Our Modern Navy Small Entryway Makeover

Our blah beige entryway is now a modern navy showstopper! This blog post is packed with before and after photos of our small entryway makeover complete with navy board and batten, brass decor and lots of functionality.

Our entryway is basically a small hallway. Both our front door and the garage door open up into this room, making it a high-traffic area and the first impression people see when they walk in the door. Well, our entry was a hot mess so I set out to transform this tiny space (aka one itty bitty wall) into a stylish, functional entryway.

Planning your own room makeover? Download the free Home Project Planner to help you plan everything from your ideas and budget to your project tasks and shopping list. Download the FREE Home Project Planner here.

Here’s what it looked like before I began this room makeover. It was a mess of things that never found a home after we moved here last fall. We used that bookcase as an entry console of sorts in our last home so I shoved it here as a temporary fix, but it just didn’t fit our new space very well.

I don’t have a ton of time to work on decorating projects these days, but when I do, I try to choose a small area to focus on. This makes the project manageable for me to complete and means I get to see the finished results faster than if I were to try tackling a huge space all at once. Little by little, all of these small projects build momentum and add up to a big improvement in our home.

Let me show you around this small entryway!

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more information.

Our Small Entryway Makeover

Our “entryway” is really just this small wall along our staircase. This little hallway leads to the back of the house where our kitchen/dining/living area is. It may be a small space, but I knew there was a way to pack a lot of style and function into this area!

Here’s a floor plan to help you get acclimated. I highlighted the “entry” area:

Our Modern Entry Mood Board & Design Plans

As a reminder, here is the mood board from the design plans I shared with you earlier this summer:

Mood Board Sources

This list contains affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more information.

• Brass Wall Lamp
• Mirror
• Console Table
• Map Artwork
• Turquoise Hook
• Plant
• Basket
• White Box

The Before & Afters Of Our Small Entryway

I cannot get over how much this space has improved thanks to a few DIY projects and some thoughtful furnishings and decor!

Here’s a quick look at how this space has changed:

You guys! I’m so in love with this space! I know it’s only a tiny wall, but it makes such a big impact in our home and I cannot wait to carry that style throughout the rest of our main floor. What a big improvement from that plain beige wall we had when we moved in!

Adding Character With DIY Board And Batten And Navy Paint

The main change to the wall is the addition of DIY board and batten that I painted navy. I’m working on a huge blog post with all of the details of that board and batten project, so stay tuned for that!

This house is your standard, run-of-the-mill builder house in the suburbs and I’m determined to add some unique character and architectural details to it. The DIY board and batten is a good first step! It was a great excuse to make use of my Ryobi miter saw and brad nailer.

When I added the board and batten, I also replaced the small baseboard with a much chunkier and more modern baseboard that I plan to eventually carry throughout the rest of our main floor. You can see a bit of the original oak baseboards by the round ottoman in this photo:

I debated between several blue paint colors for this wall and am super happy I went with the dark navy. It’s Midnight Blue by Behr and is a gorgeous true navy blue color. I am thinking the rest of the main floor will be painted white or a very light gray, which will make this navy wall pop even more as an accent wall.

Organizing Our Entry With A Console Table

I searched high and low for a long console table that would fit on this wall and am in love with this marble and wood console table I chose! It’s the perfect combination of style and function and the faux marble top looks remarkably realistic. You can see some of the other affordable console tables I considered in my earlier blog post.

I’m going to share more details about the organizational aspects of this little space in a blog post next week.

Adding Brass Accents To Our Navy Entry

Once the DIY board and batten was installed, the wall was painted and the console table was in place, it was time to hang the round brass mirror and brass sconce. These were a big part of my design for this small entryway makeover and they really do add a lot of style to this space.

I planned the board and batten so the mirror would be centered on one of the vertical battens and centered over the console table. I think a mirror in an entryway is a must and this one adds a lot of style!

I found this affordable brass sconce that plugs into an outlet so there’s no need for electrical work. If you follow me on Instagram, you heard all about my dilemma in hanging this sconce.

Like I mentioned, I planned everything to center on one of the vertical battens but didn’t account for the fact that the base of my sconce was wider than my batten board. Oops! After some pondering, I wound up cutting a couple circular pieces to add to the wall to create a solid base for my sconce. It was a pretty easy fix! I was a little nervous it would look awkward, but I think it turned out really well and looks seamless with the rest of the navy wall.

Adding Art & Accessories

I wanted to incorporate some art on this wall to fill the empty space to the right of the console table. The console table is placed on the left side of the wall to make room for our coat closet door to swing open into the hallway.

So I filled the blank wall across from the coat closet with a few frames, a new letterboard (that I’m super excited to play around with) and a couple simple hooks that are mostly decorative but are handy for a guest to hang their purse or jacket.

I filled the console table with a few accessories and storage pieces that all add a lot of style to the space as well as plenty of organization.

I originally wanted a console table with closed drawers or shelves for storage, but ultimately decided that this open table design would feel lighter in such a small hallway. The bottom shelf of the table is the perfect place for a few decorative baskets and bins to store odds and ends.

The top of the table is filled with a few pretty things, like these candlesticks and this glass vase filled with clippings from one of our bushes. The bowl (from TJ Maxx) is a catch-all for our keys, loose change, and little odds and ends.

There is enough space left on the table to set out letters and small items so we don’t forget to grab them on our way out the door.

Modern Navy Entry Sources

Here’s a list of all of the sources for our modern navy entryway!

• Paint: Midnight Blue by Behr
• Wood Console Table
• Brass Wall Lamp
• Round Mirror
• Letter Board
• Map Artwork
• Floral Artwork
• Wall Hooks
• Glass Vase
• Candlestick Holder Set
• Gold Wire Basket (Gordmans, not available online)
• White Box
• Round Basket (Homemakers, not available online)
• Blue Velvet Ottoman

I hope you love our small entryway makeover as much as I do! It’s amazing how much this little wall makeover has changed the feel of our home already, and I cannot wait to carry more of my style through the rest of our home.

After completing this project, I feel like I have a ton of momentum going into the next one and am eager to continue working on decorating our home. I want to rip up the carpet on the stairs and paint/stain our stairs and railing black and white someday, which will really amp up the style in this space. The yellow wall you see will also be painted over eventually!

I’ll be back on the blog next week to share a detailed look at all of the specifics of this space related to storage and organization. It may not be very big, but I packed a lot of useful storage and functionality into our entryway so stay tuned for that post next week!

Looking for more entryway projects? Take a look at these blog posts:

• Design Plans For Our Small Entry & A Modern Entry Mood Board
• 10 Affordable Wood Console Tables For An Entryway
• These 7 Things Will Organize Your Small Entryway Once And For All
• Everything You Need To Know About DIY Board & Batten Walls

You can also catch up on all of the real-time updates from our entryway makeover by watching the highlights in my Instagram stories!

Want more inspiration for navy walls? Check out my navy bedroom makeover!

Planning your own room makeover?

I created a free Home Project Planner to help you plan everything from your ideas and budget to your project tasks and shopping list. Download the FREE Home Project Planner here.

Have a great day!

Download this FREE Home Project Planner

Ready to conquer all those home projects swirling around in your head? Download this free printable planner to track project checklists, budgets, paint colors, and more.

Hooray! Your printable project planner is on its way to your inbox. Happy planning!

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

First Name

Email Address

We use this field to detect spam bots. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer.

I'd like to receive the free email course. Send me the free printables! I'll never send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit