Before and After: This Tiny Bland Entryway Gets a Functional Facelift
When Lindi of Love Create Celebrate set out to redo her entryway, she knew she wanted an accent wall. After deciding against wallpaper and painted geometric shapes, she ultimately landed on wood as her medium (one-inch MDF strips, to be exact). With a few power tools and a helpful hubby, she materialized her vision in just one afternoon and the results are impressive.
Lindi sketched out several different designs before this one stuck. If you’re looking to make your own accent wall, here are her words of advice:
You can copy my design, or make one of your own. Either way, you may need to draw multiple pencil lines before you’re satisfied! We didn’t measure any special angles, except the first one, which we needed a speed square for.
Here are the materials Lindi and her husband used to create their wood accent wall:
- 1/2″ MDF cut into 1″ strips
- 6-foot level (or any large ruler)
- A smaller level
- A speed square
- Measuring tape
- Pencil and eraser
- Mitre saw
- Nail gun
- Drywall putty
- Sanding paper
- Paint (Black Bamboo by Behr Paint)
Lindi used a speed square to draw the first line at a perfect 45-degree angle. This line served as a reference point for the rest of the design. From there, a level and a measuring tape was all she needed to map out the rest of the design with a pencil—a very important step, according to Lindi:
When it came to adding the MDF pieces, we originally were going to add 1/2-inch pieces, but when we drew it on the wall (hard to see above), we realized it was too small, so we measured 3/4-inch pieces, but I still didn’t like it (sorry hubby! lol). We finally settled on 1-inch thick and they were perfect.
After mapping out the design, the MDF strips were cut using a mitre saw and attached to the wall with a nail gun. Wood putty was used to fill in the joints and sanded down before they added a fresh coat of a deep muted green paint to the walls. Lindi describes the final steps:
Once all of the pieces were up on the wall, we filled the joints with wood putty. When that was set, we sanded down the putty so everything was smooth and then we (errr… my very helpful friend!) painted the wall!
Minimal blacks, whites, and brass were used to accessorize final space, allowing the green wood accent wall to pop in contrast. Entryways are a home’s opportunity to make a first impression, and Lindi (and her very helpful friend, of course) have nailed this one.
Thanks, Lindi!