Our entry: A better first impression...

When we knocked on the front door of what became our new house for the first time, I was really excited about what could be inside.  Being greeted by a blank tan wall and some awful brownish-colored tile was a little of a disappointment. We could tell from the minute we walked in that there was work that needed to be done.

I've heard the phrase "You never get a second chance to make a first impression," but I'm just not sure that's true. Our entryway definitely got a new life after some paint, accessories, and an amazing new marble floor.

The decision to replace those mottled, brown floor tiles was an easy one...the process was not. The demolition was too much to handle on my own, especially since I couldn't use a sledgehammer inside during naptime (yes, I did try it once...let's just say that it wasn't my best idea).  I enlisted the help of my wonderful husband, Justin.  He spent hours and hours breaking and removing that old tile.

I had fallen in love with a marble and glass mosaic tile from Lowe's and had been dying to use it somewhere. Even though I knew that it was too pricey (and not durable enough) to use as flooring, I still really wanted to try it out.  After some discussion, we decided to use a much cheaper tile as the main flooring and use the mosaic as a border around the edges.  I searched and searched until I found 12" x 12" Carrera Marble tiles on sale at a flooring liquidator in a nearby city for under $3 each.  After a weekend of laying tile and a few phone calls to my brother Jason (who has some professional tiling experience ), my new floor was complete...and gorgeous! 

 

After tiling the floors, I painted 2 of the walls a charcoal gray color that matched the dark gray tiles from the mosaic (Sherwin Williams' "Grizzle Gray").  I decided to remove the old, beat-up wood blinds from the front door, and add some translucent window film for privacy.  Then I cut a 1-inch wide strip off around the edges of the film so I could still see any visitors clearly. 

Finally, I took on a few more naptime DIY projects to finish things off.  A freshly repainted, vintage mirror was strategically placed to reflect some of the light from the living room windows and brighten up the entry area.  A black and white bird print that I saved from my grandmother's trash pile and reframed found a new home on one of my floating shelves.  Next to it sits a ceramic piece that I salvaged from a broken lamp and painted yellow.   I also put up a few antique cameras that were garage sale finds.

Now I just wish someone other than the pizza delivery guy would use my front door...