Welcome to Week 2 of the Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge!
Inspiration
There is so much inspiration out there that it tends to be overwhelming. When I first came up with the idea to build a mudroom, I started searching for inspiration. My favorite places to find inspiration are Pinterest and Instagram. Pinterest is very easy to search based on keywords. As for Instagram, I will typically follow hashtags for the rooms that I am working on.
I began my search for this project on the Jeffrey Court website. I wanted to select my tile and build on my design from there. Since I would be renovating a mudroom, I knew that I wanted dark tile. With two young boys and two dogs, I fully expect there to be lots of mud tracked through this room in the coming years. Therefore, light tile would be hard to keep clean.
I like to see the products in person before I make a final decision on what I will use for my projects. After a quick trip to my local Home Depot, I decided on the Jeffrey Court Basalt Herringbone Gray Mosaic Tile.
Mood Board
This is the first time that I have created a mood board for one of my projects…I had so much fun creating it!
Luckily, I had some shiplap scraps laying around. I tested all of my paint colors on the shiplap before I settled on the final colors. Seeing my product selections together is very exciting and allows me to determine what I need to add or remove.
Installing Shiplap
Installing shiplap is one of my favorite things to do! I have installed shiplap accent walls, shiplap built-ins and shiplapped a bathroom. I managed to convince my husband to let me shiplap the entire mudroom! I would shiplap my entire house if he would let me, but for now, I’m so happy to have one full room shiplapped!
There are several different styles of shiplap and many different ways to install it. For the mudroom, I chose to spend the extra money and use my favorite shadow gap. I wanted to ensure that the shiplap was secure and would not warp, so I used both construction adhesive and finishing nails to install it.
Did you know…before shiplap became popular as accent walls, it was actually used to construct walls? The shiplap would be installed in place of drywall and would then be covered up. When I was purchasing my materials, I made one long list of everything I would need to complete this project. Since I was building a wall, I added drywall to my list. I knew that I would be installing shiplap over the drywall, but it never occurred to me that I might not need drywall. After lots of research, I decided to save time and money and skip the drywall.
Now that the wall was framed and drywall was no longer a part of my installation, it was time for the fun to begin!
I really like a seamless shiplap installation, but knew this was not possible since my walls are 20′ long. Fortunately, I will be installing a large built-in that will hide most of the seams on one wall. I began in one corner and worked my way around the room. I personally like to work from the ground up, so that is where I began.
One thing that I had to consider when installing the shiplap directly on the studs was that the shiplap needed to begin and end on studs. Luckily, my first section of shiplap perfectly landed on studs.
I have a few outlets and light switches in the mudroom. In order to cut out around them, I cut the board the length that I needed and drew where the cut out needed to be. I used my table saw where I could, and used my oscillating tool to make the other cuts.
Once the shiplap was installed around the outlets and switches, I was able to determine how far I needed to space them. I use the switch and outlet spacers below for all of my shiplap and tile installations.
It is important to space the outlets and switches so that they are flush with the face of the shiplap. Otherwise, there will be a gap between the outlet and wall plate or the outlets/switches will not be sturdy.
As I worked my way around the room, I had to go around a few doors and windows. I used my laser level at these locations to ensure that the boards were properly lining up. Once I lined up the gaps, I would use a level on the board to verify that it was still level.
The corner where I ended only had three boards that intersected. These boards were a little off, but luckily, it’s not very noticeable. If you are shiplapping an entire room, it is important to end in a corner that will not be a focal point.
Once the shiplap was done, I installed the top trim. Instead of using traditional crown molding, I like to use something a little more discreet. For this room, I chose to install primed finger jointed base molding.
In order to save money, I did decide to piece one wall together using the scraps from the other walls. This made patching holes and seams more interesting. For the straight seams and holes, I used spackle. I applied a slightly heavy coat and sanded it once it was dry.
For the corner seams and between the trim and ceiling, I used caulk. I applied a bead of caulk in the corners and used my caulk finisher tool to make a perfect seam. I then came back with a flat head screwdriver and cleaned the caulk out of the shiplap gaps.
The shiplap is complete and the mudroom finally feels like an actual room!
Painting Shiplap with Sprayer
In order to achieve the best finish, I decided to use a paint sprayer for the shiplap. I prepped the room by covering the windows with plastic and taping everything else. I decided to also give the existing trim and doors a fresh coat of paint.
Once everything was taped up, it was time to gear up! Can’t you tell how excited I was about putting my paint suit on?! The paint suit paired with the respirator and goggles is very hot and uncomfortable, but I’m all about safety first and not being covered in paint.
My Wagner FlexIO 3000 was perfect for this project! I used a satin finish for the room. I wanted a paint that would be easy to wipe down, but didn’t want to go with a semi-gloss finish.
I have to give credit to my husband. He doesn’t usually help me with my projects, because I prefer to work on them while he is at work. However, I hit a wall when I was spraying this room. He took one for the team and finished painting for me. He did an excellent job!
Now that the mudroom is shiplapped and painted, I just keep walking out there to stare at it. I absolutely love it and am very happy with my decision to create the room!
I can’t wait to begin tiling! I think the Basalt Herringbone Gray Mosaic Tile is going to look amazing with all of this shiplap. If all goes as planned, I’ll be sharing my tile installation next week!
