How to Decorate a Small Entryway
A huge thanks to Behr for sponsoring this post! My favorable opinion of beautiful, high-quality paint is 100% my own. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Wanna know a little secret? Our entryway has pretty much been sitting empty since we renovated the kitchen. Oops.
Even though the two spaces are connected, so much of our time and effort was put into the kitchen itself that we kind of just forgot about the poor little entry… until now, that is! Before we started the big reno, it looked like this…
…and I liked it. It was bright and cheery and functional, but when I discovered that the entry desk would make the perfect kitchen sideboard, the entry lost its main piece of furniture, and so it just sat there, empty.
To be honest, I was kind of confused about what to do with the space. We tore out the weird half wall that you see in the photo above (because it was ugly 🙂 ), so the entry literally flows right into the kitchen. I needed a way to give it a separate entry feel while still allowing the two spaces to work together well.
After much deliberating, looking for inspiration on Pinterest, and shopping ’til I dropped, (Man, it’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it! 😉 ) I finally put together a little space that I’m loving… at least for now.
[Psssttt… Organize every single room of your house (including the entry!) with our very best home organization tips and tricks, found here!]
Our Small Entryway: A Tour
As with most projects around here, it all started with paint. 🙂
We chose Behr Marquee Curio MQ3-22 for both the kitchen and the entry, which is a gray with a very slight green-ish tint to it. We left the door the same color we painted it last summer because I still love it SO much! (It is called Behr Marquee Compass Blue MQ5-54.)
After we had the paint colors down, it was time to figure out how to fill the space. Since the kitchen sideboard was going to be right beside it (you can see it peeking out of the photo above), I didn’t feel like I could put any sort of entry desk or table there because their shapes would be too similar.
I ended up finding a little bench instead that fit perfectly in the space!
I snagged the shelf with hooks for 50% off at Hobby Lobby (score!), and everything else was in my stash, just begging to be put to good use. I love it when that happens! 🙂
Both pillows are from Target. The blue one is old, but the gold one is new-ish! I bought it thinking ahead to my Christmas decor and it just so happened to work perfectly in this space in the meantime!
(Really I just look for any excuse to buy another pillow. It has gotten to the point where Connor– age 6– tattles on me to Donnie any time I buy one because they can’t believe I could ever need any more. Whoops! 🙂 )
This space may be small, but I love that some simple pieces were able to bring in a lot of function. The bench is the perfect place to sit to slip shoes on and off, and the hooks create a nice little drop zone while helping to maintain some semblance of order. 🙂
We had a few other projects happening in this space during the kitchen reno…
This is the view from the kitchen, and you can see our newly organized pantry straight ahead. The door on the right leads to our powder room, which also received a little refresh in the midst of the kitchen renovation. The little “Welcome” sign I made recently also landed in this space!
I think what I love most about the new entry is that the base pieces ended up being pretty neutral, which will make it oh-so-easy to change things up according to season or just whenever I get the urge {which, let’s be honest, is more often than I like to admit… 😉 }. I’m already thinking up plans for Christmas decor!
It’s hard to believe how much our house has changed in the last year– craziness! It’s fun to be able to look back and see the progress, though, and I’m looking forward to tackling even more spaces in the year ahead.
How do you decorate your entryway? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
A huge thanks to Behr for sponsoring this post! My favorable opinion of beautiful, high-quality paint is 100% my own. For more information, see my disclosures here.
LOVE both your bag and scarf too! Where did you get them?
Thank you so much, Lynne! The scarf was a hand-me-down from my sister, and I’ve had it a few years, so I’m not sure where it’s from! Sorry! The bag is actually a camera bag, and it is from JoTotes. Have a wonderful day!
~Abby =)
I am a new follower, and have enjoyed every change you’ve made to your house recently! We are currently staying with the in-laws in order to (hopefully) purchase a house in the next year. I am saving all these great ideas so I can apply them to our future home someday! I love the entryway you have created here. It seems simple and sophisticated. Love it! Keep ’em coming, Abby!
This is such a cute entry space! We do not have a designated entry into out house, it opens to the living room. I tried to make the space feel different and specific, I put up wainscoting on the wall by the front door. Helping it have a flow. I love that you mentioned the kitchen renovation took all this time and effort and then you looked around the rest of your home. I just finished the One room challenge and we redid my boys bedroom. It was a massive project, and now that it is done I am having to pick up and organize the rest of my house again!
Simple, beautiful and elegant. I notice your pantry has a perfect spot for the vacuum cleaner.
This looks great!! And I love the throw pillows and scarf!
This turned out so cute! I LOVE that shelf!! The wood look adds some nice texture to the area.
Simple but practical! I love the pillows, specially the ones with the dark blue pattern.
Abby I love how you decorated the space! Your use of colors and textures is so cozy, relaxing and welcoming, perfect for an entryway!
Looks great!! It looked great both ways but I love the new coat rack, super cute and functional 🙂 Everything just seems to flow nicely.
I live in a basement apartment that doesn’t really have an “entry” but I kind of made one. On the landing going down my stairs I put a little drawer unit there where on top I have a little dish that collects keys and “little” stuff. Beside it I put a metal white basket that I put my purse in on my way in, but I am thinking of changing it, to hold winter stuff. I am also in the midst of hanging a home made coat rack and I put a cute little floral mat underneath :). So as much as I don’t have an “entry” I kind of do, it works great to. Hopefully even better once I put that coat rack up!
Lauren Baxter | Lovely Decor
xx
Where did you get the chalkboard shelf with the hooks? Love!!
Hi, Holly! It is from Hobby Lobby! I love it too! ~Abby =)
Hi Abby! I love your blog – long-time subscriber. What is the name of the Behr dark blue color next to the Curio color? Thanks!!
Hi, Sarah! It is Behr Marquee Compass Blue! I hope this helps! Have a great day!
~Abby =)
Love your style. Is this comment form a plugin on your site? I purchased your course last year and I am still working on my blog update. I started blogging almost 10 years ago and I am ready to do more. Thank you for your support.
Thank you so much, Kippi! These are just the standard WordPress comments. 🙂 I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!
~Abby =)
I love this idea! The blackboard with the names of the items is brilliant! I have hooks on our mudroom wall but my kids still can’t seem to find them:( I love your blue door too!
Thanks so much, Amy! I hope it will work for your kiddos! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
~Abby =)