Tag: entryway

Sources for the Entryway
I put together a guide for my entryway that I’d posted last week! I love making these boards.
1. Antique Thonet Chair, One Kings Lane
  Mine was a really nice hand-me-down from Brandon’s mom, but you can always find a similar chair one by searching for antique “Thonet” or “bent wood” chairs.
2. Abstract Painting, Kurth, Michelle Armas
  This would bring in the blue I wanted for the entryway, but the painting I already have there is also by Michelle Armas.
3. Oak Hall Tree, Oak Hall Tree
  Ours is opposite the stairs, and came with the house (we negotiated for it).
4. Rope Basket, Target
  I bought two of these. Eleanor claimed the other to use as a nest for her toys and stuffed animals.
5. Vintage Scout Trophy, eBay
  I have a girl and boy trophy, one for each kid. I picked them up for a song at a local antique shop.
6. Single Stem Vase, Heath Ceramics
  This was a souvenir from a trip to San Francisco, city of my heart.
7. Bud Vase, Heath Ceramics
  Same. The colors on these are always changing seasonally, so mine are a smidge different (more coral).
8. Pothos, photo from Plant Care
  A cheap houseplant that’s easy to care for.
9. Porcelain Wood Bark Planter, Throwback Artifacts
  Mine is a small tree stump that was painted silver, and I picked it up at a local flower shop a few years ago. This is a good match.
10. Square Lacquered Gold Tray, West Elm
  I picked this up last year when I was all in OMG-Christmas-magazine-photo-shoot!! mode. Now it’s nice for holding mail.
11. Jayne Glazed Ceramic Table Lamp, Lamps Plus
  I bought mine at least 10 years ago, but they’re still available in a slightly different shade of brown. (Plus a few other colors, too.)
12. Kabuki Cotton Dhurrie Rug, West Elm
  Similar in feel to my vintage dhurrie, and the runner’s only $34 on sale. More alternatives at the end of this post.
13. Stockholm Beige Sideboard, IKEA
  Check your local store, as it’s not on the site yet.
14. Antler Melody Knob, Anthropologie
  These look fantastic on the sideboard! I’m including a few other choices below, too.
Personalizing the Sideboard

The doors on that sideboard have a mechanism that opens them when you push, but I added knobs for more detail. These were four options I had considered.

Flushmount Ring Pull, House of Antique Hardware • Antler Tusk Knobs in Cream and Neutral, Anthropologie • Rope + Metal Knobs, West Elm

I decided that the jute was a little too casual, but the brass ring pulls were a strong contender. I went with the Antro knobs because I was able to see them in person first and I liked their scale and dimension. The lighter ones with brass are pretty, but the darker color looked better in place. I am a little concerned about the durability of them, as noted in some of the reviews, and if they don’t hold up I’ll probably get those brass ring pulls as a replacement.

In case you’ve never drilled to add knobs or pulls to a piece of furniture, here are a few quick tips. Use an inexpensive plastic template to get the spacing even, make one out of paper, or just measure and mark with a ruler. A piece of tape on the front protects the surface of the furniture and also makes it easier to see the pen/pencil mark you’ll make with your template. If you’re concerned about the back of your door chipping (common with particle-board), clamp a scrap piece of wood to the back and drill into that while making your holes. To find the proper drill bit size, test out the knob you’re going to use in each bit’s empty slot (you want the smallest one that will fit the screw/post). Drill, remove the tape, sweep or vacuum up the sawdust, and insert your new hardware.

Rug Options

I love the design of the vintage blue dhurrie that I have in the entryway now, but it is the wrong size and shape. I’ll find a new spot for it in the house as soon as I find a vintage or antique runner that fits the space better and isn’t too expensive, but that I like just as much. In the meantime, here are a few options that have with a similar look.

Kabuki Cotton Printed Dhurrie, West Elm • Grayfriars Wool Kilim, Sundance Catalog • Semi-Antique Tribal Moroccan Rug, eBay
December 16, 2013
The Entryway with its New Sideboard

Hey now! The entryway is looking like a real, finished space!

We do a lot of walking in this neighborhood, so we use the front door more often than the back. I had a runner along the wall for a while, where we would line up our shoes, but once the weather turned colder, we needed more storage for hats and mittens and the like. Plus our mail (and everything else) was piling up on the dining room table. Now everything has a home in the entryway.

This house is well-suited to solid antiques and quirky pieces of furniture, but sometimes IKEA does the job (and does it well). The sideboard I chose is somewhat plain, but with the addition of some knobs and a vintage rug beneath, I really like it. Plus if it was too precious (read: expensive), I wouldn’t feel so great about using it as a glorified shoe cabinet.

The kids backpacks are inside on the left half, along with two pairs of shoes each. I added cushioned shelf liner to the bottom so that it could be removed and cleaned if needed. Normally their hats and mittens are inside too, along the the top shelf, but when August and Eleanor saw me taking pictures, this happened.

Our shoes go on the right side, and my purse can go inside too. More often than not though, I leave it on the chair (which is supposed to be a spot to sit down and put one’s shoes on). The tray holds mail, and the basket is for Brandon’s wallet, phone, and keys.

Vintage scouting trophies, because why not? The kids like them.

There are a few things to do still. The rug needs a thin pad underneath, and the floor outlet would blend more if the cover was wood instead of plastic. I’m a little worried that something will happen to the painting, since its within easy reach of the kids, so I’d like to frame and hang it. I’d also like to bring in more blue elsewhere, but that’s something that could happen in the larger context of the space with the adjoining rooms. Or if I come across another rug that I like equally but that fits the space better (longer), I can swap it out and find a new spot for the blue one.

Maybe I’ll paint (the walls, not the wood). Maybe I’ll add some art near the door. The house will grow and change in time, but for now, the entryway is done.

p.s. Here’s what the space looked like this morning after we went out to play in the snow. Clearly, I took the other pictures after I tidied up a bit.

And this is why I want to get that painting up. Too close for comfort here!

December 9, 2013
Wood Doors, White Trim

I left the doors unpainted in the front entryway. (Thanks for your feedback.)

The door between the living room and the stairway shows its age a little (it’s original to the house, so 100+ years old), but I think it has character. We, or a future owner, could paint or refinish it someday.

And with that… hooray! All of the trim in the house has been painted — upstairs, downstairs, and in the basement! Happy dance time. I can finally cross that one off my list.

May 15, 2013
Let’s Put Together a Modern Entryway

Let’s play a little game. I want to know which hook or rack, mirror, and console table you like together, and then I’ll show you what I’d choose!
(more…)

April 26, 2011
Splash Coat Rack

We could use the functionality of a coat rack since we don’t have a front entryway with a closet, but I’ve never liked one enough… until now.

• Blu Dot

November 9, 2010
Quick New Curtains

I whipped up a couple of new curtains yesterday for the front door and window using an ANNO LJUV sheer panel from IKEA. The fabric was a little tricky because the flower petals are stiff and the rest is a very soft mesh, but I used the zigzag stitch on my sewing machine (a first for me) and that worked well. I think that slipping another café curtain rod (I use the $3 cheapies from Target) along the bottom will help the window curtain hang more smoothly.

The front entry seems to get so much more light now! Well, that’s probably also because I took the screen door off. I was feeling industrious yesterday.

October 15, 2010