Our Home {Entry}

Welcome to our home!

In hindsight it probably would have made more sense to do this as my first post since it's the entrance into our house, but I didn't and I can't go back now, so I'll share it as the second home tour post.

When we decided to build this house, one of the things I loved about it was the entry. The door opens up to a beautiful "twisty" staircase (Carter's description) and you can see straight to the back of the house. Here is a shot of the entry in progress.

I can't resist posting a picture of these two cuties in the little alcove by the stairs. I can't believe how young they look!

Once we moved in I realized that while there are two windows above the front door and you can see straight to the back of the house, it was still pretty dark in there. It doesn't help that our door is solid wood. I absolutely love it, and kind of prefer that when people ring the doorbell they can't see in to know if I'm there or not (I don't know about you, but if Michael isn't home and I'm not expecting anyone, oftentimes I don't answer the door), but I'm kind of wishing that we'd chosen door with glass so it would let a little more light in. Eventually we may change it out, though we had to fight the builders for the rounded door so we'll see.

Back to entry decor....I had this bench from Home Goods sitting in the entry with a chalkboard hanging above it, and for the longest time the alcove by the stairs sat empty.

The above picture is actually from our old house, and seeing it reminds me I still have that family frame in a closet somewhere! 

Anyhow, the entry was already dark, so having a black bench with a black chalkboard above it didn't do much for the space. Enter white chalk paint and a new rug!

Looking at this photo now I realize that I never actually painted the inside of the bench under the baskets and you can totally see it. Oops! Guess I have a project to tackle next week! 

Once I had that part of the entry finished I decided it was time to tackle the alcove by the stairs. I enlisted my mom's help and we headed to the upscale furniture resale shops in the area. We saw a round table at the first store we went to, but it was listed at $199 and I wasn't sure I wanted to spend that much money on a table that would just sit in a corner. I don't know, maybe it was a good price, I just haven't bought enough furniture recently to have a good idea of the cost. We decided to keep looking, so we went to a few other resale shops, Home Goods, and Pier 1, but didn't find anything. This was late October and I planned on putting my Christmas tree in the alcove, so there wasn't a big rush. The table at the first store we went to was set to drop in price to $159 on December 8th, so I decided to hold off on making any purchases and hope the table was still there in December. If it was I knew it was meant to be, and if it wasn't I would just be incredibly disappointed (my first clue that it was the perfect table).

The day after Thanksgiving we decorated for Christmas. I realized quickly that I didn't actually want to put our Christmas tree in the alcove - the only time we'd see it was when we were in the front of the house. I wanted to be able to sit by the tree and enjoy the twinkling lights. :) Because the tree didn't go there I was very anxious to get that table! I am not a patient person when it comes to making purchases (if I decide I want something I need it now), but somehow I was able to wait until December 8th to go to the store. When I arrived there were two ladies there who were buying a couch that was next to the table and we also apparently considering the table (this from the lady at the checkout). After purchasing the table I went to Home Goods and Hobby Lobby and picked up a few things to put on the table. When I got home I immediately set it up and sent my mom this picture.

It fit pretty well, but still seemed to be missing something. We hung a mirror that I'd gotten at Hobby Lobby, but it still didn't look quite right, so I moved the chair out of our bedroom into the space. Perfect!

The finishing touch was this Joshua 24:15 sign from Petunia Fitzgerald Collections. 

I still want a little more light in the entry (the last pictures were taken with our front door open), so I'll eventually get a new chandelier for the foyer, but for now I'm happy. It's warm and welcoming, which is exactly the look I was going for!

I'll be back soon with another room reveal!

XOXO,