Farmhouse Entryway DIY - Lovebugs and Postcards

When we bought our house a few years ago, I made a list of things I wanted to do. Most of them are checked off, and pretty much everything on the list we did ourselves to save money. One of the things we recently finished was my Farmhouse entryway. My husband and I spent a few days (mostly because of the time it takes to stain the wood and let it dry) doing a Farmhouse Entryway and I LOVE how it turned out!

We got the supplies at Lowes, but any home improvement store should have what you need. I did order my wall hooks from Amazon.com because they were considerably cheaper. So be sure to plan ahead if you are going to order them as I did.

The great news is, you can do this for about $60! An inexpensive upgrade that will add a ton of style and personality to your home. And you can personalize it to your taste.

Farmhouse Entryway

This is what we used to get the look you see in the pictures:

Weathered Pine MDF Wainscot Wall Panel
(2) 1″ x 4″ x 80″ boards
1/2-in x 8-ft Pine Unfinished Quarter Round Moulding
1 package of panel board nails (we used white)
Dark Walnut stain (disposable gloves, paintbrush)
Wall hooks from Amazon.com

Tools:

Chop Saw
Circular Saw
RotoZip Tool (used primarily for sheetrock)
Screwdriver (Impact Drill)
Hammer
Laser Level
Stud Finder

First, you will take the wall panel and measure it and cut it to size (if you don’t need to cut it, then skip ahead to step two. To cut the board, you will use a tape measure to mark the length of the board you will need where you are going to hang it. Then lay the board down on a table and mark it (as pictured below. We use a board and clamps to hold the board in place so that the circular saw would have a “guide”. Carefully guide the saw along the board to cut it to the size needed.

Don’t cover your outlets/switches

You may have an outlet on the wall where the panel is going. This will need to be measured and a small section cut out so it will show through (look at the picture below). Just measure from the bottom up to the bottom and from the shortest side over. Use the RotoZip tool to cut the rectangle shape out.

Hanging the wall panel

Once your wall panel is the correct size, you will hang that using the panel board nails. Make sure you use a stud finder to find the studs and mark a line ABOVE where the top of the board will be. Then you will use a laser level going vertical (off of the line that you marked) so you know where the center of the stud is going down.

Once your wall panel is hung, you will take one of the 80″ boards and put it on top of your panel, flat against the wall. This will be the backboard where your wall hooks will screw into and that your shelf will sit on. Mark the board so it matches the edge of the panel and then cut it using a chop saw. With the help of someone else, have them put the second board on top making the shelf and see if it can be the same length or if you will need to modify it. For example, our shelf board was a bit shorter because of the molding that went around our closet.

Staining the boards

You will cut both boards to length as well as the molding and then lay them out on cardboard so you can stain them. If you haven’t stained wood before, here are a few tips. You will want to wear disposable latex gloves, have two rags, and a paintbrush. Also, keep some mineral spirits on hand for easier cleanup.

Shake the stain well and then open the can, dip your brush in and then coat the wood well. Do about 1/3 of the board at a time. Once 1/3 of the board is covered in stain, take a damp rag and wipe off the excess stain, making sure there isn’t any wetness left (this will become very sticky and look bad). Then you will take the dry rag and wipe it over one more time to make sure you got it. The longer you leave the stain on, the darker the color will be. If you want to leave it longer, make sure you leave it on the same amount of time for each part you stain or it will be different shades of the stain.

Make the shelf

Once the boards are stained and dry (this could take up to a few days), you will want to assemble the boards before you hang them on the wall. You will take the board that goes against the wall and then place the board that goes on top for the shelf and then use screws to attach them together. We used a countersink bit to make a small indent where the screw will go so it doesn’t stick up from the board. Once those boards are together, you will glue the molding into the corner and use clamps to keep it down so it can dry tight and secure.

With the shelf assembled, you will attach it to the wall above the wall panel. To make it more secure, we used the countersink bit and put a screw right in the middle of where our wall hooks would go, and then he put the two screws from the wall hooks on either side of that screw. You will want to secure the shelf with screws, but install the wall hooks at the same time. You may want to predrill the holes to it is easier to put the screws in and keep the hooks straight. You can see in the image below the countersink holes and then the pre-drilled holes for the wall hooks.

Put your Farmhouse Entryway together

Once your Farmhouse entryway is done you are going to love decorating it and the way it changes your entryway will be crazy great. We finished mine right before Halloween and I have had so much fun decorating it for every season. Pint the image above or below to add this to your inspiration board!