Entryway

We are getting the entryway under way.  Of course, I forgot to take before pictures again. After more than a decade of living with the hideous "flesh-colored" paint, we FINALLY painted the walls the creamy white I like (and by "we", I mean my contractor's right-hand man, Mark).  We will be renovating the whole staircase and removing the carpet to make way for wood with a runner. Our contractor, Shane Chuning, installed gorgeous faux beams he built and finished by hand out of alder.  Stay tuned for more pictures of the entryway and stairs as we make more progress.  

Finally settled on a light fixture.  I knew the style I wanted but couldn't find it in the size and finish I wanted.  So, I purchased this one in a brass finish (which was actually a very pretty finish and would have matched my raw brass sconces I made perfectly, but I wanted to keep things cohesive with all my ceiling fixtures being a dark bronze finish), and I disassembled it and spray painted it with a Rustoleum bronze paint.  My body was exhausted from balancing while installing it (my husband was sick that day and my kids were otherwise engaged so I didn't have any extra hands to help me), but it turned out gorgeous!  If I were to shop for one again, I would save myself the time and hassle of trying to find the right finish and just get the perfect light and paint it.  It took way less time to paint it than it took searching for the perfect light in the finish I wanted.  Not sure why I didn't think of it sooner, as that is how I updated the ceiling fans in the kids' bedrooms years ago.  Live and learn . . . .  I will take this lesson with me as I search for my dining room and library lights. 

The scale and height of the fixture works perfectly for the tall, narrow entryway/stairwell.  It looks beautiful in the day with the light off as well.

Finally got the flooring refinished to take the orange out of the red oak (like there still is in the banister) and found this gorgeous antique hall tree at a local antique store. The brass spitoon was my mom's. She gifted it to me and we use it to store shoe covers. 

I designed and had this custom walnut front door built. We just got it installed and now all we need is to put an oil finish on it for protection and to condition and darken the natural wood tones. It's so wonderful to have decent natural light in the entry now! 

Got this gorgeous doorknob set. I love it so much! I didn't take a close up but the hinges are also gorgeous ball finial hinges that I love. 

My assume painter, Omar, got the oil on the door and the sidelites and trim painted and cleaned up. We used RedCan Parafin Oil. It is gorgeous and really brings out the natural beauty of the walnut. 

The entryway is really coming together beautifully. I love the walnut door with the walnut inlay on the floor and my bronze light fixture (which I really need to clean the drywall dust off of) with the bronze hardware on the door and the antique hall tree. I cannot wait until we get the stairs done too! 

Once we remodel the balustrade/stairway and find the perfect pot for the entryway tree that we want to grow in here, then, it will just be down to adding artwork and such.  Stay tuned.