Today is extra special, because I am taking part in a blog hop and starting a new series! Myself and a group of home decor bloggers will be going room by room, sharing pictures of what the space looks like, how it has evolved and even some future plans. So, today’s kick off is Entryway tour and ideas – Room By Room series week 1!
This is the perfect time for a series like this. With it being summer and my kids home, like most of you; finding time to do a lot of home improvement projects with kids around 24/7 is just not realistic. So I am not sharing a ton of new content during the summer months. Don’t get me wrong, there is still lots of projects and inspiration I will be sharing, just at a slower pace than usual. Also, my blog has been going strong for over 3 years, and I know that the finer details of my home or a specific room get lost in the shuffle of new content each week. So this is a little refresher for each room. I will be sharing a slideshow at the bottom with any DIY projects I have done featuring my entryway, just to make it easy for future reference for all of you fellow DIYers!
Don’t forget to go and visit the other wonderful bloggers and their entryways! Links are at the bottom of this post.
I shared my outdoor tour last week, which you can go to and see a ton of pictures. But I felt that for this particular Entryway tour and ideas – Room By Room series week 1 I needed to share a few pictures of the front of my home. Since this is what greets people when they first come into our home, this is the official entryway.
Our home is in a beautiful neighborhood, in a small town in the Midwest, you cannot get more quaint than that. Kids run through backyard to get to their friends house, we wave at our neighbors and know everyone who lives on our street, and most in the surrounding streets. Our house was built in 1999, and we have been here for almost 10 years. We purchased it from Dale’s parents, who were the original owners. We have done a ton to make this our own, putting our own stamp on the home.
I adore our home, but this tiny entryway has been a struggle for me. It has a very small alcove with a closet. Other than that it opens up into the living room. There is zero natural transition from people coming in, they are smack dab in the center of our living room.
I have done a lot of DIY projects to visually separate the space as well as paint everywhere! I added wainscoting in the entryway and one wall in my living room, that has the gallery wall on it. This wall is the transition from the entryway to the living room. Without putting up a wall I was able to have a separation of the two spaces.
Painting the front door dark gray had a huge impact on this entryway! It was really simple to do also, only a few steps to revamping it.
One of my favorite ways to impact a home is to add custom lighting. When people think custom they think expensive, which is not the case at all. I purchased this light from Craigslist, it was gold and had a lot more flashy looking chains on it. I removed a lot of the chains and spray painted it black. Total I spent maybe $15 on this ceiling light! Yeah, adding custom lighting can be that simple and inexpensive!
I would show you the inside of this closet… but…. opening the door might cause someone to get hurt. This is a future project I want to tackle, organizing the closet more. I added the cute hooks, which work great for guests or for us to hang a coat, but the larger coats and bags and a few other items get stuffed in here. It is tiny and not at all being used to it’s full potential. I hope once the kids are back in school I can attempt to make this front closet have a better flow and organization to it.
I added this small bench to sit behind the sofa. It does to things being here, helps in adding that separation between the living room and entryway, and of course storage. People put their purses or shoes here when they come in. We have Wisconsin winters, which means lot of snow. Most people take off their boots in winter and this is a very functional place for them to take them off or put them on when leaving. I added the bold colors, texture and the wood trim. The details of it can be found in the slideshow at the bottom of this post.
This little wall has had a lot of different decor items hung on it. I have a big mirror that I got from my Grandma that I want to put here, but I need to paint the frame and repair the broken mirror.
With any entryway, big or small keeping the decor simple and low maintenance is important. This is a high traffic area, and almost always people enter into your home with “stuff”. People come up with a lot of baggage (see what I did there?!) Allowing space to walk in, set things down, hang up coats, take off shoes and a place for them to keep their bags is a great way to welcome people to your home. It cuts back on the chaos that is people coming over. We have three kids and two dogs, anytime anyone comes over it is a process of people, noise and items that have to move into the home.
Even when not considering other people, but just my family using the entryway we need this space to function. I would love to have cozy furniture and more decor here. But I simply do not have the space for it. I dream of a big entryway, an official foyer for my home. Who knows if I will get it. Making this space feel calm, relaxing, and pretty regardless of the size goes a long way. It’s not the size, but how you use it 😉 (What?! Yep, I went there). Seriously though, the entryway into a home is important. It welcomes people into your home, and is the first thing you see when entering. If my entryway is cluttered when I am schlepping in wet swim suits, groceries or massive bags of dog food; having to step around furniture or clutter just adds frustration to my heavy load. I need to walk in and breathe a big relaxing breath, I am home! I hope you enjoyed Entryway tour and ideas – Room By Room series week 1, next week on July 5th is all about kitchens. Be sure to click on the links below to see the other beautiful entryway spaces from some of my blogging friends. I also provided a slide show with all DIY projects done or featured in this entryway space, hoping to help out you lovely DIYers!
Simple steps to make a builders grade home feel custom – ceiling lights
Front door makeover, how to paint
Curb appeal challenge, the full reveal
How to upcycle a bench, adding the details
Entryway table makeover using peel and stick paper
How to replace door weatherstrip, simple ways to improve a home’s energy efficiency
Gorgeous! I got so much inspiration from your post. Our entry way is similar and I’ve struggled with finding a way to make it more welcoming to our family and, of course, guests. I love the idea of painting the door. So simple but the ability to make a big impact. Now to decide on the right color. Looking forward to the series this summer!
Your entry way is absolutely stunning! I really want to redecorate the main entrance to our home. It is not user friendly or welcoming at all and it’s usually the first thing people see and feel when they walk into our home! I do love the color scheme you choose!
I was already in love with your entryway (when this page loaded my first thought was “oh! this is the really pretty house! the one you want to steal… lol”) but that table is the stuff dreams are made of! I can’t hold in my emotions when it comes to weathered wood and industrial hardware!
I love it! Everything about that area is so pretty. I can’t wait for the next installment!
beautiful! My entryway(and the rest of my house for that matter) is a mess right now. I have WAY too much clutter. I’m working on that though
It’s amazing how much a few accessories can change a room or space. I love what you have done here.
I have a smallish entryway. I need to find something I like to keep our shoes in
this is awesome! i just love the look and the doorway at the front. it all looks amazing!
Loving that wall of family pictures. It’s such a fun little snapshot of the moments that are precious. Love how light and bright your entrance is. – Katy
I love what you’ve done with the entry way! I can’t wait to do stuff like this in our new home. I really want to make something my own again. I hope that whatever I do to it, will increase it’s value.
Honestly, if I had my way we would blow out the entire back wall and create a mud room.
I hate that ours is so small…we track dirt everywhere!
What a beautiful entry way. I love the pop of colours and all the storage you have set up
Love, love, love your style! So pretty. I have to admit I stared at your gallery wall a bit looking for inspiration. I need to do a gallery wall.
What an awesome entryway. So stylish and really sets the pace for your home as it’s the first thing everyone sees.
This room by room series sounds like a fun idea. You have a beautiful home and I love what you did on your entryway. The ceiling light is so gorgeous.
Such great home ideas with touches of turquoise! I’ve been loving turquoise lately. Great accent color.
I love your gallery wall of the pictures! And that light fixture is so nice.
You did such a beautiful job with your entryway, I’d never get into the rest of the house! I’d be so busy admiring all the photos and special touches you added there!
I love your entryway!! That is one area of my home I feel like my decor skills are lacking, mine is so dark!!
I absolutely love how warm and welcoming your entryway is! It looks so inviting and cozy
I really enjoyed reading this. This is so helpful. Very detailed and great information. Such a wonderful post!
Your entry way is just stunning! All we have is a tiny space between the bottom of the stairs and a cupboard. I would love a house with a proper entry way one day 🙂
Louise x
I really love what you have done with everything! You are super creative and make it look so easy! Can I just have you come over and help me?
YES! Loving these ideas for the entryway. I really like that you have such a welcoming entryway and that wall of pictures is just so beautiful. It’s nice to see especially if you’re visiting the house for the first time.
Wow, what a beautiful home! I have so much I want to do with my home. Right now we’re going to be replacing all of the windows in our house. I can’t wait to start on everything else.
Such a gorgeous house! I have so many different ideas for our house. The kitchen needs a reno, the bathroom needs assistance and quite frankly we just need more room.
This is so Beautiful I love the Entry and the set up of your house was so great I want these ideas if I have an own house
What a lovely space and can I just say, I am in LOVE with that industrial entryway table :):)
Best,
Kelly
The entryway space turned out lovely! It’s so welcoming and I love the wall of pictures. You shared a lot of great ideas that I would love to implement in my home.
Your home is absolutely beautiful! I love all the different decorations you used throughout it and around it.
Great idea about the custom light. I agree. Even a small foyer needs a special touch. Your hooks and place for shoes make it so functional as well. Thanks again for participating!
I think you’ve done a fantastic job of making a small entry work for your family & giving it some visual separation with the wainscotting! It looks wonderful!
Your entryway and design style are beautiful. Adding custom lighting and pops of color as well as your other design elements make your space stand out. Well done!
Your entryway is so welcoming, Emily! I also have the same dream of a bigger entryway, but you have done a fabulous job with this space!
I just love all your pops of blue, both inside and out! It really is cohesive and well thought-out 🙂
LOVE this idea! So much fun to watch a room evolve! Very cool!!
You had me giggling about not opening the closet door. That is what ours was before I went crazy and ripped the thing out! I love how you have separated your entry from the living room with the bench/shelf. Brilliant.