking in your face. So we decided to do a “board & Batten’ look coat hanging space to accommodate sever jackets including guests. 

 

 

Here is the space we had to work with. The board and batten style just gives a defined space for hooks and adds some character to the area instead of just being random hooks on the wall

 

 

First, we framed out the area with 1″ x 6″ boards to determine the size we wanted the area to be.

 

 

Next we added another board to define the 2 sections. Remember the 2/3 rule when doing a project where you are horizontally splitting up your wall space.

 

 

Then we started adding 1″x 4″ boards vertically to give the batten look and more texture and character to the wall.

 

 

Once we had all the boards attached it was time to add hooks and decide on a color. When I first envisioned this project in my head, I definitely wanted black to continue with the look I had just completed in our laundry room project-which by the way I love. You can read about the laundry room refresh here How To Refresh A Laundry Room However I was a bit conflicted with the black because the opposite side is the kitchen where everything is very white. I took a poll on my Instagram stories and it was a dead 50/50 on white or black…so that was no help ! LOL

 

 

I knew I had to be primed so I figured I’d see what the white option looks like and then I can always add the black if I’m not in love with it. One thing I did like about the white is that the hooks stand our more. But then decided that doesn’t matter as much because coats would be hanging on them anyway.

 

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Once I had the white up I didn’t love the look from the kitchen. It was so much white and just looked boring. I really wanted the space to pop and that just wasn’t doing it. So I decided to just go for it and try the black. I mean, it’s just paint and although it would be more work, it IS fixable after all.

 

 

So I grabbed the black painted and got started. I’m not gonna lie, it was a bit scary and I was sweating it our just a little. Once I got it finished I was absolutely in love with the sharp contrast and crisp look it gave the space. I was so excited…..but…

 

 

When a few family members walked in I said “what do you think?” And got a very unexpected response, they didn’t like the black! Oh no totally deflated I must say. So then I started second guessing my choice. They said it just wasn’t what they were expecting and it was a shock factor. 

 

 

I’m just completely thrilled with the project (other than my family’s reaction) I like the contrast it gives and how it blends into the laundry room look. I feel like it ties in the bright white kitchen with the black in the laundry room and the wallpaper.

 

 So, for now it will remain black and hopefully it grows on my family a little bit. But like I said it is paint and can always be changed. Do you have any projects you’ve done that you question? I rarely have that happen, but when it does I tend to overthink it. On this one, I’m just not going to because it was the vision I had and it’s so practical and functions well for us.

I’d love to hear what your thoughts are, I always appreciate feedback and comments (as long as they are positive) This really was a simple project that made a big impact both aesthetically and functionally. Thanks for following along and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss any posts .

 

Happy Decorating