Two years ago, my husband went on an extended business trip, and I transformed our entryway from a very sterile white space to something with a little more personality. I liked the dark blue entryway, but Charles felt that it was too dark, and as we decorated more spaces in our home, the design of the entryway didn't fit anymore. It was time for something new. This new cottagecore-inspired entryway design fits the style of our home and is bursting with personality.
Our Entryway:
This long, door-filled L-shaped hallway is where we welcome guests to our home. I wanted to create a welcoming space that matched our style and taste, as well as the rest of the home.
The Original Entryway:
When we bought our home, we didn't get to choose a paint color. It was all painted in a cheap matte white paint that seemed to absorb every stain. Although I wanted to decorate the entryway right away, we had other priorities and expenses, like finishing all the closets and buying furniture.
The Dark Blue Entryway:
After 18 months, I couldn't handle the dirty walls and sterile atmosphere. So, I gave a space a quick facelift on a budget with dark blue paint and new lighting. The instant can to pendant light installation is as simple as screwing in a lightbulb!
The dark blue entryway was a big improvement but was too dark, and the white doors were always dirty.
Our New Cottagecore Entryway Design:
Inspired by my British pub-inspired TV room, I added Morris & Co. wallpaper to the entryway. I love the wallpaper, and choosing Morris & Co. patterns from the same era for the TV lounge and entryway helps give the home a cohesive look.
I used the "Willow Bough" pattern, designed by William Morris in 1887 for Morris & Company, in the entryway. The pub-inspired TV lounge has wallpaper in the "Blackthorn" pattern, designed by John Henry Dearle in 1892 for Morris & Company.
Both patterns are out of copyright since it has been more than 75 years since the wallpaper pattern designers' deaths. Today, many colors, sizes, and variations are available, and many companies produce them. My go-to place for wallpaper is Spoonflower; the selection is incredible, and their wallpaper is thicker and easier to install.
Updating the entryway involved installing peel-and-stick wallpaper, adding molding to the doors, changing the doorknobs, re-framing the artwork, and getting a new rug.
The project took two weeks in total. The carpenter's updates took a week (he was also working on another room). It took me a week to prep the doors for painting, to paint the doors, to add new knobs, and to rub n' buff the hinges. I did it in a week, but worked long days on the project.
I checked Spoonflower's calculator to determine how much wallpaper to buy. Since there are eight doors in the entryway, I did some quick math and ordered about five rolls less than recommended. I have two rolls leftover since I was able to use scraps to wallpaper above the doors.
I've become a master of peel-and-stick wallpaper (I've done 5 spaces in our home), and you can read my tips for installing peel-and-stick wallpaper.
I love the light blue paint on the doors and trim. The appearance of this light blue hue, called "Little Boy Blue" by Sherwin-Williams, is greatly impacted by the other colors in the space. When I painted the doors, the walls were still dark blue, and the doors still looked nearly white. Once the dark blue paint was covered up by the wallpaper, the doors looked blue. My point is, never just buy paint, test it in the exact space to see what it will look like first.
The Cottagecore Entryway Design Details:
Wallpaper: Morris & Co. Willow Bough pattern in Teal Blue, (21 rolls) $2260
Paint Color: Sherwin-Williams Little Boy Blue (door and trim enamel in semi-gloss), $166
Doorknobs: Emtek Wilshire Rosette and Norwich Knobs, ($138.40 each) $692
Rug: Orla Ruggable Runner, $229
Frames: Michaels ($34.99 each), $139.96
Pendant Lights: Instant Can to Pendant Conversions ($98.50 each), $394
Carpentry Work: Adding Crown Molding and Door Paneling $2160
Total: $5348.96
Note that the entryway is L-shaped, and the entire space isn't visible in photos. The long length of the hallway and the fact that paneling was added to seven doors greatly impacted the cost.
The Design Help: Melissa Mahoney of Melissa Mahoney Design House specializes in helping clients create personality-filled homes. We booked a consultation with her and used the time to run through ideas and vision boards for several spaces. My problem is that I get an idea, and it's about 80% complete, and I need help with the final details. Melissa has been wonderful at filling in the gaps and pushing projects forward.
Melissa Mahoney helped bring this vision together. I am hugely thankful for her expertise and encouragement. She picked out perfect details like the frames for Gwen's paintings and she told me to rub n' buff the door hinges instead of installing new ones (what a genius timesaver).
Want to see more of our home?
The British Pub-Inspired TV Lounge
