Makeover Monday – Foyer Facelift

One of the things I loved about our house when we first walked through it was all the bead board wood trim that the previous owners had installed.  I was on a bit of a moulding kick at the time {thank you Pinterest} and as a result was able to easily see past this baby poop {no offence babies} brownish red colour that they had painted every square inch {except the kitchen backsplash, that was a hideous shade of green} of it and knew it would be a thing of beauty when it was all painted out white.

Though the bead board was throughout the lower level and as the backsplash in the kitchen I knew that the first area that we would tackle, where the baby poop bead board had set up shop would be the front entryway.  As you know our house is a split entry so our front foyer is in no way an enormous space and the dark colour of the bead board was just making it seem smaller.

Here is a not so fantastic before picture of the front entry way.  I meant to take before pictures of the entire house but got so fixated on getting paint on the walls {a whole 30 minutes after we got the keys} that I may have gotten a little distracted and taken them in the thick of things!

{before}

 As you can see it is a less than appealing space.  You would feel the same even without the ladder, mop and other miscellaneous moving necessities in the way, trust me!  So we painted out all the bead board {and the raw wood poking through to the left of the front door there} which totally gave the space a facelift.  And here is the final product.

{after}

I am really happy with the final result, a little paint, a few new pieces and some VERY basic styling has totally changed the first impression of our home.  I was determined to have a piece with drawers that would hold and most importantly hide our crap keys and other stuff you drop when you walk into your house.  I thought I wanted a unit with drawers and a cupboard type space underneath to house shoes or scarves, something like this.

{foyer table option}

 I totally fell in love with this piece but it was a little smaller and flimsier than I was hoping for.  It is not that we are hard on our furniture {our 85lb Weimaraner is} but I knew this wouldn’t be a piece I would want to be replacing and decided that something that is closed like this would box the space in too much when you first walk in the door.  Then one day I stumbled upon this at … you guessed it, HomeSense.

{the one}

I loved the legs and the figure on this one {yes I objectify furniture} and fell hard for her mirrored top and drawers and her beautiful crystal knobs.  I took the picture above and sent it to Patrick, a habit he is all too familiar with, and he shockingly didn’t reply with his standard “oh” “nice” “a table {or whatever the picture is of}” or the more often, no response at all.  Instead he said, if that’s what you want get it.  After doing my happy dance in HomeSense {which probably shouldn’t be seen in public} I closely guarded my soon to be new foyer table while my shopping partner in crime went and grabbed a cart.  For $129.99 she was exactly what I wanted!  The table alone wasn’t enough to do the space justice, it obviously needed a little style.

 {front foyer after}

That silver stool {or giant candleholder to my husband} is something I picked up at HomeSense when we first moved into the house, originally it was in the living room but once my new table moved in I knew they were meant to be together.  I am so happy I picked it up when I did for $49.99 because they are now selling for $99.99++.  My mom had given me the “twinkle twigs” probably a year prior and I had stuck them in an inexpensive glass vase and used them as a nightlight in our guest room at the apartment, they almost found their way into the trash when we moved because they had never really had a real home but I was sure glad I kept them when I began this makeover as I feel they are exactly what this table needed and I adore how they look at night.

{twinkle twigs at night}

I originally didn’t have a mirror above the unit but knew I needed something.  I was going to head out to purchase a mirror and then in my unpacking came across the beautiful brownish tin mirror than I had received as a shower gift.  I loved the mirror but it hadn’t found a home yet in the new house.  I decided it would be perfect in the foyer and with just a little spray paint I absolutely adore it!  I love the detailing and the little bit of interest it brings to the space while blending in so effortlessly.

 {spray painted mirror}

 The front entry carpet was also a HomeSense find but was a little more than I had originally planned to spend.  It was $49.99 but when I saw the colour and the thick pile I knew it was perfect.  I am happy we went to that as it gets a lot of traffic everyday and has withstood the tough wear and tear with ease.

{geometric carpet}

The last element we changed with out foyer was the door knob of our bifold closet door.  I picked up a crystal bifold door knob at home depot for $13.17 {weird price I know}.  It may just be my favourite thing about this makeover as it really adds some visual interest and pulls the whole space together.

{crystal doorknob}

I love the finished result of all the small details in the foyer coming together, it works with the colour story in the rest of our house while still having a look and style of its own.  Plus it makes me happy every time I walk through the door and that is well worth the $250 or so dollars this makeover cost!

{before & after}