Front Entryway Decorating Ideas
If you are looking for inspiration to update a small entryway, you will love this post on how to decorate a small entryway with a bench and hooks! See our Entryway Update – Small Front Entryway Decorating Ideas on a budget and check out the before and after pictures. All sources are listed below! Keep reading to see our Entryway Update – Small Front Entryway Decorating Ideas!
If you are in a hurry:
When we purchased our home, it was a blank slate. Every single wall was stark white. The entryway and family room had a chair rail, so I tried to work around that since it is an older home and I knew pulling the chair rail off the wall would require some patching (and I’m lazy, lol).
I already had some entryway ideas and knew how I wanted to update the space using paint and peel and stick wallpaper. Our first home had a very similar entryway (check out our first home here) and was basically the same entryway if you moved the front door over 1 foot!
AFTER
Shop Our Entryway
I’m including the most recent entryway updates PLUS the original post about when we first updated our entryway with farmhouse decor.
Shoe Cabinet (similar) | Potted Plant (Similar)
Updating the Entryway
I’ve been dying to update our entryway and get rid of the outdated chair rail and baseboards. We knew there would be damage on the wall when removing the chair rail and that’s why we put off the remodel. The previous owners also repaired the wall in some spots which left the walls already looking damaged.
My temporary fix to cover the damaged wall was using wallpaper. I found this gorgeous farmhouse wallpaper that fixed our entryway walls for 3 years! When the wallpaper started to rip, it was time to finally fix the walls.
We removed the chair rail, wallpaper, and baseboards. My hubby removed the damaged drywall and installed new drywall. He used a drywall compound to fix damaged areas and sanded. Then I textured the walls before painting.
I painted the walls the same color that I painted them 3 years earlier, Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist.
Paint colors in our Entryway and the wallpaper
We added new baseboards and used a board that was 1.5 inches taller than the old ones. Those baseboards were most likely original with the house because they had 2 different floorings installed without removing the baseboards!
Decorating the Entryway
We used the same decorations that we had in the entryway before starting this update because those items were the most functional for our family. We used shelf brackets and wood to create a shelf to store winter items (hats, gloves, scarves).
A shoe cubby from Ikea is a great solution for a small entryway and we added a piece of wood to the top to give it a unique look.
Wall Hooks | Baskets | Shelf Brackets
We used $5 accordion hooks above the Ikea shoe cubby and secured it so we can hang hats, bags, and more!
Shoe Cabinet (similar) | Wall Hooks (I used 2 of these) | Full-Length Mirror
We had a large mirror in our bedroom that I moved into the entryway. A large mirror makes small rooms feel bigger and that’s exactly what this does! It’s also nice to be able to look at yourself before walking out the door 😉
Wall Hooks | Full-Length Mirror | Baskets
We also updated our front door to a 3/4 lite impact-rated door with a faux wood grain and rain privacy glass. The extra light through the door window makes such a difference!
Don’t forget to grab the hooks!
Our Entryway Update Sources:
Part 2: Our Entryway – The Original Remodel with Farmhouse Decor
This post was originally published on Jan. 18, 2019
–>>For more ways to transform ANY room with peel and stick wallpaper, check out this post!
I wanted our entryway decor to have the same farmhouse style as the rest of the house, using the bench with storage and hooks with a shelf (very similar to our first house).
I was able to update the space quickly and with little money by applying peel and stick wallpaper and paint. You’d be surprised how easy wallpaper is to apply. I used this wallpaper, which is meant to be applied with the wood vertical, however, I carefully applied it horizontally (like shiplap) instead. It turned out great! Everyone that comes to our home has to touch the wall because it looks like real wood!
The small, white entryway bench pictured was used in the foyer for our last house. The perfect size and depth storage benches for small entryways are hard to find (this one is old from Home Goods).
The entryway storage bench in our first home was really good and had baskets for shoes! We don’t really need a storage bench by the front door though since we primarily use the mudroom/garage entrance. However, we are currently building a bench with storage in our mudroom!
The biggest purchase for this update was an interior full-light grid door for the mudroom/laundry room.
Actually, we purchased the door as soon as we bought the house and the door was sitting in our garage for 6 months before we installed it and updated the entryway, haha.
I really wanted to paint the laundry room door and the inside of the front door black and I found that Benjamin Moore’s Gray is almost black but up close it’s a dark charcoal color.
It turned out great! I used a matte finish paint (the can says exterior bc I plan to use this paint on our exterior doors too!).
After applying the peel and stick wallpaper, the wall above the chair rail was still stark white and looked too white with the wallpaper so I painted it Benjamin Moore’s Balboa Mist.
These paint colors worked well in our entryway because there is little light and it’s a very small space. If you have an entryway similar to ours, these paint colors and wallpaper should brighten the space!
We ended up removing the chair rail inside the nook at the front door but I didn’t patch the wall because I put wallpaper right over it! I applied the wallpaper a little above eye-level and we installed a shelf above the wallpaper.
The shelf is a 6″ x 1″ x 5″ piece of scrap wood (we cut to size so the door can open without hitting the shelf) with these wooden corbels.
I painted the wooden corbels and the shelf with Chalked Paint in Linen.
We have an entryway mirror on the wall in the hallway, just before the mudroom and front door. It’s perfect for checking your face before walking out the door 🙂
I also added a privacy film to the glass on our front door. I can’t believe we lived here for 6 months with no privacy on our front door, haha! This film was really easy to apply, even though I had to cut the diamond shapes perfectly, it only took a couple hours and we finally had privacy!
I think painting the entryway door and mudroom door dark gray was a good choice and makes it feel more elegant in our home. The peel and stick wallpaper was the inspiration for this entryway and it turned out so much better than I expected!
–>>Check out this post with 8 Peel and Stick Wallpaper designs to transform any room in your home!
BEFORE
AFTER
Shop Our Entryway
Our Entryway Update Sources:
Conclusion to Update a Small Entryway with Decorating Ideas
I hope you enjoyed this entryway idea! Adding a new entryway rug will quickly update your front door and if you find a small entryway bench, hold onto it! Our small bench can be used as extra seating for dinner guests, at the foot of the bed, and more! This home entryway idea update is low-cost and a fun way to decorate if you have a small entrance.
Don’t forget to grab the hooks!
Do you have a similar entryway and are updating it using these sources? I’d love to see your before and after photos! Please share with me on social media (my links are at the top of the page!) ;
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Entryway Ideas Modern
