Foyer| In Progress

Happy Friday and Happy Memorial Day weekend!

I hope you all have a beautiful fun-filled weekend.

I usually save writing these types of posts until a room is complete, but I thought heck with it! I want to show how things are going along the way.  Sometimes (at least for me) when you see big room reveals it gives the illusion that this glorious magical change just happened over night, when in reality it was likely weeks, months, and countless hours "behind the scenes".

While I wish I could say I had team working on my behalf, the reality is it's me and the husband. I know, shocking. We have 800 projects going on and mere hours a day to focus on them...most days zero hours.  Silly things like work, the kids sports, and sleep always get in the way. So in the spirit of keeping things real, I'm going to update you on what's happening in the 'ol entryway here at the Wright abode. Brace yourselves for picture overload.

You all know I'm a sucker for creating Mood Boards to visualize a space so here's another reminder of my mood board for the entry.

And here's a breakdown of what needs to be completed:

• install wallpaper 
• paint entry and adjacent walls
• install new chandelier
• paint the banister
• paint the front door
• select and hang entry way art
• purchase entry table
• purchase and DIY stools
• purchase lamps and table decor
• select new rug
• hang curtains
• paint hand railing
• refinish hardwood floors
• remove carpet?

So looks like we are about 1/4 of the way there! I'll take it!

Here's a reminder of where we started:

I dreamed of a grand entry since our first house didn't have an entry way at all. Well I certainly got what my wish in the form of 20 ft ceilings! I continue to be a bit perplexed by the cut out window on the angled wall, but I'm learning to embrace it. 

I knew early on this angled wall was going to get the royal treatment in terms of some fancy pants wallpaper. I LOVE wallpaper and I knew this would be the perfect place to add some personality. As die hard DIY'ers my husband and I knew this was going to be quite the challenge. We had never wallpapered anything before...let alone an angled wall with a window.  So I researched and researched and got a few quotes just in case.  Well the first quote solidified our decision to DIY until the second quote came in at a quarter of the cost of the first quote to which I screamed SOLD and "can you do it now please" (i'm a total instant gratification kinda girl). Well "right now" turned into the next day and I was so giddy I couldn't hardly sleep. Mind you I had been hoarding this wallpaper since November, it's mere presence taunting me. 

I prepped the wall with wall size the night before saving me some moola and her time. Win. Win.

After only a few hours of work she was done and my heart exploded!

I literally want to pet it. Every. Day. It's tough to see in pictures but there is some texture to the paper as well which is even more fantastic. My wallpaper hanger did such a beautiful job and it was worth every penny! 

Of course this little update made the other items on the do list seem more urgent. That oak railing? No thank you. The tan walls? uh un.  So as you can see I have several paint samples on the wall and we are narrowing down choices. Picking a shade of white is no joke, as easy as it may seem. And those walls require either a professional or my husband to rent scaffolding so I get one shot at this color. No pressure. 

I mean they all look exactly the same. And because it's white it will take 5 million coats (sorry husband).  So for now, we are just looking at paint swatches on the wall but are definitely going to be getting this done very shortly.

Next on the list was to paint that railing! The railing has a nice shiny veneer on it and I DID NOT want to sand next to my freshly installed wallpaper. So, I researched ways others had painted their similar oak railings and decided on a heavy duty primer followed with a high gloss enamel paint. I'll do another post on the whole process. 

Much like whites all look the same to me, as does black (my chosen color). So, I went with the fanciest sounding black at Sherwin Williams and decided on caviar. 

Days and many loud sighs and grunts later, she was done. 

Annnnnd a look at before and after side by side!

It's looking oh so fancy with that caviar paint! This wallpaper wall was just the kick in the pants we needed to continue updating. How amazing is that wallpaper? I'm smitten. I recently purchased the entry table (eek!) and I'm in the process of a some DIY projects for this. 

I'll keep you posted for another classic IKEA hack with this one! 

What do you guys think? Anyone cringing that I painted quality wood? Anyone ever hire out in lieu of DIY?

Thanks for stopping by!