Adding the West Elm Mobile Chandelier and vintage Longhorns added some interest to our blank entry.  But it was (and still is, really) a far cry from what I’d consider finished.  I mean, half torn off, waiting to be replaced crown doesn’t scream finished.  In fact, it looks awful.

As do the peach, heavily textured knock down walls throughout the entry, living, and dining rooms.  It looks the worst on the large 12 foot expanse.  But, we did take a big step in the finished direction this weekend.  Luckily, Ben and I are both fans of painted tongue and groove strips; a great cover up option for ugly walls.  We’ve got a blank slate accent wall.

I’ve never had an accent wall.  We started with tongue and groove planks, starting level with the entry floor, then down and up from there.  Nailing into studs to secure the boards in place.

Going down was easy, just a few angled cuts along the stairs.  But going up wasn’t so smooth.  Being 12 feet off the floor on the right side, and 16 off the left made it tricky to get everything to the top.  Fortunately Ben knows his way around a wobbly ladder.  Me?  Not so much.

I tried priming the wall, starting at the top, but my short T Rex-ish arms couldn’t reach.  Though he thought it hilarious, he instead took over the priming and painting.

This pine has heavy grain and knots, so it has plenty of character and texture.  Even when painted.  But still looks neutral to allow the light and horns to be the real focal points.

Though this railing isn’t my favorite, it looks significantly better against crisp white.

We still have some trim pieces to add before putting the final coat of paint on.  The angled trim pieces along the stairs are only 1/2 inch thick, so I’d like to add a cap to thicken it up.

We did this on the planked side, and it adds just enough thickness for the boards to sit against.

Crown can go up around the entry, living, and most of the dining next.  Again, the lone piece isn’t the look we’re going for.

Except the back dining wall, where the 8 foot door goes to the ceiling.  We’ll have to add crown there after we’ve replaced the door with a window and a normal sized header.

But, I’m willing to paint the room, even if the windows and trim will change soon.  Those peach walls have been here too long.  I’ll paint the dark garage door and new railing white for a seamless look.