I like our entryway. It’s large enough that when people come over, they can comfortably stand and take off their coats without feeling really squished.

But it needed some pizzazz.

You already saw the TP art. That helped.

And then (with the help of some friends who actually know things about home remodeling), we moved on to Board and Batten! Woo-hoo!

So, here are the {before} pictures…

Note: This is NOT a tutorial. If you want the specifics on how to get ‘er done, you can check out some other sites. This is purely inspirational.

So, to start, my beautiful friend Amber and I painted the wall white. THREE TIMES. Who knew it would need that many coats?!



Pretty huh?

At this point, are you wondering how we managed to paint three coats with SIX kids (ages 7,5,4,2,2,and 1) in the house? Yeah, I’ve been wondering that, too. We mostly banished them to the basement, which proved to be a smart move after one of the kiddos hurled a football into one of the freshly painted walls.

Next, it was our awesome husbands’ time to shine.

Or work. Whatever you want to call it.

They measured. They cut. They nailed. It was great fun.

Meanwhile, Amber and I tried to clean some stains off my couch cushions (mostly put there by both of our 2-year-old boys). We were going to use her Bissell Little Green Machine.

Pardon the poor quality of that picture. I took it at 1am. Yes, the portion of the project that we started AFTER church on Wednesday night went a little long.

Moving on…

The machine wasn’t working. Amber took it completely apart, and it still wasn’t working. So, we got out a spray bottle to spray the cleaner on.

And after she scrubbed for a good ten minutes, she asked, “These covers don’t come off, do they?”

And suddenly, I remembered! There are zippers on the cushions! The only reason I know that is because I’m careful to put the zipper toward the couch when I put the cushions back from the kiddos playing “fort” 1,000 times a week.

It’s NOT because I’ve ever unzipped those zippers. Nope, in the 7-1/2 years we’ve owned that couch, the zippers have stayed all snug and zipped up.

So, when Amber asked that question, and I remembered that the covers DO come off the cushions, she might have said,

“I am going to kill you!”

I guess she was getting grumpy from the late hour and maybe all that work she’d just done to my couch, when in reality we could have just removed the covers and WASHED THEM IN THE WASHING MACHINE.

Oops.

So, we did remove them. See?

And now I will show you the grossest picture I have ever posted on this blog…This is what the water looked like in the tub when we threw the covers in with some Dawn, vinegar, and peroxide to soak…Remember, this is 7-1/2 years of “stuff.”

Next time I’m at Amber’s house, I’m going to do this to her couch cushion covers, just so I can feel better about myself. (Or, if hers aren’t nasty, I will go into a deep depression. It’s worth a try, anyway.)

Well, eventually, Luke and I were relegated to cleaning up, while Ted and Amber finished the actual work.

If you noticed Ted’s facial expression, you may have already started praying for their marriage…But don’t worry, they’re doing great. I’m just going to attribute his supposed scowl to my poor photography skills and the late hour.

And eventually…Finally…We were done!

And it is beautiful! I LOVE IT!

What’s the next project?!

Just kidding…I think Luke’s done with project mode for a while.

Oh, and just so you don’t miss out on this spectacle…Here’s a really blurry picture of Ted modeling the new entryway. I think he was pleased with his work, don’t you?