Now that we’ve been living in our house for about 3 1/2 months, we are feeling pretty settled. And now is the time I start getting ideas of what I want to change and update. Non-renovation, decor updates are what I’m going to be making myself, without the help of a professional. I think if I concentrate on one room at a time, I can make sure everything gets done. It’s sometimes hard to shop with Z for home decor when he jumps all over the place, “This would be great in the living room”, “Where can we put this?”, “Can this go in the basement?”. My mind doesn’t work well that way, and we end up walking out of the store with nothing.
First up, the entry way. I thought the best place to start is the place that every guest sees first. It also happens to be the place Z and I walk in and out of every day. We don’t have a door into our home directly from our garage, so the front door gets used a lot.
As you can tell from this picture, our entry leads into MANY areas, so this “room” definitely needs to be able to transition well into all parts of the main floor. I plan to keep the floor tiles, front door, and light fixture. The door and fixture have been recently updated and the tiles run down the hallway into the half bath, and it’s just not a project we plan to attack right now. The terracotta-looking tiles weren’t my favorite at first, but they have been growing on me over time. From this angle you can tell that we need a bigger rug. Especially now that winter is coming, I want something that fills that entry space. A 4×6 fits perfectly without overlapping into other doorways, so I’m on the hunt for one that has a subtle pattern and hides dirt stains. Oh, I’d also love to find a wooden screen door to put up next summer. The front of the house doesn’t have great air circulation, so it would be great to be able to have the door open, and the pupster would love looking out too.
I am also on the hunt for a rectangular mirror to put on the empty wall next to the door. It’s always nice to have a mirror by the entry to give yourself a once-over before heading out. In case you haven’t been over, the little doorway here leads into the office.
Here are our closet doors, which I’m considering painting. There is a lot of wood in our house that makes it feel really dark, so I’m trying to figure out a game plan for all of it. Some wood (like the wood in our kitchen), is pretty and high-quality, but most is boring 80’s trim. These doors sort of land in the middle. I need to sand one of the doors on the top because it sticks, so I might just go for the paint job. I’d also love to paint the trim around the front door and the doorways to the other rooms, but it’s hard to figure out what to paint right now if I’m not painting the other rooms at this time. What do you think? I’d be painting them a soft white.
Here’s the hallway that leads to the half bath and kitchen, which I’m not touching for now. Also, the stair railings include railings that go all the way across the upper level, so those are a project for another day as well.
Looking out from the front door, I’d love to add some art or photos to the empty wall by the stairs to add some more visual interest. {Please excuse our rumpled sofa cushions, thanks to the pup}.
What are your thoughts on trim painting in a transition area? I don’t want it to look partially done, but some lightness would make it feel fresh. I’ll send out an “after” post when I’ve made progress, but don’t hold your breath on timing. 😉
Happy Wednesday 🙂
the idyllic 