I’ve shared most of the homes of my family members here on the blog. You’ve seen just about every inch of my mom’s condo. I helped my brother, Ryan, decorate his entire place. My brother, Harry, showed us his awesome city backyard. And my sister, Liz, showed us her gorgeous guest bedroom, guest bathroom, and main bathroom renovations right here on the blog.

As I’ve mentioned, my sister is a nurse and flight attendant (busy girl), and while she can do a lot of amazing things, DIY is not one of them. She has called me over many times to fix random things around her house or to hang a mirror. I’m not even sure if she owns any tools at all!

So, I thought it would be fun to do a beginner DIY project at her house and teach her some skills along the way.

I know many of you are new to do-it-yourself projects and I promise it just takes practice to gain the confidence to do things on your own. My plan is to teach Liz, and all of you, as we install a wall of board and batten in her small entryway.

Small Entryway Wall – Before

Here’s the wall we’ll be working on. It’s about 12 feet wide and the ceilings are 9 feet tall.

Right now, there is a wall hook contraption hung way too high. My brother actually owned this condo before Liz bought it and he installed this hook many years ago. I’ve always teased them both that it’s not the cutest piece of decor to see when you walk into this small entryway.

The Design Plan

If you’ve been around here for a while now, then you might remember my old condo and the board and batten I added to our hallway. I took a plain wall, just like Liz’s, added some wood and hooks, and called it a day. It turned out awesome and elevated our entire space.

My plan is to do a very similar design. I’ll be using two larger boards at the top, running horizontally on the wall. I ordered these 5 1/2-inch pine boards. For the vertical pieces, I’ll be using these 2-inch lattice boards.

Similar to the board and batten in my old hallway, we’ll also add some hooks along the thicker boards. I want this to be a functional place for Liz to hang coats, bags, and more. We will then plan to paint the wood and lower portion of the wall white to match the baseboards and trim.

Let’s Learn Some Woodworking Basics

I’ll be walking Liz through the fundamentals of a woodworking project – how to make a cut on a miter saw; how to properly use a nail gun; how to caulk seams, and more! I’ll be sharing these lessons right here on the blog, but I’ll also be sharing in real time on Instagram stories as we tackle this project together. I’m hopeful that this behind-the-scenes view of this project will give you the confidence to maybe give this project a try in your own home!

When’s It Going Down?

As of now, my plan is to share this project during the week of October 9th. So you’ll be able to follow along and learn all of my tips along the way as I teach Liz the fundamentals. I think this should be a fun one and I can’t wait to transform her small entryway into something special!