The Monkeys Have Been Set Free ....

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween !! We had a weekend full of fun festivities. And, yes, we decided to "rock" the Snooki/The Situation look (from MTV's Jersey Shore). Yo! Actually, it was fun to wear a wig that is my natural hair color (almost makes me miss being a dark, dark brunette).

Annn-eeee-way ... so, recently, I decided it was time to free the monkeys from our mudroom so that they could go back into their natural habitat (lol).

BEFORE: I really did love the red monkey wallpaper that was in there for about 4 years, but, honestly, it always made the room appear a bit dark, and it really limited me in my decorative accessories.

I was greatly inspired by incredibly talented Kim at The Twice Remembered Cottage ... she added beadboard to her dining room (fabulous), and I knew that this was the look I wanted in our mudroom. And, as many of you know I've been on a lighten and brighten kick lately, so you shouldn't be surprised that I "attacked" this room and turned it into this:

We (meaning our neighbor) added beadboard and 4" wide pine molding (both chair and base) to mimick more of a "farmhouse" look. I then painted the walls SW Antique White.

BEFORE: Monkey and palms ev.er.ree.where!

AFTER: Yay(!), lighter and brighter:

In keeping with the farmhouse feel I was going for, our friend removed the basic door casings and added the wider 4" pine molding ... love it:

I found this fun vintage sign at Michaels and placed a plain black frame around it. I am waiting on a few oversized, metal wall laundry pins from Ballard's to go on this wall, too.

The area beside my washer/dryer remains my little grand central station, as far as calendar, invites, etc., goes. We had the black granite (that once sat on our kitchen island) cut down and placed here instead:

Above the cabinets, I placed a few fall pretties:

On the wall by the door leading to the garage, I placed this fun chalkboard (from Home Goods) that has cute little knobs ... love how rustic it is. And, of course, I couldn't wait to break out my chalk paint markers:

On the wall opposite the washer/dryer, I added a coat rack (from Lowes), a picture ledge from Home Goods (that I painted white), along with some fun black picture frames! Actually, I found the frames as part of a boxed set at Belk's (50% off ... score)! They are super lightweight, and you simply hang them on the wall with Command Post Strips (that were also included):

I opted to place a few frames on the picture ledge since I love the layered look:

A coupla "Fall" pillows sit on the black bench below, which also serves as perfect storage for stinky shoes (lol):

And, lastly, no mudroom is complete without a clothes bin embellished with a little chalkboard (which I couldn't help but to add a goofy title to ... yes, I'm a doof), along with some ca-ute Spiderman pj's hanging out: