Remember when I said I was going to challenge myself to update one room in our home every month? Murphy’s Law states as soon as you declare something on the internet, you must eat your words. You didn’t know that? Yeah, they changed Murphy’s Law recently. Well, better four months late than never, right? Today I want to share how we freshened up our small entry over the past few months.
This past summer I decided to focus on freshening up our small entry. I figured it would be fairly simple. The space measures about 6 feet by 8 feet and has only one wall to work with. Brightening the space and swapping out the art were my top priorities.
Before the Before:
Taking a quick look back, here is the entry before we moved in. Back then, the wall on the right had french doors leading to an office space. When we renovated before moving in, we closed up the doorway and opened it up from our master bedroom. Not only did this help create a dedicated entry, it also allowed for a more private office space which I needed working from home.
Before:
The next two pictures are from THIS post from a few years ago. They are a pretty good representation of what the entry looked like before the latest updates. The stripes really held me over for a long time. However, in my quest to lighten and brighten the space, I knew bright white shiplap could work nicely. As a side note, I am happy to see my photography skills have improved since these were taken.
After:
After four months of puttering around making one big change and several little changes, here’s where we are today:
The first step we took was hiring a talented local wood worker to do the shiplap this summer. I have been planning this change for at least 3 years now, so I knew exactly the look I wanted: smooth, nickel-sized grooves, and no nails showing. He did a great job.
Besides the shiplap, the rest of the changes were decorative. I swapped out the art for something more earthy. The cute little tray for our mail is from the Container Store. The frame, book crate (similar) and faux fiddle leaf fig plant are all from Target.
The indoor/outdoor rug is from Ballard Designs, but it will not be living here much longer because it actually looks better in our kitchen. I am still looking for something more antiqued or vintage in muted colors in the entry. Something like THIS. Just have to find one in the right size that can handle a lot of foot traffic.
You might notice we also painted the door and swapped out the hardware. While I do love the contrast of the gray door, the actual door itself is on its last leg. Don’t be surprised if I actually pull the trigger on a front door decision one of these days.
This shot gives you a better idea of how the entry relates to the kitchen and living space. Even though it is not grand, I love having a spot to welcome guests, stash our Little Free Library book donations and set down the mail.
And there you have it. The little updates in the entry made such a difference.
Despite my slow progress on this room, the concept of only focusing on one room at a time is still working for me. Up next is our living room. The good news is I’m pretty confident I will have some updates to share with you soon. I hope those words don’t come back to haunt me.
How about you? Have you been making any changes at your place? Do tell!
mary
Beautiful entry and I love your attention to detail. I only like to take on one room at a time too!
Jen
Stunning!!! Well done!
Melissa
❤️ love it!!