Entry of your home......the First Impression

One of my favorite memories when I was growing up was at Christmas time looking in the windows of Marshall Field's downtown Chicago. Every year would be a new theme from Peter Pan to Toyland. It was mesmorizing and was always the first impression I had of that store.

Our home is the same way. We have a first impression that each person that walks in our home sees, and we have the great opportunity to 'WOW' them. I'm not talking about glitz and glamour (unless that is your taste) but simple, beautiful collection of things that says "Welcome to my home".

Here are some great examples of unique, beautiful entryways that may inspire you to have a little fun.
Starting with mine:

Here is one indoor/outdoor porch entry I did for a friend:

Doesn't it invite you in for a cool drink or simple, summer dinner?










Here are some other options:Chocolate brown is very popular right now but to keep it light use metallic accessories and a beautiful pop of color like this hot pink. Very Chic!

These last four ideas have a more dramatic feel but they show you what the house is going to look like just by the entry. It is a small morsel of what' to come!!

Try something new and fresh in your entry, maybe a vase of fresh flowers??! It will change how you look at your house! Send me pictures, would love to see them.

Revamped Cabinet for our 'Man Cave'

When I was discussing ideas for my husband's 'Man Cave' I mentioned how I would like to refurbish the cabinet that is at the bottom of the stairs in the basement. It seems original to the house and it is good condition just very outdated. I wanted to try save it and make it blend in with the new decor.

The cabinet is built into the corner (shown in picture below under TV) and attached to the wall so I didn't want to remove it if we didn't have to. We store games, decor, and extra bedding in their for company. It was painted bright white, with large square wooden knobs and an old linoleum tile on the top. Not interesting in the least!!

Our starting point was my husband's desire to make a display area on top that he could lay out some special LP's that he had saved. Since the cabinet had a large top (24"x72") there was plenty of room to display the records.

With colors brought in from our coordinating rug in adjoining room (Media area), I used chocolate brown for the cabinet, the original hinges in silver, gold paint for wall above cabinet, tan micro-suede fabric and new oil-rubbed bronze hardware (purchased at Target).

We custom cut a thick piece of Plexiglass (Home Depot) to fit on top of the cabinet to protect the records and finished it out with trim painted to match cabinet.


What a perfect place now to display special mementos we could change out in the future while using as a table/server for drinks and snacks. Love the change!!!

Now on to the rest of the 'Man Cave' updates: paint, carpet, baseboards, and decorating (my favorite)!!