Just a Sad, Little Cabinet Door - Or Is It?

Once the entryway was in hand, I could no longer ignore the hallway. Poor dismal, neglected hallway. This is how it looked the day we moved it. Hideous flooring, under-sized light fixtures, and dark, oakey doors. So. Many. Doors.

I had previously attempted to brighten it up and give it some character by painting the doors, installing chair rail, and giving it a two tone treatment (which tied the wall color in the entry and dining room together). Oh, and installing hardwood flooring. At the time, I wasn’t ready to rip out the tile, so I only ran the flooring where the old carpet had been, knowing I would have to rework that section at some point down the road. I just couldn’t live with that carpet.

Once the tile flooring in the entryway was replaced, I ran the wood up to meet the new tile. Somewhere in the meantime, I also switched out the lights. I don’t love these lights. Let’s face it, they’re boob lights. But I bought them as part of a bundle along with our dining room chandelier and light above the sink. And thus the hallway remained for many a long, beige, dreary year.

After the entry makeover was finished, however, something had to be done. My biggest challenge was finding pieces that could be installed in the awkward spaces between the doors. I went to the Habitat for Humanity Resale store in search of inspiration and was delighted to find this battered and beaten cabinet door for $1.

Step one was to whip out my jigsaw and cut out the center, creating a frame of sorts.

Once it was sanded, I gave it two coats of deep teal chalk paint.

When that was dry, I applied antiquing wax randomly to give it an aged look (naturally, I didn’t remember to take a picture of this step), then dry brushed it with white paint to lighten it up.

It was pretty, but needed something else. I know, I know, a normal person would probably put a piece of art in it. And it did cross my mind to make a piece of custom pour art to go inside, but I get really tired of two-dimensional art and already had several pieces of that in mind for the hallway. I ended up making a wreath out of a brass hoop and orchids and attached it to the frame using cork ribbon. Y’all, how amazing is it that we live in an age where there is cork ribbon?! I’m obsessed.

And a macro shot to show the finished wood in more detail.

This piece solved the problem of what to put in a particularly tricky space, but I still had a lot of wall to fill. Stay tuned . . . .