Entryway: Before

The first time I ever walked into our house, it felt like home. I don't know if it was just a gut instinct, or the golden brown paneling that reminded me of the house I grew up in, but one thing was for sure- I saw it as a project immediately. Good thing Bean and I love a good house project!

We had it painted green between the wood to try to freshen it up. The previous dingy ivory just seemed dirty. I knew all along how I wanted it to look but Bean was really holding out on keeping the wood stained instead of painted. This is the perfect example of us working as a team and eventually coming to an agreement on how something should be, even if we disagree initially. This happens on every project we do- it's rare that we agree right off the bat.

Early on, we also updated the chandelier with newer looking glass because we didn't know how long it would be before we changed the actual fixture out. Plus large chandeliers are very expensive!

We kept the old entry table we had at the Castle, even though it's a little small for this space.

The change in the front door and closet is so fun that I needed a before picture to showcase the after.

I had some modeling help in showcasing the banisters. They are the main reason we did this project completely through, instead of just paint.

When Francie was born, I struggled with Postpartum Depression. Thankfully, it was a mild case, and I was able to talk with my midwife and get some vitamins to help, but the main thing that pulled me out of it was planning a House Party for Francie and getting into a big-ish house project.

Last year we re-did some of our savings accounts to separate our money for bills and our home improvement project money, which has been amazing and freeing because we always know at a glance how much we have to spend on a project. It took a lot of stress out of it. We put money into it every week, and it's so fun to be able to buy the fixtures, decor, and furniture that we want, and also know at a glance if we have enough to pay the painters.

So we started with the paint quote, and since there were so many houses damaged by storms in the area, the painters were backed up for a month, so we had awhile to wait before the job could actually be done. In the meantime, Bean found the perfect banister style that we both loved, found someone to do that job, and got them out to the house to get that part done. They also ripped up the carpet and replaced the stairs with hardwood.

We really disliked that light fixture, and the vent in the middle of the paneling is just funny because I don't think new homes would ever have something like this- they would plan a little better for it.

It's so funny to me that I chose this green color because it is so jarring to the eyes and doesn't look any better than the original dingy ivory. Live and learn, right?

What usually  happens on projects like this is that we start with one thing- paint- and progress into where we are doing the entire thing exactly how we want by the end of it. So while we were waiting on the painters to come, we had the stairs re-done to the wood we wanted.

The hallway was still yellow leading to the two bedrooms. This also showcases the gross original carpet. It butts right up to the new carpet at the doorways in the bedrooms where we had it replaced. This will eventually be replaced with hardwoods and stained to match the rest of the floors in the house.

Testing out paint colors around the door.

Spray painting the door knobs to update them, just like the rest of the house. I laugh because we had this ceiling green and the walls yellow for a couple of years! How weird for people who love to have a nice updated house to have this ugliness going on for so long. haha!

The view from the hallway looking into the entry.

The stairs will eventually be stained treads with white risers to match the rest of the trim in the house. At one point in this project we thought we would get it all stained and finished before the painters came but decided to just take it easy, get everything else done and finish the upstairs hallway and stairs themselves later so it would be less stressful.

I can't wait to share the after photos!