A Foyer Makeover Alongside New Lighting & Furniture
Come on in and let us have a walkabout. But not one of those wildlife walkabouts, simply a jaunt around the foyer since we have not properly introduced you to many of the updates in here. I’d describe this room’s evolution over the last year or so as simply generally lightening things up (thanks to switching out an old dark foyer table and the dark slate floor) and layering in some more tone-on-tone texture (in the new light fixture, mirror, and woven baskets). So let us break it down with a whole bunch of pics, shall we? Safari hat: optional.
In fact simply for lively, here is a before shot from a similar angle:
And back to the after again. Ahhh.
Before you stop to wonder about the scenery/terrain on this journey around the foyer, the walls are Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore, the trim is Simply White by Benjamin Moore, the ceiling is Revere Pewter (a slightly deeper gray-taupe color than the walls – more on that here) and the floors are simply oak hardwoods with Provincial stain by Minwax. We also stained the handrail a dark color to go with the black and white stair runner (more on that here) and I think that covers all of the general paint/stain stuff going on in this space.
Some of you folks noticed that our star light is at the beach house now. Over time we realized it was a smidge too big for our 8′ foyer, so we had to urgently scream “watch your head!” at our tallest guests right as they stepped in the door (how rude). The star light is certainly a lot better off at the beach house since the ceilings are a foot higher on the first floor there (so even someone pushing 7′ would not have to worry about hitting their head), and since everyone who has spied our new light fixture in the background of an Instagram photo or something has asked about it, allow me to formally introduce you.
I am clearly the world’s largest fan of capiz, so this chandelier had my name ALLLL over it. The lighter and softer vibe it brings to this small space feels truly fresh and lovely, and the gold finish looks excellent with the woven blinds that we have on all the first floor windows (which you can see in three distinct adjoining rooms as you stand in the foyer). You can kind of see what I mean in the blurry shot above.
The mirror also hails from Serena and Lily and if you listen to the podcast, this is the one I talked about (in this episode) that I stalked FOR YEARS and was at last able to stack some sales and coupon codes to snag it for over 50% off. I think it was around $320 in the end, which is still a ton of money for a mirror in my book, but I make heart eyes at it every time I walk by. And get this: IT SOLD OUT AFTER THAT!!! As in, that was the lowest closeout price they ever offered and then it was gone and never stocked again.
This happened over a year ago and I still look to see if it is back, but no dice, which is a good reminder that something you’ve enjoyed for years can simply up and disappear and then you might find yourself reenacting that scene from Titanic (sniff… “I will never let go, Jack”… sniff) so in this case I am SO GLAD I monitored those sales and at last pounced when the price dropped so dramatically. Psst- for anyone looking for something similar, this mirror and this mirror are somewhat close.
The table is also no longer sold but it is especially similar to this one, and here are some similar baskets. At any given time our woven baskets can be found full of dress up clothes, stuffed animals, or the bottom two-thirds of a kid (picture a head popping out and me laughing hysterically).
The big glass jar is from here and it comes in handy for holiday decorating – like this annual Easter Tree that we make with a cut branch from the yard and some small little colorful egg ornaments. The sweater-wearing vase is no longer sold, but these are kind of similar (these are truly cool knitted pot covers too) and I am so OBSESSED with my faux ginkgo branch that there is another one in a vase in the kitchen. I enjoy that the warm yellow color is strong for fall, but it is so cheerful it’ll look simply as good in the spring/summer.
Oh and because this foyer has two closets (you can see the other one in the last photo of this post, which is our coat closet), we made this one especially functional by turning it into a toy & game closet. Simply adding one of those track-shelving systems (like this) has been excellent over the last four years of living here.
It is truly pleasant to have such a centrally located toy storage space downstairs, and when people see our living room with simply two toy baskets flanking the TV they consistently say “where are all the toys?!?” so we throw open this closet door for the big reveal. We still have way fewer toys than we used to (you can hear what drove us to get rid of half of them in this podcast episode) but the things in this closet are in heavy rotation. Upstairs we also obviously have some toys/games on that level (in the built-ins in the bonus room for example, and in the kids’ rooms themselves).
Oh and the colorful art on the wall next to the door is by the remarkable Teil Duncan (you can find some of her stuff here, here or here) and the door is painted Blue Lake by Benjamin Moore on both sides. That kids portrait you can barely make out in the photo below is discussed a lot more in this post (it is one of our go-to things ever!) and that post also shouts out a ton of artists we enjoy at the bottom – including many who sell original art on Etsy that is awesomely affordable.
And since I was in a mood boarding mood, I made this little “get the look” collage for anyone who is thinking about trying the same thing in their foyer (the light + mirror + colorful art thing would be truly fairly in a bathroom too!).
1. Capiz Light / 2. Teil Duncan Art / 3. Inlay Mirror / 4. Faux Gingko Stem / 5. Thomas O’Brien Book / 6. Allegra Hicks Book / 7. Large Glass Vase / 8. Wrapped Vase / 9. Acrylic Table / 10. Wall Color (BM Edgecomb Gray) / 11. Trim Color (BM Simply White) / 12. Door Color (BM Blue Lake) / 13. Woven Baskets / 14. Bamboo Blinds
So thanks for coming on this little indoor-and-not-quite-exotic walkabout. I apologize for the lack of giraffes, but I truly did enjoy showing you around.
Psst- For anyone still wondering about sources, like the office chairs and stuff that you can see in the background of this post, here is a full house source page that has all of our paint colors and stuff we picked up.
*This post contains affiliate links*
