Today’s post is dedicated to our entryway. It may be a small space but as the highest-trafficked room in the house and the first impression guests see, it’s time to give this space a makeover! Keep reading to see our modern entry mood board and read a bit about our plans.
Update: This small entryway makeover is complete! Click over here to see how it turned out!
Your entryway/foyer/mudroom is arguably the hardest-working room in the house, yet it is easy to overlook. You get used to shoes piling up and mail taking over the table.
But imagine what a difference it would be to walk in the door after a long day to a beautiful, organized entrance that functions exactly how your family needs it to and that won’t be an embarrassment when you invite company over.
Since we moved into this house eight months ago, most of the time I’ve had to work on home projects has been focused on the nursery and general unpacking/organizing. But now that the nursery is (nearly) complete and things are more or less functioning alright, I’m anxious to begin working on the main floor. I love our open floor plan, but all of this bland beige and boring builder everything could use some color and personality!
Our Entry
Our house doesn’t have much in the form of an official entryway, so I’ve designated this one small wall along our staircase as our entryway area. Our garage door and front door both open up to this little area. Since this hallway has so few walls, I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with the best way to organize it.
There is (thankfully) a hall closet across from this wall and the rest of the front of the house opens up into a front room that I’m currently using as my office (and have grand visions for improving eventually!). The little hallway leads to the back of the house where our great room is (kitchen/dining/living).
Here’s a floor plan to help you get acclimated. I highlighted the “entry” area:
Until recently, this wall was a hot mess. I put this black bookshelf here when we moved in just so we had somewhere to drop keys and things, but obviously, it isn’t the best piece of furniture for this wall. Sorry, apparently the only photo I took of the mess was the video from my Instagram stories a while back:
I knew from the beginning that I wanted a narrow console table here that would better use the length of the wall and wouldn’t block the view from the front door to the back of the house. I also needed to add some organizational systems to our entry for things like keys, mail and shoes.
We do have a small hall closet off this hallway which gives us enough space to store coats and winter items. I would love to add a better closet organizer in there down the road, but for it’s working for us for now. So my main goal for this hallway is to create a drop zone to keep things organized when we’re always coming and going.
Our Modern Entry Mood Board & Design Plans
Mood Board Sources
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Design Plan
Since this wall is so small, I’ve decided to treat it like an accent wall and really give it some personality and character. The rest of the walls on our main floor will eventually be painted a light gray or off-white, so I think going dark on this wall and adding board and batten will really make a statement and help define the space.
I’m hoping to add a lot of architectural interest and character to this house over time, and things like board and batten and redoing the trim are a big component of that.
I also plan to push myself to incorporate more color in this house. Nothing makes me happier than grays, blues and whites and those will definitely be the foundational colors just like our last house.
But David has challenged me to go a little more bold with my color choices (he’d probably paint this wall bright red if it was up to him!) so I’m going to try to take his tastes into account. So although my navy blue paint choice may not be much of a departure from my usual designs, I am going to incorporate some small splashes of color through artwork and accessories.
I shared some of my favorite narrow wood console tables for an entryway on the blog a while ago, and I ended up selecting this beautiful wood table. It has a faux marble top that looks surprisingly real and I love how it fits in our entry.
Those of you on Instagram have been a huge help to me in selecting a paint color! I brought home four samples and ultimately decided to go with the darkest, Midnight Blue by Behr. It’s going to provide such a rich, dark contrast to the rest of the house and I love how it looks with the brass mirror.
Although this is a small space and our closet provides a lot of the storage space we need, I will definitely be adding some functional elements to our entry. The table creates a great drop zone for keys, baskets and boxes underneath will store shoes and things and a few pretty hooks will provide an easy place for guests to hang a jacket or purse.
Our plans aren’t 100% yet, but I’m really hoping to work on the board and batten and paint this wall this coming weekend! Follow me on Instagram to see live updates in my stories (you can catch up on the entry makeover by watching my decorating stories on Instagram!).
Now go check out how our beautiful navy entryway makeover turned out!
Before you go, be sure to download the FREE Home Project Planner. It will help you keep track of all of those decorating ideas and design decisions that go into making your space beautiful!
Here are some more blog posts you may enjoy:
- Our Modern Small Navy Entryway Makeover
- These 7 Things Will Organize Your Entryway Once & For All
- 10 Affordable Wood Console Tables For An Entryway
- How To Plan A Room Makeover Using Pinterest
Have a fantastic day!
