A Farmhouse Entryway, Office and Dining Room Reveal

Apr 28 2019
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I should have posted a reveal of my entry way back when I first “completed” it in 2016. But, honestly, it never felt truly “done” until now. The wood stove happened and the entire room needed to be repainted because of smoke damage and then, because I had it cleared out I went ahead and gave my floors some TLC too. Finally though I was able to take my time and put it all back together again!

This room serves FIVE major functions for me:

It is my office, my entryway, my mud room, my dining room AND it also houses my laundry room!

(See a closer look at my previous Office Reveal here and see my brand new Laundry room here.)

Fortunately it is a very big room and accommodates all of my needs really well. It is this big entirely because my Mom, during the renovation, had the AMAZING idea to knock down the wall to the wood shed on the other side and incorporate it into my living space. She helped me put the floor in and my entryway literally doubled in size!

But, before the pretty pictures, here it is before, during the renovation and during this last push to paint away the smoke damage and truly finish this room.

Before and after of my multi functional multi purpose entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space during a DIY do it yourself renovation, gutting my Grandma's 100 year old farmhouse and making it all new again!Before and after of my multi functional multi purpose entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space during a DIY do it yourself renovation, gutting my Grandma's 100 year old farmhouse and making it all new again!Before and after of my multi functional multi purpose entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space during a DIY do it yourself renovation, gutting my Grandma's 100 year old farmhouse and making it all new again!Before and after of my multi functional multi purpose entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space during a DIY do it yourself renovation, gutting my Grandma's 100 year old farmhouse and making it all new again!Before and after of my multi functional multi purpose entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space during a DIY do it yourself renovation, gutting my Grandma's 100 year old farmhouse and making it all new again!Before and after of my multi functional multi purpose entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space during a DIY do it yourself renovation, gutting my Grandma's 100 year old farmhouse and making it all new again!Before and after of my multi functional multi purpose entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space during a DIY do it yourself renovation, gutting my Grandma's 100 year old farmhouse and making it all new again!Before and after of my multi functional multi purpose entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space during a DIY do it yourself renovation, gutting my Grandma's 100 year old farmhouse and making it all new again!Painting the front entryway of my home - OMG the black smoke damage and stains. Not the last of my posts that will include a rant my horrible wood stovePainting the front entryway of my home - OMG the black smoke damage and stains. Not the last of my posts that will include a rant my horrible wood stovePainting the front entryway of my home - OMG the black smoke damage and stains. Not the last of my posts that will include a rant my horrible wood stove

The floor that was here was linoleum over decaying particle board over the old tongue and groove porch floor. (All of this was part of the old screened in porch added in 1925 – 10 years after the home was built.)

I loved the many times painted porch floor but it just wasn’t what I wanted here so I had to get creative! See how I created these lovely inexpensive wood floors.

When the original home was first built this part of it didn’t exist at all. So, where the opening is cut between here and the kitchen, it used to be an outside wall!

And, because that was the outside wall, that is the original 1915 siding! Of course I kept it – all I did was give it a good cleaning and paint it back to its original white.

My dining room table was built by my Grandparents and my mom gave it to me years ago and I expect it to be with me for the rest of my life.

The chairs are new from Amazon (check em out here – aren’t they SO cool!?). I thrifted for a long time for dining room chairs and I just never found anything that struck me as right. For xmas one year many years ago I received them as a gift!

The rug is also a gift I received this last Xmas! Check it out here!

You can see how I built closet doors for both my laundry room and shoe/coat closet. I am still pretty darned happy with them though I took them down and added castors so now they’re rolling doors instead of hinged.

Before and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space

The old dresser I refinished many years ago makes great storage for board games, playing cards, hats and gloves.

(If you’ve been following along then you know I actually had a different dresser here when I first added my office to this space. I think this old beast fits in better so I put the pretty red dresser out in my guest bedroom.)

It made such a great room divider!

From there I want to mention my laundry room πŸ™‚ because it happens to be right smack in the middle of my dining room. (I just finished my little laundry room remodel and it is without a doubt the happiest room in my house!)

If you look at the old before picture you’ll see my Grandparents’ washer and dryer were in this room as well and they had a wall cabinet my Grandpa built above them.

I saved that cabinet during demolition and, with a quick paint job and new hardware, its now not ten feet from its old home and above my laundry machine too!

Speaking of things that didn’t move far: yup, that’s the same mirror!

I still can’t believe that the other half of this room used to be my Grandparents’ completely floor-less and totally unfinished wood shed.

Yes, that is my mom helping me put in my new floor!

I knew I wanted an enormous closet so the whole north wall of this room gave me that.

Before and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space

You can see in the before picture that there used to be three windows there. They made perfect cabinet doors in my kitchen! The barn door closet is housing my electrical panels and more storage.

Both of the storage benches were made by my grandparents many years ago. (See the before and after of the largest bench here, I fixed it, made a cushion for it and then added a stencil too!)

What I really love with my office here is that now I’m actually spending time in this room! Before it was just my pass through for coats and shoes etc in my regular day to day life. Admittedly my dining room table is rarely used for eating… Its generally covered in whatever supplies I need for the current project I’m working on.

But with my desk here I’m constantly in this room now and enjoying it!

The color on the walls I chose new when I repainted the room. Its called Fait Accompli by Valspar and I picked it up at my local Ace Hardware.

I love the contrast it creates, one thing about so much white trim is that my rooms are always bright regardless of how dark my color choices are.

Over my birthday, six day “stay-cation”, that I took I decided that this would be my first real gallery room and literally stole all of the artwork I own from almost every single other room of the house. I just went for it!

It actually looks a lot nicer than I expected lol

Finally, for the first time since I began on my renovation in 2014 I can honestly say that this room is FINISHED!

Before and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this spaceBefore and after of my multi functional entry and dining room that is also now doubling as my office and mudroom too! See how I transformed this space

Comments

  1. April 28, 2019 at 9:12 am

    I love your renovations, the end result is just beautiful! Thanks for sharing the process!

  2. April 28, 2019 at 9:43 am

    Tarah, had to rush right over and see this as soon as I got your e-newsletter. You’re amazing! And I love the combination of the new red chairs with the old dining table.

    • April 29, 2019 at 8:40 am

      Thank you SO much Jean! Happy Spring!

  3. Pat M.
    April 28, 2019 at 10:01 am

    Tara – you have done amazing things with your old house and you’ve started from places that others would have given up on. I love your choice of dark wall paint. In an old home, I think it works wonders giving a surprising newness and modern look. The only thing I would have done differently is to paint the closet surround and barn door (leaving the trim white)in the same dark wall paint so that it disappears a bit more into the walls of the room. Just an opinion…. What you’ve done is wonderful.

    • April 29, 2019 at 8:41 am

      Pat, you are not the first person to suggest that actually! I’ve really been thinking about it. It was my cousin first who mentioned it because those parts of the closet are more like “walls” then trim even though they’re bead board. I’m still trying to decide lol Thank you so much for coming by!

  4. Barbara
    April 28, 2019 at 11:53 am

    What a great job! It looks just right!

  5. Amanda
    April 28, 2019 at 12:42 pm

    You’ve made a beautiful home for yourself. I love the dining room chairs.

    • April 29, 2019 at 8:43 am

      Thank you so much Amanda πŸ™‚

  6. April 28, 2019 at 2:15 pm

    I love the renovations you are doing and really wish I knew how to do half of what you do as my home would always be in renovation mode. LOL! Seriously, my husband and I are in the middle of remodeling our kitchen a little bit and I am very excited about it.

    • April 29, 2019 at 8:58 am

      Good luck on your remodel Carol, I’m just finishing up on mine and I am absolutely convinced that the kitchen is always the hardest room to work on! Thanks for coming by πŸ™‚

  7. Darlene
    April 28, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    Love the blue on the walls really makes the room pop. You have done an amazing job, and your mother tooπŸ‘

  8. April 28, 2019 at 8:11 pm

    I can tell that you have really been working hard! Great job, it looks wonderful! Regina

  9. April 29, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    This is a great before and after! I love how the room turned out-especially your wall color! So pretty.
    Ashley

  10. May 1, 2019 at 5:11 am

    What a huge transformation Tarah. It looks so spacious and really nice now. Kudos to you for all of that hard work. It really paid off and now you can really enjoy your space.

    • May 1, 2019 at 8:08 am

      Thank you Mary, I used to cringe when I came into my house, its such a relief to have it done!

  11. Jeannette
    June 16, 2019 at 3:16 pm

    Girl you never cease to amaze me. I hope you enjoy it because you deserve it. Great job!

    • June 17, 2019 at 8:37 am

      Thank you!! It is so wonderful to have this space finally complete!

  12. wandamurline
    June 19, 2019 at 7:08 am

    Really is very nice….one question….what did you use to plank your ceiling…it looks like in one shot that it was thin 4-6″ pine and in the others, it looked like thin bead board?

    • June 19, 2019 at 8:57 am

      Hi there, its “plybead” actually which is plywood that looks like bead board. I used 1x4s to cover all of the seams πŸ™‚ Thanks for coming by!

  13. DanielleH
    June 19, 2019 at 7:45 am

    I believe our loved ones that we have lost are never really gone, so I can say with absolute certainty that your grandparents must be so proud of you! You have updated this house so carefully and respectfully, and it’s clear that you love it, and love them.

    • June 19, 2019 at 9:07 am

      Oh thank you so much Danielle!

  14. June 19, 2019 at 10:03 am

    What an amazing job you did!!
    YOU SHOULD FEEL SO VERY PROUD!

    • June 19, 2019 at 10:18 am

      Thank you so much Carol!! Its wonderful to walk into this space every day now, so worth the work!

  15. Rhonda
    June 20, 2019 at 4:53 am

    Wow! Beautiful makeover.

  16. August 1, 2019 at 12:27 am

    Continue your great work!! You are an inspiration

  17. Jenn Cunningham
    March 11, 2020 at 11:23 am

    “the entire room needed to be repainted because of smoke damage” goes to a 404?

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