Well, guess what - it's time for another update on my mudroom renovation project. Lucky for you, the project is complete and now you get to see it finished.
For starters let's take a look at the new work that I did.
Baseboard Trim
I got a little lucky here; there happened to be a bunch of left over baseboard in the house from some renovation that the previous owners did. It was brand new and enough to complete the project so I saved a little money here.
First I cut the baseboard to size, mitered the edges and then nailed it to the wood I installed at the base of the closets.
I borrowed my father in-laws nail gun and air compressor and nailed everything in with 16 gage nails.
Next I filled the nail holes with latex caulking.
I painted the latex after it dried to make everything look clean and seamless. The caulking tends to dry and crack over time and turn yellow and gross looking, but the paint helps keep it looking nice and clean.
I recommend trying to keep your work space clean and organized at all times. It makes the job much easier. Here is an image of my work space...
This is one of those "do as I say not as I do" type situations I guess. I worked in a mess with shit everywhere under foot at all times. Not recommended.
Crown Moulding
The next stage of the project was the crown moulding.
Let me start by saying I fucking hated this part of the project, every step of it. But it needed to be done in order to complete the built in look of the cabinets. The struggle was worth it in the end but I hated the process, that's for damn sure.
First I installed wood on top of the cabinets so that there would be something to nail the trim to. This part was easy enough.
Next I filled the gap above the cabinets with white MDF trim board. Relatively easy here as well.
I had to rip the boards with a jigsaw, which was a bit of a challenge and then I had to sand the crap out of them to make them fit properly.
I suck at using a skill saw but I didn't need to be too precise here, so it was all good.
After the MDF board I cut and installed the crown moulding. This was my first time doing it and it was very difficult for me. You have to make the cuts upside down and do things backwards in a way and it was really hard to keep it all straight in my head. I screwed up a few times and had to buy a new length of crown. I tried coping one of the ends and messed that up pretty bad and then I also had a difficult time getting the angle right on the corners. The 45° angle didn't quite line up right...
In the end I filled in the gaps with more latex and then painted it all with a few coats. A progressional would be able to do it without needing to use caulking. Below is a photo before the paint.
You can't see the mistakes now that ive finished unless you get right up to it and intentionally look for them so everything worked out fine in the end. The struggle was real when I was cutting the boards though, no joke.
Painting and Staining
I wanted a natural wood feature in the space, so I prepped the wall by painting a small section black. This would come through the spaces between the wood to make it look like tongue and groove slats or maybe old fashion paneling.
I used oak boards for the accent wall for a few reasons. 1. Its a hardwood. 2. I'm limited in chooces at the hardware/lumber store - unless I want to use exotic woods and pay a small fortune. 3. Our hardwood floors upstairs are oak and 4...
Because oak happens to be a little cheaper than maple. One last reason is because oak also looks a little like teak (which my wife and I love) compared to maple. You just have to find the right boards with a straight grain and the right color of stain. I could purchase teak but again it would be double the price or more and even just the little oak that I used was close to $500, so teak is a luxury that I'll reserve for another project I think.
Choosing the stain was challenging because I wanted it to be more on the red side, again to mimic teak, without looking like cherry or bright orange.
Surprisingly, red oak is pretty much a brown color.
I bought three different stains and tested them on a scrap piece of wood.
I ended up mixing red oak with red chestnut and did one coat of each consecutively.
In the end I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out.
Are you ready to see the room completed?
First let me remind you how far we've come and what the room looked like before I started.
Stages of the Project
The space started as an out dated bar space with a cedar ceiling, florescent lights, Japanese grass wallpaper, and carpeted floor.
I removed the bar cabinets, ripped up the carpet, took off the wall paper and took down some drywall.
Next I framed the wall.
Installed new drywall.
Installed new recessed lighting.
Taped and mudded the drywall, and built a platform for cabinets to sit on.
Built and installed Ikea cabinets.
Installed the doors.
The rest (trime and accents) were all the above that I discussed in detail.
Finished Product
So here you go. This was how the room turned out. I was originally going to build a bench on the wall where the woods slats are located and I spent two days working on it.
But then I decided that I didn't like it so I took it all down and abandoned the idea.
I put a chair there instead as you can see.
I may add a few more wood slats to the wall and we will eventually put handles on the doors and a mirror up, but other than that the room is complete. So I'll leave you at that. What do you think?