Entry Way Design : 1987 Fixer Upper Update

Things are heating up here at the #1987FixerUpper and I could not be more excited!  The finish carpenters are just about done and things are looking SO much different.  Have I mentioned how much I love woodwork? 😉  Ok, maybe a time or two, but it seriously makes such a difference!  The entry way design for this house needed to be something grand in my opinion.  It is the only spot in the house that boasts ceilings that are higher than 8 feet, and so I really wanted that WOW factor when you walked in.  I searched high and low for inspiration all over the internet and finally decided to kind of create our own look meshing a few different things I had seen together.  The long panels on the bottom really draw the eye up, and the shorter panels on top add some interest.  I didn’t want to carry it all the way to the ceiling because I wanted there to be a little contrast in the entry.  This way, when we paint, there will be light greige around the top of the woodwork, helping it to really pop.

Let’s take a look back at where we started…

We changed that arched window to a rectangle and I love it so much more now.  It works seamlessly with the new woodwork panels.

All cleaned up and ready for a change…

My little shadow.  She follows me everywhere and often pops up in all of these pictures, but that is just fine with me. 😉

Isn’t it a dramatic change?  Those long panels really draw your eye up to the ceiling and make things look much more grand than they actually are. 😉  Visual trickery, that’s what it all about. 😉

When I walked through the house for the first time I knew that the stair railings had to go.  Even I could tell that they were not up to code with a height of only 30″ and balusters that were more than 4″ apart.  Standing upstairs in the hallway next to the railing that barely came up past my thigh made me a little nauseous at the thought and feeling of falling over! 🙂 So, that had to go.  I’m happy to report that we are now sitting pretty at 37″ and it’s making this mama feel much better about having little people running around upstairs…plus, it looks prettier now too…bonus! 😉  I love a good set of wood stairs too, so to get to see those first thing when you open the front door is a real treat!

What do you think?  Quite a transformation so far, right?  SO, now comes the fun part…the paint.  Those stair risers and all the woodwork is going white.  The painters are actually upstairs priming right now as I type.  I can hear the sprayer going to town.  Woohoo!  The new front door is coming and so is   I am SO excited for this beauty…

in case you need one too.  They come in three different sizes, medium, large and extra large.  I bought the large for our two story foyer.  The smaller ones look amazing over an island!  I got the polished nickel, but it comes in brass and iron too.  SO pretty.

I hope you love this transformation!  I can’t wait to show it to you all finished!

Happy designing!

Tammy