I'm moving on with spring cleaning and today I tackled the front entryway, stairway and upstairs open hallway.
Here is what was accomplished with before and after picture pairs below.
- washed front door and window (inside and out)
- swept front porch
- detail vacuumed
- washed baseboards, counter, ledge and plant shelves
- decluttered area
-moved a small bookshelf ..though it may be moved back
- washed entryway floor
- washed front door rug
I'm considering another spot in our house for the scrapbooks we have on the plant shelves, but for today they are staying put. I need some inspiration for this area and don't want to put stuff there just to fill space, but display things there that I really love.
I have a few questions for you decorators out there. On the top two pictures you see some built in shallow cabinets. Would you leave them as is or paint them white or another color? I've wondered if the area would seem more spacious if they were painted white. I would also be looking to relocate the kids' stand alone bookshelf and perhaps remove some of the cupboard doors to have some open shelving and accessible book storage. Also, with displaying smaller photos, do you opt to pepper them throughout the home or do you cluster them together in just a few spots? I want to display them, but don't want it to look cluttered. Thoughts?
For more spring cleaning inspiration visit The Homespun Heart.
6 comments:
Rachel...what about white-washing the cabinets? Complete white may not be a great color for kids due to messy fingers and such, but with white-washing, they will appear a bit more rustic and allow for distressing. Just a quick thought. It would also give a little depth and character to the area. Or...something REALLY different-paint them white and then, a dark color and sand some areas to allow the white to show through? I'm thinking a rust color, something nice and warm.
With smallish photos, I do tend to display them all in one area-much like you have them in your photo.
Oh, and I notice a windowpane (?) going up your stairs? I love that!
Yep, the windowpane came from a building that was taken down on my parents' farm and the decorative plates were part of a large number my mom collected when we were growing up. I love stuff with some family history! I think the photo groupings would look better in coordinating frames, but that's a project for another day and another budget.
Here's a tip I learned a while back. The $1 store (Dollar Tree) by WalMart on Razorback has great frames and they are $1 each. You could get different sizes, leave as is...or get crafty with the frames and either paint with acrylics (which I have a ton of if you want to share) or cover with something-including scraps of leftover material. I'm constantly amazed at the stuff I can find at the Dollar Tree, it's a bit of a treasure hunt for me. One time they can a 6pack of Gerber baby jars of fruit. I stocked up that day.
I would paint them the same exact color as the wall! I've read that trick in a lot of decorating magazines--even sofas and other large furniture that matches the wall seem to float in front of it. It will give you that airy feeling. (If you prefer to decorate with color, that is also a good place to put a pop of unexpected color. I root for the matching shade since you want that open feeling).
I like small pictures in groupings, up on a wall, but do what looks good to you. You'll know. Just like you want to paint those cabinets. Do it! :) You'll probably be glad, and decorating can always be changed if you change your mind.
Great job!
I sprinkle family photos around wherever I find space. But, I have a friend that has an old trunk and the entire top is filled with picture frames - it looks so great in mass like that.
Hello,
I found you via The Homespun Heart. Congratulations on your win, by the way!! I know I don't visit your blog much and just found it this Spring. I think your cabinets would be super cute painted a light green color. If you like green. Maybe distress them a little even. On the subject of pictures, I noticed that you read The Nester's blog and she did an entry on picture placement. You might look thru her archives. She might have done that particular post on Blissfully D.
That is just my 2 cents.
Elise
athomeelise at yahoo dot com
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