Little by little, a cozy entryway has come together with this month-long and budget-friendly makeover. Our hallway and staircase are in the center of our home and it now welcomes our guests cheerfully.
It’s here! Our hallway and staircase makeover reveal! Remember: this project was done over the course of the month and on a $100 budget. But the best part of our cozy entryway is that it fits in with our home. We moved in a little over a year ago and little by little, we are giving each space a makeover. {Stay tuned as I soon tackle our living room!}
The first part of our entryway was given a temporary makeover, but the rest of the space was so boring and blah. I am thrilled that our entire entryway now fits well together. {To see our small entryway, click HERE.}
Let’s take a quick peek at the after because I know we all love to see a finished space…
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WEEK FOUR UPDATE
Let’s take a look at what I worked on this week. And if you missed the past three weeks of updates, be sure to take a peek at how I broke this project up so that no part of it was too overwhelming. {Before ~ Week One ~ Week Two ~ Week Three}
PICTURES! I hung some favorite {old and new} family photos on our staircase. To be honest, I don’t gravitate toward gallery walls. But, if a gallery wall is full of family photos, then I am on board.
The staircase wall was so boring and I knew that it needed something. My goal is to personalize our home and make it feel like us. Adding a gallery wall of family photos was the perfect solution for a cozy entryway.
THRIFT STORE GALLERY WALL
I have a thing for collecting cheap photo frames at thrift stores. Whenever I see one with a wood frame, real glass, good lines, and a cheap price: I buy it. This little trick came in handy when I needed I bunch of frames for this gallery wall. Because I had been gathering frames for quite a few months, it was easy to put together 13 of them for our staircase.
We were blessed with a sunny warm day this past week, so I took full advantage of that. Do you know what you can do when the temperature is between 50º and 90º F? Ummm…spray paint! The original plan was to hand paint them with chalk paint inside my house. By using spray paint outside, this part of the project took significantly less time.
The frames had been cleaned prior to painting, but then all of the glass needed a good cleaning as well. At this point, I had to decide which photos to put in each frame. {Oh and I had my photos printed through WalMart’s one hour photo!}
Once the frames were all ready, I hung them up. Honestly, I had no plan beyond the largest photo being my center point. I placed that one closer to the middle and worked out from there. My philosophy: it doesn’t have to be perfect to be perfect. Being done is better than not ever creating this gallery wall out of fear that it won’t “turn out good.” Honestly, I made it up as I went along and we all love it!
COZY ENTRYWAY REVEAL
Remember this light from week three? It’s been the perfect vintage touch for a cozy entryway.
This coat rack and the bench painted black has been perfect for this space now. Having black on this side of the room helps pull the space together with the black frames.
I love this view now because our dining room and entryway feel cohesive as they are both painted Behr Swiss Coffee.
Painting the risers green during week two really adds a fun touch. It also helps to warm up the space.
Cleaning up and adding gel stain to the banister has brought out the natural beauty of the wood.
Just prior to this makeover, I added a dinner bell. Why? Because momma is tired of yelling up the stairs when meals are ready. Often, I don’t even need to ring it as my kids are very willing to “help” in this area.
REAL WINTER LIFE
Because we actually live here. And we live in the northeast where winter occurs for a very long time. I wanted to share the view you would most likely see if you were to visit my home.
Coats and boots. That’s what you’ll see. These are the things we need out for everyday use. There is a ton more winter gear stored away in our coat closet. But having out the daily necessities works best for our family. {To see our coat closet organized for winter, click HERE.}
PROJECT CHECKLIST
√Paint thrift store frames
√Create a gallery wall of family photos
WEEK FOUR BUDGET:
Spray paint: $3.89
Photo prints: $36.42
BUDGET
Week One: $23.17
Week Two: $14.73
Week Three: $0
Week Four: $40.31
Total Spent: $78.21
It’s been a fun month of watching this makeover take shape. I didn’t have a solid plan of how it would turn out: Just some ideas. But that is usually how I usually handle most room makeovers. And in the end, we are thrilled with the outcome!
SHOP THIS POST
$100 ROOM CHALLENGE: BEFORE / WEEK ONE / WEEK TWO / WEEK THREE / REVEAL
Wow, that came out amazing! I especially love the gallery wall, such a budget savvy way to display all your wonderful memories!
Having all the frames be the same color but not the same exact style makes it much more interesting while being cohesive. I am with you on using spray paint for faster results and many times the finish is better.
Great job, staircase area came out beautiful!
Leigh, it looks amazing! I’ve loved watching each step you finished and I especially love the addition of the photos!!! Great job!
Ahh the gallery wall really brings it all together! I know it really makes your day to day more enjoyable seeing this scene every day. Enjoy it, it looks so awesome!!
What a transformation. I love how you tied the black together. Everything blends so nicely with the rest of your home. Love it Leigh!
You did an amazing job and I really love how you made all the frames match with just a little spray paint for your gallery wall. Such a cozy space filled with memories and love.
Looks awesome! We are actually building a house and there is not a coat closet, and I would actually rather have a long row of hooks in the hallway anyway. I plan to put one in the hallway closest to the entryway for guest and another in the hallway that leads to the garage for our personal stuff. We have some salvaged ships laps boards from an old farmhouse that I used to live in and also some bed slats from an antique bed that I plan to use by adding vintage style hooks to for the project. Thanks for sharing!
Every time you join this challenge I am in awe of what you create. I absolutely LOVE this entry; and for a minute I thought it just might be my favorite $100 Room Challenge space you’ve done, but then I think about your bathroom and other entry/mudroom, and I don’t think I can actually decide which I like most as they are all gorgeous! I love that you create a space that not only looks beautiful, but functions in real life. Another amazing makeover Leigh! Thanks for joining in the challenge this month!
Leigh this entry is absolutely beautiful! What an amazing job. Your gallery wall is perfect for that space!
Leigh, I love this space. The gallery wall looks great.
Everything came together so beautiful! I love how this space shows that just a few well thought out touches can bring such warmth to a space. I am still so in love with that light fixture and the vintage charm it brings.
This is such an amazing makeover of your entryway! I love the way it coordinates with your dining room, and the green you chose is perfection and unique. the black bench and frames balance each other out great! Love this entire makeover!