The first place I actually hung anything on the wall in our new house was in the back entry hall. It's this little area off our garage door that we pass through every time we come in the house. The walls were already painted a dark chocolate brown and though they will probably eventually get changed, for now they're staying as-is for a little bit. That means it's a dark little space. As we moved in, we plopped down a black table that we had in our previous house. The black table didn't really do anything to brighten up the dark chocolate walls. So I tried propping an old picture up to add some brightness. Coupled with a pair of old buffet lamps, the entry way was looking something like this.
Pretty blah, right? You may recognize the table and picture - they were in the kitchen of our old house, like this.
You can see that I had also stuck all my cookbooks back on the black table. I was in the mood to unpack some boxes one day and those were the lucky ones chosen. They at least helped add some color to the otherwise very dark table.
So I liked the idea of the lamps and a bright picture, but I was so over the ones I had sitting there. The lamps were way too formal...and gold...for the look I was going for. I wanted it to be bright and fun and casual when you walked in. Also, while there's nothing wrong with the picture, I was so tired of looking at it and ready to replace it. I had bought that back when I lived in an apartment by myself and then rehung it in our house after we got married, so it had been around for a while. Time to go.
But because I wasn't ready yet to really tackle this space - like with paint and stuff - I wanted this mini makeover to be C-H-E-A-P. I really didn't want to spend any money.
You've already seen how I made over the lamps here. A quick coat of turquoise spray paint and a made-over lamp shade gave them some new life. They probably aren't forever lamps, but they'll do for right now.
You've also already seen how I made some quick art using a putty knife here. I popped that piece of artwork into that black frame that I already had and hung it over the table.
So, with very little money spent, my entry hall now looks like this.
It's not perfect, but I think it's a lot better than what I started with!
Here's a wider shot where you can see that I also hung a red shelf we already had. This is my drop-spot when I come in the house - it's where my purse and the diaper bag both get hung. I admit that it makes it look a little junky, but we have big plans for a mudroom someday so this is just temporary.
In keeping with the turquoise and red scheme, I also hung our colorful Family Birthdays sign on the opposite wall in this entry hall. (Please excuse the smudged walls and toilet seat up...)
And that's a quick story of how three projects - putty knife art, lamp revamp, and the Family Birthdays sign - came together to make over my entry hall. Who knows when we'll get around to really tackling this area, but you know I'll keep you posted and show you pics when we do!