Molding Makes It Better

I needed some change around here. I needed something bold, something dramatic.

Uh, no. It needed to be done on the cheap.

I figured paint or molding would be the cheapest way to make some changes so I toyed around with the ideas of repainting a few rooms but that sounded like too much work for one afternoon. Then I thought about doing a stencil on a wall but I couldn't commit to a design. So that left molding...who doesn't love molding?!

I figured the upstairs hallway would be the perfect spot to add these changes since it's so boring! Imagine my surprise when I found out one of my favorite Mandi's in blogland had just done the same project in her house recently (hers is definitely more awesome but whatever). Perfect! I loved the design she used so of course I just copied borrowed it.

A few shots of the boring space in all its glory:

sorry for the shadows from the banister...it's hard to get a shot without them!

We had already done a similar project in the upstairs bathroom so I pretty much had all the supplies. For the bathroom project we used pre-cut pieces of wood since we only needed a handful of boards. This project needed a significantly higher number of boards so buying the pre-cut boards would have cost us a pretty penny. Instead I bought a sheet of plywood (it doesn't need to be sturdy, just pretty) and had planned to bring it home and cut all the pieces myself. Much to my surprise, the very helpful guys at Home Depot offered to cut all the pieces for me!

Seriously?! That's like 20+ cuts! Wait, isn't it like 25 cents per cut?

Nope, we won't charge you.

What?! Free?? Ab-so-lute-ly!

After bringing all my loot supplies home, I got to work priming the boards and wall. From previous experience, let me tell you that priming your boards before putting them up is SO much easier. An extra step, yes, but so much less frustrating in the end...just FYI.

I decided on how I wanted the boards spaced then put them up and painted. It took me more than one afternoon but only because I had to let the primer dry oh and because we have a daughter who is deathly afraid of the compressor, nail gun, and vacuum making it tricky to do such a project without Brian home. Anyway, It was a cheap and easy way to bring some life to our boring hallway and it added some drama along the way.

I love it! Total cost was $11 for the plywood. Now that's my kind of project.

Now I just need to dress it up a bit *sigh* maybe after the holidays!