Stylish Entryway Makeover Ideas: Before and After!
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Get ideas for decorating your front entryway, which is the first thing people see when they come to your home. Gallery frames, welcoming details, and a durable rug make these entryway makeover ideas budget-friendly and stylish, too!
Looking for more budget-friendly home ideas? You’ll love these ideas for organizing your pantry and transforming your porch with outdoor curtains.
I suppose I’d rather call this a ‘Before’ and ‘During’, because I still have some work to do in our entryway. Mainly, add moulding, paint, and art with sconces on the stairway wall. But I’m celebrating progress over perfection, and right now our entryway feels much more welcoming and stylish than it was before.
Entryway Makeover: The “BEFORE” Photos
We had the kids’ baby photos on the stairway, and have since moved them to our upper hallway. Gosh they were cute, but we like these portraits better upstairs and now have a blank slate on this wall to add moulding and art down the road.
As you can see, the entryway was a tall bright white box. We LOVE how much light this space gets, it feels so fresh. But it definitely needed some grounding elements and personality (aside from the large personality of that cutie in the photo below, that is.)
And while I like the door, I wanted that area to pop a bit and stand out. It was time to update this blank slate!
Entryway Makeover: The ‘AFTERS!’
Here’s the ‘afters!’ Or, ‘durings’, since we still need to paint the walls.
The first step was to paint the door a darker color so it added a bit of spice to the space.
woven basket // blanket (similar) // faux branches // large gallery frames
Then, I added an inexpensive area rug that’s easy to clean and pulls out the color of the door. I wanted to warm things up, so I added large frames with a few of our favorite photos inside. The challenge of this space is it needed to flow with my office (pictured below) and the dining room on the right. This did the trick!
We always keep a boot tray next to the door, though we took it out for the photos. I also have tucked a little olive bush here and it adds a softness that goes well with the wood on the frames and copper of the foot tray. I just love natural elements and have them all over my home.
boot tray // faux olive tree (similar)
This curved space by the stairs is a constant work in progress. I switch it up every few weeks with the seasons. These photos were taken in the fall, so I had warm colors and tones. It’s fun to play with and a versatile space to switch and style.
round marble table // accent chair
Organizing The Entryway
While the entryway isn’t our main entry to the home (we usually come through the garage), it still needs to be organized so it stays tidy. We keep masks and hand sanitizer in these wall mounted baskets, along with a package opener so I can process our mail quickly and easily.
gallery frames // hanging baskets
A chair provides a spot for putting on or taking off shoes, conveniently stored in the boot tray.
Entryway Gallery Wall
My favorite, but most frustrating, part of the project were these oversized frames. I ordered them from Target, and had to keep re-ordering because they arrived broken. Out of 12 frames, we ended up with 6 that weren’t broken (not just the glass, the frame itself would come apart with shipping.) They didn’t carry them locally so that option was out.
In addition, hanging them was such a chore. There are two holders on the back but they aren’t always even. Plus, we had to make sure they were evenly aligned on each side of the door. Let’s just say it took a few hours and a bunch of swear words to get them hung, but the final look is just perfect.
Thankfully, I do love the look so it was worth the hassle. You can find a similar style frame here but they’re more expensive. In hindsight, I would have gone with the more expensive/ easier to hang option.
I hope to hang two frames more above these baskets to really complete the look but I’m still recovering from the first experience, ha!
Painting the Front Door
I don’t know why such a simple project took SO long for me to do, except that I was indecisive about which parts of the door area to paint. Typically with this type of door, you’d paint the moulding and side window frames too so it all pops as a major feature of the space. However, we have wooden shutters that cost a pretty penny on our side windows and they would be just about impossible to paint in a way that would look finished. So, just the door it is.
I would love the update the door hardware soon but am having trouble finding a brushed gold finish handle set that I love.
Entryway Styling Tips
When it comes to updating a room, the first thing I think about is how I want the space to feel.
As with the rest of my home, I wanted the entryway to feel welcoming, warm and inviting. Those are the guiding words I used while shopping my own home for accessories.
Faux greenery, a vintage floral print and crock, and cozy blankets worked for this season, so I went with them. Large baskets are always in style and Target is where this one came from.
round marble table // basket // faux plant // throw blanket // accent chair
Strategically Place a Mirror
Mirrors add light to the room, and I put it on the only dark spot in this whole space and the reflection makes my heart sing.
The Best Entryway Rugs
Entryway rugs should be easy to clean and hide dirt just in case. I found these inexpensive rugs on Amazon and they’re perfect! Stains come right out when I use Folex (seriously, is that stuff magic or what?!), and the rug itself is thin (more like a mat) so there’s no shedding. I used a rug pad like this one to keep it from sliding around since it is so thin (almost like a printed mat.)
I actually purchased two rugs with different patterns so I could try them out here and also in my kitchen eating area. The photos below are two different rugs, I ended up keeping this one and put the other one in my kitchen. Both colors are coming through more pink in photos than in real life. We love them!
Here’s a quick iPhone photo of the second rug in my kitchen area:
Next Steps in Decorating the Entryway
Future plans include adding the following to continue this fun entryway makeover:
- Adding two more identical frames on the side wall, so it makes a wrapped gallery.
- Painting the walls. (Choosing the color is driving me mad, I want a light color with a touch of warm gray. Who knew this was so hard to find?)
- Adding moulding, art and sconces to the walls similar to this gorgeous space:
Even Charlie loves this entryway. He’ll sit here and greet whoever comes to our door.
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My goal was to have a warm, organized, and welcoming entryway. Even in it’s current state, I love how it looks and am in no rush for the rest of the updates. Hopefully this will inspire you to tackle a budget-friendly makeover too!
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