DECOR

ENTRY WAY BEFORE AND AFTER

Today I thought I would talk about our entry way before and after.  I would sit on the sofa often and glance over at our entry way and think how much I hated the area.  I would dissect every part of it trying to figure out exactly how to make the space look better.  I knew the ceramic tile was definitely part of the problem, but the floor was happening months later.  So I started by removing the blinds over the door.  Those windows face east and certain times of the year the sun is blinding.  Blinding sun or not the blinds had to go.  We’ll just have to wear sunglasses every morning.  No, I’m kidding it’s not quite that bad.

So off the blinds went and sure enough I noticed a small improvement.  The white metal door really bothered me.  It just looked cheap.  The front side of the metal door was black so I thought I’d paint the inside black as well.  I think it helped.  I still hated the door though.

The black cabinet really stuck out and it was getting really old, so at Wayfair I found this chest of drawers that was wider but shallower.  The drawers are more user friendly that cabinet doors.

Progress was slowly being made and I made sure to declutter the area by removing the hooks by the door to hold hats and keys.  Those could now go in the drawer.

When I had a birthday after the purchase of our house I asked for a new front door.  It seems like an odd choice for a gift but I didn’t care, I convinced my husband I simply couldn’t go on another day with that old dented metal door.   We purchased the Rustic Knotty Alder 2-Panel door from Home Depot.

The stairs are kinda part of the entry way so I included this horrible photo.  It’s the only photo I can find.  The carpet and tile was definitely a problem but I was focused on just the door.

I was too scared to stain the door myself.  I have no idea what color of stain this is, it’s from Sherwin Williams.  It’s a shade I picked out with the painter.  Speaking about the door installation.  It was a nightmare to replace, just like our patio door was.  Doors for us never go smoothly but with persistence it eventually was installed.

Here’s a close up photo of my black chest of drawers I purchased.  I really loved it but one day we moved the ladder one day it look a gash out of the edge.  So I decided to just repaint the entire thing.

I filled in the gash and sanded it smooth.  I lightly sanded, primed and used Amy Howards at Home High Performance Furniture Lacquer in black  you can usually find her products at Amazon or Ace Hardware.  I also purchased gold knobs from Home Depot.

To protect the new finish I then used General Finishes High Performance water based top coat in satin.  General Finishes poly is awesome!  You can trust this product.  I’ve had horrible results with other brands like Minwax.  Seriously, I’ve had to redo furniture pieces before after using Minwax poly.  General Finishes polyurethane top coat costs more but the results are worth it.  It’s fool proof and it’s the hardest most durable polyurethane top coat on the market.  I can’t find the stuff locally, so I always order from Amazon.  It’s worth it.  Not only does this protect your furniture piece but it will hide any streaks you have made from spray paint.

One day I got the urge to paint stripes and I loved them.  I love painting stripes, stripes are so dang cute.  Shortly after painting the stripes the new floors were put in….oh yeah!!

Because this was our workout room I always kept the doors closed, it wasn’t a very attractive space.

I switched out the wall art over the chest of drawers so many times.  The clock had a terrible glare always from the window across from it.  I used an old mirror temporarily until I tired of it then I finally framed one of my favorite prints Chat Noir.

This art print like many others I have is from Art.com.  I love Art.com because I can always find exactly what I’m looking for.  I framed the print with non-glare glass since it was hanging across from a window.

Chat Noir has a secret behind it.   It’s hiding an odd placed light switch.  The light switch has always been a problem for me with wall hangings here.  The wall needs something but usually every time I hung something up it would hit right at the light switch and look stupid.  So I choose a 5 inch mat so the frame would be wide enough to cover the never used light switch.  I love this big mat trend.  I don’t know if it’s here to stay, but it’s here now and I love it.

One day I woke up and decided I was so sick of the stripes.  This is normal for me.  I’ll want something so bad and poof one day I’ll be incredibly sick of it and want it gone immediately.  I loved painting those stripes and had them up about a year, then I got just as much joy painting over them.  Funny how things like that happen.  You could see where the paint had collected near the tape edge.  So I had to sand the walls by hand in spots.  That was a bit of a downer.

Painting over the stripes took place near the beginning of my blog and you probably remember me deciding to scrap the workout room we never used and added my office, or girl cave…haha.  I can now leave the doors open since I like the space.

Clearly the floors made a huge impact on the space, as I knew they would but it’s also in all the extra little details that makes me now enjoy this area.  I eliminated unnecessary clutter, I removed awkward blinds, with the double doors open the space seems brighter and larger, I have a better proportional furniture item that works for the space that’s been repainted exactly they way I want it and THE DOOR!!!  Mama loves that door.  It feels so solid, it gave me the style and rich color I crave.  Chat Noir puts a big smile on my face when I walk by.  Always choose art that makes you happy!

I hope you enjoyed our entry way before and after!  Thanks for reading.

 

Laura

Join the Conversation

Leave a Comment