A closer look at the design decisions being made in my fixer upper entryway - See exactly what will be happening with the walls, flooring, and decor as the makeover progresses.
MACTAVISH HOUSE | Published May 20, 2020
The demo is completed in my entryway and I am so excited to finally be able to show you my vision for the small space. After a lot of time spent tearing the room apart and quite frankly making things worse than what they were before, it feels good to see things cleaned up.
My plans had to change from my original design for a couple of reasons. I'm going to share both plans with you today so you can see how things evolved.
My plans had to change from my original design for a couple of reasons. I'm going to share both plans with you today so you can see how things evolved.
WALLS AND FLOOR
It is a very tiny room, but my goal has always been to make it feel as large as possible.
One of the best ways to do this in a room with little natural light is to paint it white. (And if you've ever seen my mood boards for the other rooms of the house, I like white!)
I'm doing a vertical board and batten treatment on the empty wall to tie into the bump out section I had to create to hide the heating duct. (You'll get a better idea of what I mean in next week's progress post.)
The other way to help make this space feel larger is to add as little material layers back into the room as possible. If you read my post last week, I mentioned, I took two layers of ceiling tile and hardboard off of the ceiling and on the floors, I removed two layers of subfloor and two layers of linoleum. Although no one layer was very thick, when you put six together, a little extra headroom is gained.
To contrast with the white walls, I wanted to do black tile on the floor, likely in a herringbone pattern. To keep it an easy install, I chose a groutable vinyl tile. It was easy to work with when I used it on my faux fireplace build and still felt like real tile. Not only is it easy to cut, but the vinyl is much thinner than a real stone tile, so I wouldn't loose much floor to ceiling space. It would also transition nicely into the old threshold installed going into the kitchen.
To contrast with the white walls, I wanted to do black tile on the floor, likely in a herringbone pattern. To keep it an easy install, I chose a groutable vinyl tile. It was easy to work with when I used it on my faux fireplace build and still felt like real tile. Not only is it easy to cut, but the vinyl is much thinner than a real stone tile, so I wouldn't loose much floor to ceiling space. It would also transition nicely into the old threshold installed going into the kitchen.
I ordered the tile from Lowes and as you can see from the picture below, it was dark with shades of black and gray. But when I opened the box, it was more of a lighter gray with swirls of tan and an occasional shade of black. I think there was maybe one tile in the box that looked like the image online. Things rarely look the same in real life as they do on a computer screen. This had been the only vinyl tile option I could find that would work, and I had picked it up from the store just as the stay at home orders were starting, so I didn't have the opportunity to continue browsing and planning.
Instead of continuing to look for tile, I decided to go with restoring the hardwood floors that I had found under the subfloor. While I don't love the idea of walking into the house with wet and dirty shoes and stepping onto wood flooring, it will work for now. And I actually like how it looks better over the tile idea anyway.
Instead of continuing to look for tile, I decided to go with restoring the hardwood floors that I had found under the subfloor. While I don't love the idea of walking into the house with wet and dirty shoes and stepping onto wood flooring, it will work for now. And I actually like how it looks better over the tile idea anyway.
BATHROOM DOOR
To solve the issue of the bathroom door, I have decided to install a barn door. So many of you commented about using a barn door or pocket door to solve the problem of the door opening out into the room. It was nice to see we were all on the same page. I haven't ordered the hardware yet, though, because I'm having trouble deciding whether I want to go with black like you see pictured or if something like an aged brass would be less bold in a small space. Opinions?
I'll be sharing more about what I'm doing with this door in a few weeks.
LIGHTING
I've looked through a lot of lighting options lately for this space. It is hard to find something that won't stick down too far right where people will be walking. I had my heart set on a Moravian Star version and finally found a flush mount Moravian Star that I like and am crossing my fingers that it will work.
There were some suggestions about installing wall sconces instead of a ceiling fixture. I love that idea, but unfortunately it won't work in here at the moment. I'm dealing with an old home. This is the only wiring in the room to work with (not even any outlet plugs) and the wiring for those sconces would end up being on the outside of the wall since I'm doing the board and batten directly over the old exterior walls (otherwise I'd loose about 4 inches of the little space that I have to frame the wall out.)
DECOR
The other change in addition to the flooring came with my rug choice. I LOVED the one in my original design, but it has been out of stock since before I started planning this design, and I suspect with the way things are at the moment, it won't be restocked any time soon. I finally gave up waiting and have gone with a Joanna Gaines rug instead. Options are limited here because I need something larger than a 2x3 entryway mat size, but a runner or 3x5 rug are too large.
In addition to the rug, I'm going to be refinishing a $2 mirror from Goodwill, (hopefully) building a rustic wood console table that rivals one from Restoration Hardware that costs $2,150, and adding some vintage hooks to the wall for coats.
The only thing I'm still hung up on is finding a small bench or chair. Nothing I've found online is quite right and most of the stores in my area are still not open for second hand shopping. I feel like if I choose a wood framed chair, it is going to make the room feel unbalanced where everything on one side is wood against the black door on the other side. I found an aged brass garden stool but I'm not sure if it would be a strange addition (and now I can't find the link to share with you!)
Next week I will show you the progress that has been made in the room now with paint and a refinished floor.
If you love a good before and after, I think you'll be pleased. I'm really happy with how everything is finally coming together. Be sure to subscribe using the box at the bottom of this post if you want to stay up to date with everything going on here at the house for this challenge!
ONE ROOM CHALLENGE
Week No. 1 - Entryway Before Tour
Week No. 2 - Demo in the Entryway
Week No. 3 - Entryway Design Plan - You are here!
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