Welcome to the Front Entryway

Once a half bath with a pocket door, our entryway is small, but does the job! Since we enter through the garage most days, we didn't need a ton of storage. But, without a coat closet in the house, we were in need of a stylish coat rack & bench that would serve in both form & function. We do not wear shoes in our home, so a place to sit down and take off/put on shoes was essential.

The railing is a custom piece by Greg! He used our Orla Kiely wallpaper pattern, made a wooden mold, and then formed the steel around it. 144 "leaves" later, he welded each leaf to a "stem" and 50+/- hours later, we had an amazing railing for $254 in steel. We did have it powder coated a dark gray, so it should last quite a while!

Originally, this was a wall that went to the ceiling, concealing the pocket door and the basement staircase. When we were taking drywall off, we decided to open this up, eliminating the half bath, and making the basement more inviting by adding cozy carpet, lighting and a wooden handrail.

I've had my eye on the Eames Hang-it-All for years, but never could figure out where I'd put the original, muti-color version. When Herman Miller released an all-black version, you better believe it was in my cart as quickly as possible.

Artwork was a must by the front door, and once we decided on the black Hang-it-All, I spent a bit of time on Etsy looking for some retro prints. I came across artist Thedor who had exactly what I was looking for. Since you see the dining room area full of Orla Kiely wallpaper and the front entry all at once, I knew I needed to tie the two spaces together with a bit of color. These prints are perfect, and were perfectly priced. Once they arrived from Canada, I dropped them off to be framed at Hobby Lobby (my favorite custom frame shop - they do a great, professional job at a more-than-fair price).

The front door was the obvious choice from Crestview Doors. It was actually something I knew I wanted long before any other detail. We were going to paint it, but when it arrived, I couldn't stand covering up the gorgeous wood grain, so we ended up staining it instead. I LOVE how it goes with our floors. If we ever decide to paint it, we can certainly do that with a bit of elbow grease.

When we were in Palm Springs last February, we took a day to explore Los Angeles. I wanted to swing by Practical Props to look at their made-to-order Sputnik lights, and while doing so, we got lost in their used section. We came across a pair of brass Jonathan Adler Parker Sconces - one had the glass missing. We decided to take the pair home for $40, but when they arrived, the glass was broken. I was SO sad! I emailed Ian, the owner, and he refunded me $30. We were planning on just using it without the glass, but when it was on the wall sans glass, it didn't seem "finished" enough. I had a sudden "light bulb" moment, called the closest Jonathan Adler store in Chicago, and they did, in fact, have a sku for the glass-only. I had them ship me one and it worked like a charm! For $40 and a can of silver spray paint, I had a $195 light by our front entry and it's perfect!

The space between the wall and the railing is tight - many of the vintage benches we came across would not fit. I began looking for new, and finally came across this John Vogel for West Elm bench on clearance. They no longer carry it, but you can see some of his other offerings here. Greg wasn't sold on it, but I kept talking about how it would be perfect - soft, curvy lines, a gray webbed seat, and a gorgeous wood that would get gently worn over time. He finally said OKAY and I ordered it. Once it arrived, and we had everything else set, he admitted I was right and he actually likes it.

The rug is from Target - nothing fancy! And the wall color is my all-time favorite medium gray that actually reads gray - not blue, lavender or magenta. It's called Ozark Shadows from Benjamin Moore and it was the main color in our former house, and is the main color in this house.

Front Entry Resource List