Entry way Overhaul on a Budget

If you have been following along on instagram you know I have spent HOURS AND HOURS and HOURS on my entry way overhaul and landing.  It was one of those projects I have been avoiding for far too long. But since we are getting ready to list our home it was time to bite the bullet and get it done.

Here is how my entry way looked BEFORE.

Entry Way Overhaul

Here she is now!

Painted Floor

I sanded down the floors and applied a fresh coat of white paint followed by applying this stencil. You can view the stencil I used here.  What a difference it made! I love the texture it adds and the 2 tones are light, but dark enough to still hide dirt.

I used Bright White by Sherwin Williams for the white and Reposed Grey by Sherwin Williams for the darker color.  (complete tutorial is coming!)

Brightening Up My Entry

My entry did feel a bit cramped when guests came over. To make the space feel bigger I lightened the walls with Halo by Benjamin Moore.  We also removed that railing that came out from the door.  That made a HUGE difference, it really opened up the entire area for our entry way overhaul.

I kept my pallet wood table as it is the perfect style for the space.

Railings

When we bought this home the railings were already painted. I am going to be honest when I say I would NEVER recommend painting a railing. The paint just peeled or would ball up no matter how many times I sealed it and repainted it. It is because the oils from hands and all the cleaning breaks down the top coat and it makes the paint gummy. I knew I had oak railings so I decided to strip them down to the oak and start over. Honestly, this was a HUGE job.  It took me 40 hours to get all the paint off, but now that it is all said and done I love them.

My railings are red oak, and I don't really love the look of red oak so I actually ordered wood bleach (view supplies below)  I first bleached them, but I had a hard time getting them to bleach evenly.  After they were bleached I put a white stain over the top and then I added special walnut stain over the top of that to get rid of the "pink" look.  When you white wash red oak it has a tendency to go pink.  I do like pink... just not for my railings.  And then I painted the spindles white.

Landing

My landing also needed to be lightened!  Here is how it looked before (post about my gallery wall here)

Here is the after!

WOW, what a difference paint and new carpet makes. I love this carpet, the backside is waterproof so if something is spilled on the carpet it shouldn't soak through to the pad!  And it cleans up really nice too!

Accessories

I wanted to add a little bit of color to this area without being overwhelming.  I found these darling paintings at Home Goods and mixed with that cute blue table it adds the perfect amount of color and finished the space off!

This clock used to be black but I wanted it white awhile back and I love it (blog post here)

I love my entry way overhaul and hopefully these ideas will inspire you too!

Brooke