Project Design Entry: Making the Most of a Tiny Cape Cod Foyer with New Lighting is in collaboration with Lamps Plus. I was not otherwise compensated for this post.
Happy Thursday, my friends. Before I go on, I just want to extend a heartfelt thank you for all of the love and friendship you showed me with your own stories and words of wisdom and support on my last post. You’ve inspired me, enlightened me, and given me hope, so thank you. OK, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s move on to something fun and DIY/design minded. I was thrilled when Mary Ann of Classic Casual Home and Cindy of Rough Luxe Lifestyle asked me to participate in their Project Design series. This month the focus is on entries, so I was a little nervous to say “yes” but knew it would be a good chance for me to make some sort off improvement to our small space. We live in a cozy little Cape Cod style home and the entry is a little too cozy for comfort. It’s small and awkward! And on top of that, as you will see, we have dogs and they have free access to this area of our home at all times, which limits me on some of the things I can do. I decided that the one thing that truly needed changing that I could do myself and not worry about dogs messing it up was change out the lighting. Sometimes minor changes can have a major impact. Today I am going to show you the new light fixture from Lamps Plus and how it flows with the spaces around it, and also share some ideas for making the most of a tiny entry. And if you are looking for more ideas, be sure to visit everyone who’s sharing entry way ideas today: claire brody designs, classic casual home, Dixie Delights, Maison de Cinq, Northern California Style, Our French Oasis, Rough Luxe Lifestyle, This is Happiness.
That is my less than grand entry above. I’ve given it a little Spring style for this post, even though this photo of my little Cape was taken just over a week ago as I was shoveling the driveway.
As I mentioned, the major change that I made recently is the lighting. Just a couple of weeks ago, this circa 1979 brass beauty dimly lit the hall.
I am all for vintage lighting and vintage style as you know, but since we’ve lived here, we’ve changed the lighting in the kitchen and dining room, playroom, the bedroom fans, and I will soon be sharing the new lighting in the downstairs bathroom as well as the porch’s new lighting. Most of the fixtures we’ve chosen are industrial style and the finishes are in oil rubbed bronze, black, or chrome. This baby just wasn’t jiving. See it hanging there sadly?
I selected the Possini Euro Schoolhouse fixture from Lamps Plus to replace the foyer light as well as one other fixture in the hallway that faces the entry. The flow from the dining room into this space is so much more cohesive now as the finish and style works with the dining room chandelier.
Everything in this space just flows so much better now with a continuing palette of black, white, blue, and natural elements. (Of course, the glaringly maple staircase is due for some sort of love soon! Just try not to focus on that… deal?)
This light fixture was the perfect choice because it hangs down enough to add interest but not so low that it interferes with the door. Many of the fixtures I am drawn to won’t work in our Cape Cod with lower ceilings, but this one fit the bill and the price is right at just under $100.
This change was little, but oh my gosh the hallway feels so much fresher to me! I also gained a new skill… this fixture was the first one I ever changed by myself. The day I did it, I realized how easy it was and proceeded to change out 4 more. It was SO easy. On instagram I said that it was so simple, in fact, that if my dogs had opposable thumbs, I believe they could have handled it. If you’re interested, I can share a post on how to do that. I felt empowered and want you to feel that way, too.
As I mentioned, at the end of hallway off the foyer, there was another circa 1979 brass piece just waiting to go, so I replaced that one with the same style light. Previously the light at the other end worked with the existing entry light, but they weren’t the same. I love that I now have a matching pair. (And here you can see our puppy, Snowball, greeting you at the door. This little booger jumped in tons of my photos, so you’ll see her again.)
And again, as mentioned, the view looking into the dining room is much more cohesive and easier on the eyes. (There’s that attention hog again!)
That’s my major DIY change for Project Design, but I also wanted to talk about some of the other ways that we’ve made this tiny little entry work for us. One of the first projects I did when we moved in was paint the wall the door sits on with chalkboard paint. It was 5 years ago and the trend was still going strong. Every now and again, I think of ditching it, but then I remember just how much fun we have with it. For Spring I added a couple of gold Syroco birds (available here in my etsy shop!) and recreated Sir Mixalot’s Baby Got Back with my own springtime version.
The female bird has her part:
And of course the male has his:
For now, the wall stays…. the kids love to see new quotes and messages on the wall. Whether the trend is over or not, in our house, we love it. Because we have no mudroom or much space in our entry, I added hooks to that wall to the right of the door. Chris gave me the adorable woodsy animal hooks for Christmas one year, and each child has one for his or her backpack.
Emmy has the owl hook:
Sawyer has the stag hook, which seemed more suited for him. After school, these hooks work overtime to hold backpacks full of books, crumbs, lollipop sticks, and crumpled notes, as well as homework that was never turned in. I mean, let’s be honest here, right?
Another reason I continue to love this wall is that the black really ties the dining room, entry, and living room together as you can see here. (Also, see if you can spot the puppy!)
Upon entering our front door, one is greeted with a juncture of spaces… to the left, the living room; straight ahead a stair case, hallway, and small strip of wall respectively; and to the right the dining room. All of that stems off of this one small space. Because it’s a small space with so much going on, we need to really use every square inch wisely. On that little strip of wall, I had my neighbor build me a small live edge shelf that I mounted with some brackets I sprayed gold. You can read all about that project here. 
Because we have an air vent on that wall, we had to be careful not to block it and a shelf seemed to be the way to go. The sharpie sheep wall was something I added 4 years ago… a fun and quirky DIY. Sometimes I think about changing it, but like the chalkboard wall, I still love it. Each season the shelf receives some simple seasonal flare. I added some white cacti, daffodils from my yard, as well as a little wooden model who I’ve put in the “Leaping for Spring!” position, and a little yellow vintage bunny I borrowed from Emmy’s room.
This year my mantra is to spend less, so I’ve been careful not to buy any seasonal decor and have just worked with what I had on hand, or what my kids had on hand, as in the case of this adorable yellow rabbit.
And just because, here’s another shot of this space with my photobomber.
And this post has motivated me to tackle to think about tackling that staircase… it needs some major love. Just look at all of that orangey-brown wood. I am thinking black, white, and maybe some blues like the door color…. Who wants to come over for a paint party? Trim and railings are the most tedious, aren’t they?
Even though I still have trim to paint and stairs to love, I am thrilled with the new lighting in the entry and hall. It’s amazing what a simple task like changing a fixture can do to update a space! Thanks to Cindy and Mary Ann for organizing this hop and lighting a fire under my tush (pun intended, because I can’t help myself).
Head on over to see what everyone else did to update their entries:
