Mudroom Redo: Painting Paneling
The mudroom is the first room anyone sees when they walk into our house.
So when it consists of awful peach colored walls, dated wood paneling, and terracotta-toned tile, it hasn’t exactly been our favorite room to welcome our guests into. We’ve been gone a lot this summer on camping trips and family vacations, so when a random Sunday night rolled around with no plans for the next day, we took advantage of every spare minute of daylight we had left and started prepping for an overhaul. (A special thanks to Valu for sponsoring our project and helping us with the supplies to turn our visions to reality!)
Supplies:
- Paint brushes (we used three different sizes – a smaller brush for cutting in, a medium brush for trim/larger touch-ups, and a large brush for the step)
- Paint Roller
- Paint/primer combination (1 gallon)
- Semi-gloss paint (1 gallon)
- Sample sized paint (for step)
Step 1 was preparing the walls and tackling the wood paneling.
We had to buy a paint/primer combo meant for going over lacquer since the wood paneling wasn’t just outdated, but also glossy. Call us crazy, but we decided to paint the entire room white to brighten it up and take advantage of the natural light that pours in during the afternoons. We primed the paneling (a tedious task) by first filling in the “cracks” between the panels with a small paintbrush, then smoothing the panels out with more primer using a medium/large sized brush. We had quite a bit of cutting in to do since we decided to also paint the trim pieces and window frame while we were at it. Go big or go home, right?
Step 2 was applying the first coat of paint.
We mainly used a roller for this because we were sick and tired of hand-painting at this point. The one wall of the mudroom is sans paneling, thank God, so that was quick and painless. We painted the paneling with the white paint using pretty much the same technique as when we primed the walls – first filling in the gaps and then rolling over the rest to smooth it out.
Step 3 was waiting for it to dry and repeating the process all over again… twice.
Second coats are for the birds, and third coats are even worse, but I would do just about anything to avoid seeing the initial color of the walls poking through, especially when they’re puke-colored peach. (Can you tell I am really against peach walls?!)
Step 4 was deciding what to do with the stair leading into the house.
It was initially stained wood that matched the lovely original paneling, so when my husband had the idea to paint it a fun color, I didn’t hesitate to agree! We chose this fun orange/yellow color and the sample size of paint was more than enough for two heavy coats. I love the way it turned out!
Overall, this was a pretty quick and painless project once the initial priming was taken care of. Moral of the story? Don’t be afraid to paint over your outdated wood paneling! The end result is more than worth the effort! I love the way the white walls brighten up the space, and can’t wait to decorate the blank canvas it created!
Stay tuned to see what we do with the open wall – I’m thinking a gallery wall installment is in our future!
Author: Samantha J. Gill of Hammers & Hair Bows