The "Entry" Entry

This post is pretty long overdue. Something I definitely could've shared much earlier in my blogging. The temporary solution to our dark mudroom/front entrance. From the time that we moved in, in July, I knew it wasn't what I wanted, but with that horrible bathroom of ours and a few other small projects, it was the bottom of our list.

So this is what we were faced with upon arrival at our new home. Wood paneling and big huge (drafty) windows all around. (Mind you, we weren't so aware of the draftiness at this point as it was still hot out). To make it even better worse, there was this ugly, dated track lighting on the ceiling.

It's definitely not the clearest photo, but you get the point - it was UGLY! By the time late August rolled around we had, had enough. One Sunday morning we got up and decided it was time to set to work on covering up that awful paneling. Our first attempt wasn't so successful. After roughing up the paneling with some sandpaper, we used a basic latex primer that we had bought for other basic priming projects when we moved in. After the first coat dried we noticed that the top coat was bleeding through from the wood. B insisted that we try one more coat, but after that proved to be no help, we opted for some KILZ Oil based primer to see if it would help. Boy was it stinky, but one coat was enough to cover up any trace of that yellowy/brown paneling. Of course, wanting to make sure it was absolutely gone, we added a second coat for good measure.
 After a couple of coats of Valspar's Barrister White, the room was already feeling airy and bright. Our finishing touch, was a new light fixture that we had scored at Lowes, before we even closed on the house, for $15! (The fixture was originally worth $75, but was on clearance because it had no packaging! We scooped it up right away, planning on using it for this exact purpose.) VOILA! A bright and airy, temporary solution to our dingy front entrance.

Amazing what a simple coat of paint and a new light fixture can do, huh? 
Earlier in the summer (aka a few weeks after moving in) we had painted the outside of this add-on entrance, as well as the front door, which went from dark natural wood to the wonderful blue you see here. It seriously makes a huge difference and I love it. We're hoping that in the spring we can begin the daunting task of rebuilding the whole thing. As it stands now, it's no warmer than outside due to the drafty windows and lack of insulation! But again - those plans and that reno, are a whole other entry! (No pun intended...)