Entryway make-over

Wednesday, May 23

BEFORE (when we first moved in January 2016- as you can see it's a bare wall behind that couch!) 

AFTER 

We moved into our house 2.5 years ago and have done soooo many projects! I'm not sure i've even shared a single one (except Avonlea's nursery), and can't wait to start posting them:) We are by no means done...it's an ongoing labor of love.

 Projects have become my love language! But seriously, the last few years i've asked Kevin to give me a "project" for my birthday, and he's willingly obliged. The first year we moved in he put in our DIY built-in Ikea book shelves. Last year he put beadboard up in the dining nook, and this year he put beadboard and hooks up in our entryway.

Our entryway consists of a super long wall that is across from the living room. When we first moved in it just felt like an awkward space I didn't know how to fill. Pretty quickly on I felt like I needed a big piece of furniture to help fill it out. I scoured craigslist for a few months, and finally swooned over this antique pine armoire shipped over from England from the 1800's. Kev lovingly drove the 2 hours with me to pick it up for our craigslist seller, who was such a dear woman. It was the perfect light wood color to warm up the space. For about 2 years, the armoire was all that occupied this space, and I finally decided it was high time to put the finishing touches on the wall.

I love shiplap, but it's a little more time-consuming than beadboard. Beadboard comes in big panels from Home Depot, and I think it adds a lovely dimension. We put up the panels, added a strip of wood, and then mounted some hooks to the wood for a final touch. I seem to have SO many purses these days, it's been awesome to hang them up instead of throwing them on the floor!

To fill the space in, I added some antique chairs (that I found at a yard sale) to the left of the armoire, and then spent hours trying to figure out the perfect bench to occupy the right side. I wanted it to be simple but interesting. Have you guys ever used Wikibuy? It's essentially like a database of everything being sold on the internet, and will tell you where to buy it to get the best price.

I ended up landing on this wooden ACME Charla Bench, and am so happy with my purchase. Wikibuy showed all the places selling this bench, and I was able to save money because I found the best price it was being offered at. So handy!

So, what do you guys think? I'm debating putting hooks on the left side of the armoire as well, but then am afraid it might make it look too crowded. Thoughts?

Can't wait to share more projects with you all soon!
xoxo