Penny Pickles

Finally I’m posting about our entry makeover. Finally. It isn’t entirely done – I have a few things I need to hang up on the walls and finish painting the stairs, but for all intents and purposes this space is done. I am in love! In the slide show below there are some before and afters and then a few detailed photos.

We’ve long hated the tile in our entry, it’s the original 1985 brown ceramic with brown grout. It was terrible, breaking and falling apart. Our entry has been a work in progress, we’ve painted, we’ve added a shelf and bench to make the entry niche more useable, bought a fun rug, but nothing could really make it what we ultimately wanted it to be without some major work. Last summer we purchased new tile, I wanted large format, stone, dark and easy to hide dirt. While I consider myself a fairly clean person, I like having things that can hide dirt in the event I can’t clean like I would hope. I found our tile from The Tile Shop and to our surprise it was ceramic. Ceramic tile normally has a more “silkscreened” appearance and doesn’t always have a texture to the surface. The tile I fell for had both texture and a great appearance, so much so that when Ryan laid the tile there were few “repeaters” or tiles with the same image on them. Since the tile was ceramic and not stone it was A. very affordable and B. easy to maintain. We set to tile this winter when Ryan took some time off between jobs. Ryan’s time off got pushed to January and as we were starting this minor entry update I had the idea of removing our entry wall that separates our entry and basement steps. Ryan verified that it wasn’t load baring and with a few swings of a sledgehammer it was gone, along with the notion that this was a “minor” update.

I immediately loved how big the entry felt and how our basement seemed to become part of the house and not a hidden space. After we pulled down the wall, I decided I wanted to tear up the steps, I didn’t like the worn out carpet (which is only 4 years old) and I wanted a more modern railing and felt the carpet didn’t work with that look. I had a hard time convincing Ryan that black treads and white risers would look great on our stairs, but with a few Pinterest finds he was sold or worn down, one of the two.

We went round and round about the type of railing. Our first idea was an acrylic replica of something we saw in Vegas (ultimately it stayed in Vegas), but  it wouldn’t be as stable as we would need. Then we looked at wood and wrought iron, then all wood. I’ve always loved the modern cable systems I’ve seen, but figured they were way too expensive for us. We priced out several options and surprise, surprise the cable system was about the same price as the others – so we decided to go for it. It isn’t for everyone and that’s okay because this isn’t everyone’s house. It’s mine. I love it. I love how clean it feels, how open.

There is a term used when you change things mid-construction. It’s called scope-change. I made a scope-change mid-project with regards to our entry niche. I’m pretty sure my husband hates working for me. It’s no secret that I love to be organized. I wish beyond wishes that we had a mudroom. We don’t. But that doesn’t mean our entry can’t serve as our collect all for coats, bookbags and shoes in an organized fashion. We were using an inexpensive shelf I painted and a bench that my parents received as a wedding gift that I painted as well. They worked fine, but they didn’t provide enough space or function the way I wanted them too. I found on Pinterest a great built-in system that I felt we could replicate and paint black and make work in our more modern space. We purchased bins from Lowe’s that would hold hats, gloves, sunglasses etc. and designed the shelves to fit them. We also repurposed our original hooks and added a few more for hanging storage. Ryan added a deeper shelf above and an outlet that I can use during the holidays or hide during the year with our pictures and artwork that we place on the shelf. I added two pillows that I found at T.J.Maxx Home Goods to soften the space. I liked the organic nature of the black and white print and the “pleather” tailored pillow to tie in the browns in the floor. I also don’t like to pay a lot for pillows so you can’t beat $30 for both.

We replaced our closet door with a more modern style that we painted white and added oil rubbed bronze hardware. The goal is ultimately to replace all the doors in the house. We’ve done it in the boys room, slowly but surely we’ll get there because replacing 14 doors and hardware is expensive, so one day…

We had already replaced our entry light fixture years ago, when we tore down the wall we replaced the one wall sconce with two can or pot lights. I love the soft light they give and they brighten the space so much! We repurposed our original handrail by painting it black, purchased new wall hardware and hung it on the opposite wall from the railing. Slowly I have been painting the stairs and risers with their final coats. Unfortunately with three kids, two dogs and one cat, I can only do every other step and I need days in between for the paint to cure. I figure when the kids graduate from high school I might be done. ;o)

We rehung our “bell” which calls the kids up from the basement for dinner or bedtime, it was a bell my parents bought on their trip to Lexington when they were pregnant with me. It always hung at the top of our basement steps for the same purpose. I love having it up for my kids. I’m hosting my Mavuno Market trunk show this weekend and I’ve ordered additional baskets to hang on the far wall above the steps, I’m starting with three, but may end up with five. I’d like to hang them in an organic curved line on the wall again to add a bit of softness to the space. On the wall opposite the railing I’ve started with 9 square frames, eventually that will be 16 (they are $10 a pop) and they frame Instagram pictures I’ve taken. While I still take photos with my “good” camera, I do take my fair share of daily photos with my phone. They are our day to day life pictures, my plan is to change them out frequently. I’m also adding a narrow rectangular basket for the wall under the bell. I do most of our computer work upstairs and I always have things that need to go downstairs. I used to have a Longaberger basket hanging at the top of the steps as my catch-all. Ryan wasn’t on board with hanging it back up so I’ve found a woven basket from Mavuno Market that will work great for what I need.

I swear to you I didn’t not plant Cyd in the after photo of the main space – the dog just always has to be in the middle of everything. He’s predictable if nothing else. Marcy on the other hand is like an overweight, middle aged woman – she wants NOTHING to do with pictures. She couldn’t run out of the room fast enough.

I am excited we were able to do a project in our home that has bit of impact. It makes me want to do more, unfortunately my contractor likes to be paid so I’ll be waiting until fall before I hit him up with more work. I am grateful I have such a talented husband that can take what I envision and make it real. I’m also grateful he and I have similar taste so it makes projects easy to do – even if he has too many decorating opinions for a man (so said my mother). Thanks for tuning in – one of these days I’ll post our bathroom mini update and bedroom update – but I’m waiting until I at least have my artwork finished for the space. Until then – thanks!