Entryway makeover is done!

Happy Tuesday, all! It's a momentous day here at HMH. The entryway makeover is finally finished! Can you believe it? I've been talking about it since February, which means you'll probably be expecting some giant overhaul -- but really, it's a tiny space. I just got distracted working on some other projects -- I can't be the only one who gets easily sidetracked, can I?

Here's how our entryway started out. Sorry -- I forgot to take before pictures until I had already started taping for painting.

As I mentioned, it's a pretty small space, so it's hard to get a good photo. It has a beautiful slate floor that we absolutely love, but without a lot of natural light, the yellowish walls looked a little sickly and really did nothing to complement that floor. (I've talked about my odd dislike of yellow walls before...I know, totally weird). We enter here through the garage (on the right), and guests enter here too. It has a little coat closet next to the garage entry door, and a bigger closet for the washer and dryer. More on that later.

Since the entryway opens to the kitchen, and since we love the kitchen color so much, we decided to paint it the same light green/gray color (Ocean Foam by Behr).

Gettin' my paint on

All done! A night and day shot

After living here a couple months, we realized what we really needed was a flat surface to put things -- mail, purse, sunglasses, etc. Without it, we ended up walking into the kitchen to put our stuff down, tracking through mud and cluttering the kitchen counter. We tried finding a table to put against the only flat wall that isn't in the way of a door, but everything was too deep to fit the 15-inch space. Plus, the baseboard heater kept any furniture from sitting flush against the wall.

So, the hubs and I sat down and designed shelving that would attach to the wall, and ended up with cubbies. I wish I could give you more details on how to make this, but one day the hubs decided to tackle it himself as a surprise for me. Awww...

But it still needed to be finished. So I gave it a coat of primer...

We decided to paint it a fun color that would match the floors, and grabbed some samples from Behr. We ended up picking Juniper Ash (second from the left, I believe).

I gave the cubbies two thin coats of semi-gloss paint, using a small angled Purdy brush. I did this in the basement, so I apologize for the poor lighting.

 

Once it was up on the wall, I decided the cubbies needed baskets. I searched high and low at Michaels, HomeGoods and Target, trusty tape measure in hand, to find baskets that would fit the 6-and-1/4 inch cubbies, but no go. I thought I found something, but it was just a smidge too big. (The hubs informed me that, clearly, the basket was 6 and 3/8 inches long. Stupid 1/8 inch difference...).

 

Out of desperation, I shopped the house and shoved anything I could find in there...annnd...eureka! This cute little eyelet tote from Bed Bath and Beyond was just the right size. I jumped in the car and bought three more, but with my $5 off coupon, I really only paid for two....yessss.

I wanted to give the totes a little bling, so I decided to make some cute numbered labels using card stock from Michaels and some leftover ribbon from our wedding centerpieces.

We also wanted some easily accessible hooks for hanging the jackets we wear every day, scarves, hats, etc. It's not like it's that hard to open the closet door and hang up a coat, but it just seemed easier to walk in, put the mail down on the cubbies and toss your coat on a hook. We planned on DIYing this and even shopped for materials, but then we found this six-hook rack at Target on sale for $15, and it was just the right size. Too easy!

I wanted it to match the cubbies, so I took the hooks off, sanded it down and gave it two coats of the same Behr paint.

Our last wish? A place to hang our keys. (Wow, we're demanding!). There are plenty of horizontal key hooks out there, but we needed something vertical to fit the tiny wall above the light switch. So, we bought two packs of these at Target...

And then I set about making a little rack for them. I found a piece of scrap wood in the basement that was exactly the right size and shape. I even liked the little slant on the bottom. All I had to do was sand it down before priming it. Then, I gave it two coats of Behr silver sateen, using one of the $3 samples we bought to test in the office.

I knew I wanted to put the word "keys" on it, so I used Word to print out a template. I cut out the letters using a scrapbooking cutting tool, then traced them onto the key rack, cursing myself for not having one of those fancy Silhouette machines. I started wanting one even more while I was freehand painting the letters using a paintbrush two sizes too big for the project, the only brush I could find. Two coats later and it's not perfect, but it's got charm if you don't look too close...right?

Ready to see it all together? I bet you are. Ta da!

I love that it's cute but also functional. A kitchen utensil holder (I think?) from HomeGoods makes the perfect mail holder, and matches the brushed nickel/chrome accents on the totes and coat rack.

I love the way the cubbies came out -- the color is so fun and it fits so well in the space! The hubs rounded the corner so it wouldn't stick out and block our way. The ends aren't really useful for storage, but make great places to showcase cute little trinkets, like this garden owl, which is stuck inside until spring actually arrives.

The 3 cubbie hides an outlet, which the hubs trimmed out so we could still use it. It'd be a great place to stow cell phones to charge -- right near the door, grab and go!

No, it's not crooked -- I am

And the baskets are great for stowing scarves, gloves (yes, we have still been using these here in Maine!), sunglasses, umbrella, etc. Actually, they're great for stowing clean recyclables when I'm too lazy to toss them in the bin in the garage (gee, is there a theme going on here?!) And there are four cubbies, which means that someday they'll be extra for a kiddo or two. 

Plus, their tapered shape makes them really easy to tip out, so you don't even have to pull them out all the way to get into them. Because that would be too hard. Lazy, remember? :)

Around the corner is the key rack I made. With four hooks, it'll be a good place to hang sunglasses too (since the hubs is always misplacing his...).

And I think every entryway needs a mirror, so I added this seashell one my mom gave me (which means it was free!). I like its size and the distressed frame.

To be honest, this entryway isn't really done. In a couple months, we'll be relocating our washer and dryer to the basement to free up that nice big closet for coats, shoes, etc. While I like having the laundry upstairs, it's poorly placed in the entryway, and I like to hang my clothes to dry, which means I have to cart them into the basement to put on a drying rack anyways.

Yes, I have some towels in the dryer to fold

Once the laundry area becomes a closet, we're thinking of getting rid of this existing tiny closet (door on the left).

I'd love to take off the door, open it up to a half-wall and add a little bench in there. The hubs wants to tear down the whole thing and open it up to the kitchen. If we do that, we'll have to relocate a baseboard and light switches, and perhaps reinforce the beam because it's a load-bearing wall (we think). We'll see what happens! Of course, that would mean saying goodbye to the cubbies and the hooks and all the things we just added...

But for now, we're happy with it.

I'm glad to finally have this done (for now, anyways), so I can focus on our office redo. Still haven't picked a paint color...*sigh*.

I'm linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party!

And linking up to Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch!

And if you made it all the way through this crazy long post, you deserve a cookie!

OMG I want one of these now so bad.... :)

UPDATE: You may have noticed that the river rock boot tray is nowhere to be seen. Yes, sadly, it just took up too much space in this tiny entryway, and we were always stepping around/over it. It did live under the cubbies, but the hooks are just high enough that I have to stretch a bit to reach them, and it was too much of a reach for this shorty with the boot tray sticking out in the way. :)

Once we move the washer and dryer, the boot tray may find a new home inside one of the closets. Or, I just have tons of river rocks to use on other projects!

Linking up to At the Picket Fence's Inspiration Friday!