{"id":5986,"date":"2023-10-21T00:58:14","date_gmt":"2023-10-21T05:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hymnsandhome.com\/?p=5986"},"modified":"2023-10-21T00:58:20","modified_gmt":"2023-10-21T05:58:20","slug":"cottage-style-entryway-makeover-a-before-and-after-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hymnsandhome.com\/2023\/10\/21\/cottage-style-entryway-makeover-a-before-and-after-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Cottage Style Entryway Makeover – A Before and After Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A long time coming, our cottage style entryway is an example of how making your house a home takes time and patience. Join me as I reminisce about how far we’ve come and share the finished look!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how our entryway looked when we bought our house. Well, okay, not a mess like this – I snagged this picture very quickly one evening before we decided to bust out those wooden screens. It was kind of sporadic and funny actually…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My husband and I had been married a little over a year, I was pregnant with our first child, and we were decorating our Christmas tree in the adjacent living room. We had owned the house for about 1.5 years, having purchased it right before getting married. Neither of us cared much for the screens but we were both working full time and didn’t want to do anything too hasty by ripping things out. But suddenly that December afternoon we decided it would be a great idea then and there to take out those screens. My husband grabbed the sledge hammer and went at it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is how our living room originally looked, by the way. That is, after my husband installed the recessed lighting – it used to be much darker in there.<\/p>\n\n\n

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We busted out the screens and it already felt so much better – much more open and light. The wood from the screens ended up being many a garden stake, paint stirring stick, kindling, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The slate floor was in not-so-great condition. It was chipped in some spots and the grout was crumbling in many spots with several large holes. It wasn’t particularly our cup of tea anyway so we had no desire to repair it. Rather, we eventually replaced it a year later with hardwood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We waited to replace the floor until we did our kitchen renovation<\/a>, then had the kitchen, living room, and entryway floors all refinished at the same time to match. Additionally, we replaced the baseboards and ceiling fixture and painted the walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this stage we had been living here about 3 years. Projects take time, especially when you have young children, are on a budget, or actually have other things going on in your life besides home remodeling. It stayed this way for several years:<\/p>\n\n\n

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I eventually replaced the small cabinet with a longer table, ditched the coat tree, added an appropriately sized rug for the space, and dressed it up a bit. The wall was still very plain and lacking the character for which I hoped, but it seemed much brighter and fresher.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Dressing the space up for the changing seasons and holidays became a bit more fun, and the “mirror garland” was a new idea with which I enjoyed experimenting. I did my best to work with what I had.<\/p>\n\n\n

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I was still holding out hope that one day we would add an accent wall, but my husband wasn’t completely sold on the idea. At the time of the picture below we had been living here about 7 years.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Finally, for my birthday last Summer, I specifically asked for an accent wall as my gift. My husband and kids surprised me with a little note that stated I would be getting it. Now just to carve out time…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to October. My husband had a week off work and lovingly spent several days crafting my long-dreamed-of accent wall. One last photo before the fun begins…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you’re a details and specs type of person, here are the specs of what he did, as described to me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n