Our entryway used to look like this:
It was ok, but the space was lacking personality. I didn’t like the rug, or the big blank wall adjacent to the door.
Now it looks like this {pardon the baby photobomb}:
We made some minor improvements, starting with a new rug. I found this chevron rug from Overstock. It’s an indoor-outdoor rug, so when it gets dirty we can just hose it down. Practical and cute.
We also changed up the mirror over the console table. I wanted something non-square to soften up all the squares and rectangles we have in our house. I nabbed this one from Target using my birthday money last month.
We also DIY-ed a coat rack to give our guests a place to hang their coats.
I gathered some picture frames I had been slowly accumulating and made the space above the coat rack into a gallery wall. I hung everything up when Noah was napping one afternoon using the handy paint stirrer method. The thing I love the most about gallery walls is that they are easy to change up. You can swap out art or add/switch out frames as needed to suit your tastes. Also, they are a relatively inexpensive way to decorate a large wall space. Since pretty much all of the art in this gallery was printed at home or DIY-ed, the cost was only for the frames. I’m loving the mixed and matched look of this frame gallery. It’s more casual and less intentional than the other galleries we have in our home {see the nursery here and the living room here}. This welcome sign was a fun DIY craft I did with my sister-in-law, Melissa. We bought the chipboard welcome letters and used mod-podge, paint, distressing ink, and scrapbook paper to make it pretty. We ended up staying up into the wee hours of the morning to finish it, but it was worth it! And after that Melissa became a mod-podge addict. The possiblities are endless. I actually used 3m command adhesive strips to hang this bad boy up.
This is my favorite piece of art. Real art, as it is a watercolor that my mom painted for me for my birthday. She is a talented artist in many different areas {pottery, painting, music} and I am excited to have this painting be the focal point of the collage. It was irregularly sized, about 9×12, and I didn’t want to cut off any of the picture with smaller 8×10 frame. I found this frame at Ikea and will probably have a mat cut for it later.
This 4×4 wood frame hails from Target’s Threshold collection. I scooped it up a few months ago with a coupon. I printed a map of Manhattan, KS to frame in it. Blake and I both went to college there and since it’s where we met, fell in love, and got engaged, it will always be a special place to us.
Here is another Target Threshold frame. The picture is of Blake and I in Lucerne, Switzerland on our backpacking trip to Europe in the summer of 2010. I had that photo in a different 4×4 frame, but decided it would look better in this white frame. However, I’ll probably replace it with a picture of Noah as soon as I get one printed.
This is a 12×12 white frame from Target. I originally had it in Noah’s nursery, but decided to move it down here. I didn’t have any art for it, so I did a quick google search for “free printable art.” I found this cute heart here. It comes in different sizes and colors, but I printed the 8×10 in chalkboard. Since it wasn’t big enough to fill the frame, I cut it into an 8″ square, and layered it on top of some scrapbook paper to give it a matted effect.
Here is yet another Target frame. I found the bible verse art {Joshua 24:15} at The Flourishing Abode. It came in different colors, and there were a lot of other verses to choose from. I picked this one because I love the verse, and the color scheme complimented the rest of the gallery. The original download was larger than the size I needed, so I resized it in photoshop.
This frame was one we’ve had on hand for ages. I wanted to have something optometric up there, but couldn’t find anything online. I quickly whipped up this “See the good in all things” art in photoshop.
This bird is a free printable from the website www.tagxedo.com. It’s a pretty cool site that allows you to make tons of different shapes using any words of your choice. You can customize the colors as well. I used this site to make a whale for Noah’s nursery. This was the last frame I had to fill, so I made this cute little bird. I’m not completely in love with it though, so I could see this changing in the future. The frame is a small Ikea Ribba frame that I had on hand. It was originally wood toned, but I painted it navy blue using Martha Stewart craft paint. I used the 3m command adhesive strips to hang this one up. It’s feeling a lot cheerier in the entryway now. There are a few more changes I would like to make that should be pretty easy. More to come!
Update with some FAQ’s:
To see how we built the coat rack see this post. I have heard that not all Lowes have the oil rubbed bronze hooks in stock, but they can also be found here on Amazon.
Also, the paint color is Behr’s Aged Beige from Home Depot in a flat finish.
I’m working on something similar to this in my apartment. Great minds think alike I guess!!
I’m commenting again!!! I just made a few of the shape printout things and I may possibly go overboard with them cuz they are just that awesome!! Thanks for the link!
Looks great!! I am looking to do something similar in my entryway. One question.. Dd you have to find studs to hang the wood with the hooks on it? I am in a brand new home and am very cautious about putting holes in my walls.. Just want to make sure I get it right the first time!! Thanks :)
We did anchor the white piece of wood in studs using wood screws. Then we used wood filler to conceal the screws and touch up painted over that. Then once all that was dry, we screwed the hooks to the board using the srews that came with the hooks. I recommend finding studs, because then when you have heavier objects hanging it won’t rip out of the wall! You can read more about how we installed the hooks here:
https://suddenlyinspired.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/building-a-coat-rack-for-the-entryway/
Yes exactly what I was looking for. I’ve been trying to find a design I like and you have inspired me- thanks!
I love this! And I also love the bag you have hanging on the hook! I have to ask, where’d you get it?
Thanks! The bag is Amy Butler, the style is Josephine, and the color is Treasure Box Carob. You can find it here:
http://www.ebags.com/product/amy-butler/josephine-fashion-bag/152705?productid=10121208
I love this! So cute and functional:) Do you by chance know/remember what paint color is on your walls?
Thanks! The paint color is Aged Beige by Behr.
You have inspired me for my entryway. Love the ideas you came up with for your frames and the websites you used to find them. Question. What is the paint color you chose for the wall?
Thanks! The color is Behr’s Aged Beige from Home Depot.
LOVE LOVE LOVE that bird printable! I just made one! Great link!!! Love your entry!
Can you tell me what color of paint you used on your walls? I just love this entryway!
Thank you! The color is Aged Beige by Behr (Home Depot).
I was wondering if you could tell me the width of the hook panel??? Totally doing this!!!! Beautiful!!!!
Thanks Kirsten! The board is 5.5 inches high. I just got a 1×6 at home depot and had it cut to length. we then routed it and painted it, hung it on the wall, and then screwed the hooks in last.
I would love directions for your welcome sign. It is so cute!
Your entry way is beautiful! So I looked up aged beige and there’s 2 of them. One has a PP number and one has a UL number. Do you remember which one you used? Thanks for sharing all of your ideas and giving me some much needed inspiration. :-)
Thank you Heather! Unfortunately I don’t remember, but I can tell you it was the Behr premium plus ultra in a matte or flat finish. I wonder if that is what the PP/UL stand for? I know there is a Behr Ultra and a Behr Ultra Premium Plus…
Yep I bet that’s it! Thanks so much! I have been looking for a color for my living room like that and can’t seem to get anything right. :-)
i think what you did is very nice. I have some ideas for our front entrance and the coat rack is one of them. I’m just wondering if the front door will be hitting the hooks everytime? Did you find a practical door stop to rectify this problem?
Fortunately, the hooks don’t stick out too far so we don’t have an issue with the door hitting the hooks. We use hinge pin door stops, but I’m sure a regular doorstop mounted on the baseboard would work just fine too. :)
Does anyone know where that purse in the hallway is from? I’m in love with it.
Hi Shawna, the bag is from Amy Butler about 3-4 years ago and I still love it! I believe the pattern/color was called treasure box or something like that. Hope that helps!
This is exactly the inspiration I needed to make my entryway functional (I’m gallery wall obsessed too)! Do you have directions on how to create your welcome sign, it’s so cute?
I don’t have instructions, but I just bought a chipboard sign from hobby lobby and mod podged scrapbook paper onto it. Then I painted the edges with brown paint and used a little distressing ink on the edges. :)
What kind of distressing ink did you use? I see there are pens, pads, dobbers, and spray. I just got my sign and can’t wait to do it! Thank you!