Entry Makeover Reveal

The entry…you guys…can we just talk about the entry for a second? It’s gone through so many changes. The first year it looked like this…

Then we moved the bench to the breakfast table area and it went to this…

followed by this.

There were parts of each set up I’ve really liked but honestly none of them were ever that functional. Sure, we made do. I put my purse in the chair each day and prayed the dogs wouldn’t eat my tube of lip gloss. Yes, there was an empty albeit tiny square of surface area for my keys. No problem, I can leave my flip flops, cardigan and cell phone on top of my purse “just in case” I need to jet. And that’s pretty much how it’s gone the past few years.

Now’s a great time to mention, I have my heart set on a certain piece of heirloom furniture for this space. Which means, every time we’ve given the entry a makeover I keep thinking about how differently things could/would look. But here’s the thing…it may be years before I ever get that heirloom piece of furniture and I need a functional entryway now.

So a few weeks ago when we cleaned the storage unit out and I had the chance to upcyle my childhood headboard and footboard into a bench, naturally I thought “let’s try it in the dining room!” Ok, so it’s too tall to be in there…then “let’s try it the breakfast area” but guess what? It covered up so much of the window I didn’t want to lose the view….so, the last place to try was the entry….and it worked! But it needed some friends to help make it work…Here’s a look at how we made the entry functional and consistent with all of the layered neutrals we have with the rest of the house…

It started with a blank slate…

Then we added the bench. I used coffee to stain the fabric on the bench pad to help soften the space a bit.

We desperately needed hooks for purses, jackets and bags but there was one problem. Do you guys live with some one that thinks it’s a “total sin to put holes in the walls?” Right? Ok, me too. My solution was to marry the hooks from this piece to an old window I had stashed in the closet. In theory it looked like this…

In reality, it looked like this…

Given the ceilings are 9 feet, we needed another piece to help add height to the space without taking away from the window, hooks and bench. My mom found this old quilt rack for $5 a few years ago. It was hanging out in the garage waiting to be used. I totally resisted painting it at first but once we got the quilt rack on the wall it looked really out of place

so I painted it in Valspar’s Bistro White.

At this point, we had married so many pieces I couldn’t believe we were able to pull it off. We needed one last piece that would help make the entry even more functional so I added the baskets on the bottom to have a place for shoes. These baskets are mismatched and it’s driving me kind of bananas right now. I’m hoping to do a little shopping next week so fingers crossed I find two matching ones.

The buffalo check pillow fabric from IKEA is my current obsession. I used it in my office and what can I say, I’m in love. We’re planning to use the classic print throughout the house now.

I would like to add a new rug and a small mirror to the wall opposite this area but for now, it’s already making a huge difference in how the entry functions.

I hope you guys all have a safe and happy weekend. We’ll be hanging out at Loblolly Manor celebrating graduations, dance recitals and birthdays so it’s going to be a fun time.  We have a great week coming up next week so I’ll see you back here on Monday. Until then, I’ll see you on Facebook, Pinterest and on Instagram over the weekend.

On that note, I’m planning to have a more relaxed blog schedule over the summer meaning (3-4) days depending on my travel plans and project schedules run.  My grandparents are not well so I want to make sure I’m able to soak up as much time as I can with my family over these next few months. I can’t wait to make special memories with them.

Many blessings,

CoCo