fun and happy entry foyer

When I started this project five weeks ago I knew I wanted to create a fun and happy looking entry foyer to welcome guests.  I think of a foyer as a home’s first impression, and I wanted ours to have a healthy dose of personality paired with simplicity and function.  I wanted it to say……”We aren’t hand shakers; we’re huggers, so come on in here for the real thing.”  You know because entry foyer’s totally say things like that to people, right?  I wanted the entry foyer to match my family’s personality.  We’re a casual bunch of sarcastic joke tellers.  When you visit us we don’t treat you like a guest, we treat you like family.  We take that whole “Mi Casa es Su Casa” thing pretty literally.  We’re not at all a formal bunch, and I wanted our entry foyer to match the way we welcome people.

I started with a blank slate, a nice but plain space.  Is there anything better than a blank canvas?!

entry foyer before picture

Those of you who’ve been following along over the past few weeks know that I’ve slowly but surely infused a little form and function by bringing in a few key pieces and doing a couple of super simple diy projects.  I swapped the light fixture out for something a bit more modern and selected a few beautiful art prints from Minted (which is currently running a 15% off sitewide sale with code EIGHT).  I added texture to the space in the form of grasscloth wallpaper, added a little function with a built-in coat rack, made a couple of striped wall vases to flank the art over the bench, and most recently painted the interior of the front door a dark charcoal grey.   Now she’s all finished up and ready to greet guests (and the pizza man) in style.

fun happy colorful entry foyer

natural fiber rug , red rug – vintage (local consignment store)

I did a little happy dance when I found this vintage rug at a local consignment store as it brings the colors in the space together so perfectly.  I love the little bit of pink it has in it playing well with the color on the exterior of the front door.  Since this 3 x 5 vintage rug was a bit too small to stand alone in the space I layered it over a larger natural fiber rug.  I like the casual affect layered rugs add to a space, and the natural fiber rug also brings in more great texture as well.

fun happy colorful entry foyer - Pineapple art print - pink door

fun and happy entry foyer

Pineapple print, Abstract prints

I kept the accessories to a minimum and the color palette pretty tight opting for a cleaner look and allowing the art to shine.

black doors entry foyer

I think the dark color on the doors really made the whole space shine.  I’m always so amazed, even after witnessing the power of paint time and time again, at just how impactful paint can be in design.  The dark doors bring in a classic, sophisticated touch balancing the eclectic mix of accessories.  The dark charcoal grey doors make the space feel larger, grander…..and will hopefully hide dirt a little better than the previous white paint did.

fun, layered, colorful entry foyer

eclectic entry foyer

layered entry foyer

entry foyer built in coat rack

I looked for an umbrella stand for months and finally found something at HomeGoods that isn’t technically an umbrella stand but is doing the job quite well.  This brightly colored piece of pottery perfectly marries form with function.

entry foyer umbrella stand

I really love the fun and happy vibe our entry foyer is now rocking!

fun happy entry foyer

 

*Thanks to Lowe’s Home Improvement for partnering with me on this space.  My love for this grasscloth wallpaper and their online selection of superbly priced natural fiber rugs is 1000%, yes one thousand percent, genuine.

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  • Love this space! Question about your pendant from World Market… I bought the same one a few weeks ago and the cup that attaches to the ceiling does not cover the prep in the ceiling very well. Yours looks a bit different, did you change yours out?

  • Your new foyer is simply beautiful! I love the way you incorporated the hooks on both sides of the door. A design element that is beautiful and practical. My favorite!

  • Mine is actually the Eldridge pendant from Ballard Designs that I purchased years ago to go over the kitchen sink in our last house. I brought it with me to use in our new house because I love it so much. It’s pretty much identical to the World Market one. If this World Market version had been available at the time I bought this I would have opted to buy it instead as it’s less expensive and the exact same look. That’s why I linked to it instead of the Ballard version. Why pay more? You can always use a ceiling medallion to cover if the cup is too small.

  • Carmel, the entry way looks fabulous, great job and a nod to your creativity. Thanks for inspiring those of us that enjoy havong color in our homes.

  • Your entry looks perfect! Fun and welcoming rather than stuffy and formal. I love the plant pot from Ace Hardware & the DIY wall vases.

  • Really, really pretty. I have been enjoying watching you decorate your new home. Your style is so different and beautiful. Can’t wait to see what else you do! Just love your use of color. Your ideas just work so well together. You have a wonderful gift.

  • I love it, Carmel. I’ll definitely be looking for a dark color for the inside of our front door, the fingerprints and smudges make me crazy and it looks so cozy too!

  • Wow, looks so beautiful and inviting. Love the bench and the grasscloth wallpaper. The unbrella stand of all things really caught my attention. Love it! This space feels like it belongs in a Ralph lauren or a J-Crew catalogue! Great Job!
    I must ad that foyer is quite large, hey?

  • What a difference! The entry has so much personality and style now. Perfect use of color, it all looks just looks so great. You always make me love red 🙂

  • It is so beautiful! I absolutely love your love for red. It is such a happy color.

  • I really like all the black and white and red. This color combination is what I am trying to use in my kitchen (with some yellow). I need to get rid of the pink and green wallpaper, though! I think I’ll use black hooks near my door, too. Everything in your foyer ties together so well. I’m really curious about something. I’m wondering if this is your fifth or sixth house!

  • Thanks Lucille! This is our sixth house. I started the blog years ago when we were living in our fifth house, hence the name. After we moved I considered changing the name but since the fifth house was the original inspiration for the blog I kept the name and just crossed out the word fifth in the header. Still blogging from http://www.ourfifthhouse.com though. 😉

  • I love the mix of new, diy, and old/consignment items in your designs. I live in Charleston too and was wondering what some of your favorite consignment shops are in the area? We just moved here two months ago and I’m still trying to find those hidden gems. Thanks!

  • Thanks Rebecca! A couple of my favs are Mt. Pleasant Mall and Encore Interiors. I’m still discovering new places too!

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