ENTRYWAY MAKEOVER || ENTRYWAY DECORATING IDEAS

Hey everyone, it's Jenna. Welcome back to my channel. In today's video, I'm going to show you guys how I styled my entryway and a lot of these tips and tricks can be used in other rooms of your home, not just an entryway, so it could be some good fun inspiration for you guys. Also, a lot of this stuff is budget friendly. I'm even going to show you guys a no-sew pillow tutorial that I made out of dinner napkins, so should be a fun video. If you guys are ready, let's get into it. Okay, so this was the space before I took this video right when we moved in. As you guys can see, it's a very large and open space, so I felt like it was important to create zones within the entryway to make the design look and feel very intentional. Creating zones is a great design technique for both large spaces and small spaces, so I'm going to kind of walk you guys through the different zones that I created in my entryway and the purpose behind each one. So the first thing I did and something that is an important element to any entryway is to lay down a rug and this is going to help catch all the dirt from your shoes to help keep your floors clean while also providing a great base of decoration. Rugs give your eye a place to go and makes what can sometimes be an otherwise awkward entry feel like a more defined and intentional space. And this particular runner is from Rugs USA and it's very affordable and also comes in a ton of different sizes, has several color options. It's very durable and has a subtle color and design, so it adds a bit of texture and pattern without being too loud, which is personally what I love when it comes to decorating with rugs. So I will link this below in the description for you guys. The first zone that I created was right under the stairway because it was roughly in the middle of the hallway and was a great spot to visually break up the long space and provide some practical seating with a bench perfect for sitting down and putting shoes on before heading out the door. I love benches and entryways because not only are they functional but you can get a more narrow one that doesn't take up a lot of room if you are short on space. So this allows for ample traffic flow while also visually breaking up the space and providing a great base to design a fun little decorative moment. Now I've already had questions about this vintage Chinese bench and I'm just going to be honest with you guys, it was probably the most expensive furniture piece in my home other than our sectional sofa. So long story short, I was watching one of Brandy Jackson's vlogs where she was shopping at Willow's Fine Goods in Phoenix and she showed this bench and I just knew that I had to have it. So I called Willow's and they were able to ship it to me. The shipping was honestly what made the piece so expensive, but there are always sellers of benches like this on Etsy and I will link a couple. I also found a tutorial on how to DIY one of these and I will link that tutorial as well. So another piece of decor that is super functional as well as decorative are mirrors. So instead of hanging a photo or a piece of art above this bench, we opted for a mirror because this was the darkest part of the hallway and we wanted to have a mirror to reflect and bounce light back into the space. It also is great to check your hair, your makeup, your outfit, whatever before heading out the door. This particular mirror I found at Tuesday Morning a while ago, but I know Target and West Elm both sell ones that are very similar and I will link those below. I love the unique design of this mirror and how it is great for taking up a large area of space with a leather strap. So it can be great for filling up a space or if you have taller ceilings, something like that. I love when pieces have contrasting materials and I love the mix of wood and leather. I think that makes this piece look very expensive and designer and is one of my favorite elements of this entryway. So next, I wanted to add a touch of greenery to our little bench moment and I started with this pot that I got for $20 at HomeGoods and I wanted to use this to elevate a faux olive tree that I already had. So I started creating a base for the tree to stand on and I added some towels for a cushion so it would be secure and it wouldn't move all over the place. This was just a tree that I got from Target and I placed it right in on the base that I created and I like how it added the perfect amount of height to the tree to help it fit my space a bit better and I love this particular tree because while it is fake, the branches and leaves look pretty realistic in my opinion and it is just a great size to use to accent a side table, a bench, a desk, or just an empty corner where you need a little bit of something extra. It did look a little funny to have the double pot thing going on so I wanted to do something to make it look a bit more cohesive and realistic so I started by stuffing paper towel into the cracks in between the two pots to create a more level surface and once that was done and as even as I could get it, I took this sheet moss that I got for like $4 at Walmart and started filling in the area to create the illusion that our olive tree is just going to be growing right out of this mossy pot. I'd like to alternate using the green side of the sheet moss and then the brown underside. I find that using both sides makes it look a bit more realistic and natural. So this was how it turned out and I think it gives it a much more finished and polished look for just a couple of extra dollars and I think that it looks a lot better than the double pot thing that we had going on before. Next, it's time to finish off this bench with accessories and I started by adding one of my all-time favorite pillows. This one is from Target and I've already used it outdoors on my patio but I just love the neutral look of it and how it still provides a nice base of color and pattern. The material is also a casual almost linen-y type fabric which I feel like really helps soften a space. So I wanted to layer two pillows here on this bench for some visual interest and this Target one is kind of on the smaller side and no matter where I looked, I could not find anything that was small enough to layer with it in a pattern that I wanted so I decided to make one and I always see really nice dinner napkins that I like the material of so I decided to use some dinner napkins that I just got at Home Goods for this project. So I first started by ironing the creases out of my napkin so we would still have a nice neat surface to work with. This might not be an issue if you don't choose a linen type fabric but that's just the kind of look I'm drawn to so here we are. But next, I just snipped off all of the four sides of hemming so it's basically two square cuts of fabric and I placed them both on the nice side down because we will eventually be turning this inside out. So next, I took some no-sew hem tape and I started ironing the ends together. The directions said to iron for about three minutes but I always perform a little pull test just to make sure the fabric had bonded together all the way and wasn't going to pull apart. Then I did this to the two other sides. When I got to the last side, I made sure to leave about an inch to two inches of an opening so once everything had bonded together, I turned my pillow inside out and the bigger opening you leave the easier it is to do this and you can always use a pencil or a straw or something like that to help you out too. But it just kind of takes some patience and working it through there slowly but once it's all the way flattened out, the pillow is then ready for stuffing. So I just took this polyfill fiber that I got at the good old Walmart and started stuffing it little by little. I always try to stuff the corners really well first because this helps the pillow take on a more solid and full shape and the smaller the pieces are that you stuff it with and the more polyfill you fluff and break up before stuffing, the less lumpy your pillow will turn out to be. So I will say this DIY should really only be used for decorative pillows and nothing you would want to wash or you know be using all of the time but it is great for a little decorative piece. And next to close up the opening, I just used a little bit of hot glue. Sorry this was kind of hard to do on camera but you kind of get the idea. I just ran a little line of glue around the opening and pinched it there until it was fully cooled. You obviously want to make sure that your fabric is folded in and even with your previous hem that you made and that is it you guys. I felt like this was a fun, cheap, and easy way to personalize your own custom decorative pillow and you could totally do this using fabric you love too but I just thought it'd be fun and cheap to use dinner napkins so I dare you guys not to think about a potential pillow next time you go through the dinner napkin aisle. But I love how this turned out. I love the subtle pattern on this, the light linen-y fabric, and how they both add some texture and variety but you know it's still very neutral and calm if that makes sense. So to continue with the finishing touches of the bench, I just needed to add some visual interest underneath the bench as well. So I brought this little basket in that I got from Ikea and draped a blanket out of it. Mike and I actually got this blanket on a trip to Maui so I love being able to incorporate sentimental souvenirs from our travels into my decor and I specifically love the fringe on this blanket. I think it just adds a nice little extra layer of texture and visual interest to the basket. So to finish this zone off, I just popped a little stool underneath to create a nesting effect and nesting stools and nesting tables are really trendy right now in decor and I personally love the look of it so that is really it for this little zone and I love how it turned out. Super cozy and functional yet it breaks up the space and is very soft and visually pleasing to the eye. All right so the next zone I wanted to create was on this big empty wall that's right above the stairs and because the stairs create a natural line for your eyes to follow, I wanted to have something to fill that big empty space above it but still have something else to help define the flow of the stairs at the same time. So I was really inspired by this asymmetric gallery wall that Pure Salt Interiors designed and I wanted to create something similar but for my own personal space I didn't want as many frames and I also wanted the frames to be the same color so I ended up sourcing my frames from all over so they had little differences but overall I wanted the wood tones to match and look cohesive. So Ikea is my number one pick for picture frames. They seriously have so many different sizes and frames here for really affordable prices and when I was picking out my frames it helped me to lay them out on the floor to decide on a layout. I definitely look like a crazy woman but I'm a big visual person so doing this really helped me decide which frames to purchase so I wouldn't have to come back and waste my time returning anything later. So I decided on the Hofsta frame and I really love the light wood and they already came with a mat which was a big deal so I did get a couple at Target and a couple at HomeGoods to create my little gallery wall but most of them were the Hofsta frame from Ikea and this was the layout that I had decided on and as you can see I was kind of testing out what photos I wanted in the frames. I'm a big fan of black and white photos because they are timeless and you know filter and coloring trends of photos can come and go but black and white will always be classic and it also just fits in really well with so many different types of decor styles. So here I am just creating rough templates of the frame sizes because I wanted to make sure that the frame layout I decided on would look good specifically before drilling holes in the walls. So if you are doing any kind of photo wall I feel like this is a must just so you can make sure your layout fits into your space correctly. So I definitely wasn't using these templates for hole markers or anything like that it was just more so to get the general space awareness for the wall and then the layout that I chose but hanging these guys was quite a production because we needed a ladder that could go on the stairs and luckily I have a husband who is very good at measurements and hanging things. But this is what it ended up looking like and I absolutely love how this came out. We decided to do a west coast wall since Mike is from California and we both moved from Arizona to North Carolina the last year so I just wanted to feature some pretty landscapes and photos that reminded us of those places. I love how the design of the frames helps draw your eye up and creates an intentional flow to draw your line of sight up the stairs. So in order to complete this zone I needed to fill this empty corner and I wanted to give it some height so I decided on elevating a larger olive tree this time and I was able to find this really pretty tall planter on Facebook Marketplace for $30. The guy was selling three of them but I was able to just buy one and I decided on this specific olive tree because it was tall and skinny which can be hard to find in a faux tree and I also think that its trunk and leaves look very realistic for the price and I will have this one linked below for you guys because I feel like this one could look really pretty in so many different rooms. So I just really repeated the exact same process that I did for my smaller olive tree just on a larger scale and if you guys are familiar with my channel you guys know that I love incorporating greenery even if it is just faux greenery. I feel like it just really creates the illusion of bringing the outdoors in and gives your space a more curated look. Okay so our last zone is going to be on this wall right here and I just wanted to do something to keep your eye moving after it rests on our little bench moment so I decided to do a different gallery wall to take your eye down the hall and all the way into the living room. Even though this is our second gallery wall in this space I wanted this gallery wall to be symmetrical and have black frames so it was able to stand separately from our other one. Gallery walls are great because they can help create a visual flow as well as provide ground free decor as to not disrupt your actual foot traffic space. So I started by taping out my frames and I had to make the decision of two frames or three but I eventually decided on two because three was just a tad bit busy for my taste. So then I decided to have this wall be black and white photos from our wedding and I'm not gonna lie to you guys I still haven't matted these yet but I just centered the photo in the middle of a white background for the time being and I will eventually get around to matting them one day but I just measured and then put them right in the center so it kind of gives the illusion that they're matted but I really like the set of frames that I got. They came with templates that we were just able to put right onto the wall and then use them as a guide for where to put the nails. So I got these from TJ Maxx and last I checked they were online so I will link them if they are still available. I know the last time that I looked the black ones were low in stock but they may still have them in another color so I will link them below if so but it's funny because we thought that having a symmetrical layout would be way easier as far as measuring goes but I feel like it's actually way harder just because if you're off even by a teeny tiny bit it's super noticeable so we spent a good half of the day hanging these templates making sure that the measurements were all right and that everything was lined up and level before we put our nails into the wall but it really was nice having the extra help of those templates that came with the frames. We just left them on there while we nailed everything in and then hanging everything afterwards went super quick and speedy. We just took all the templates off all the nails were in the walls and we just did a little quick level check made sure everything was good and they went right up. If it was hard for you guys to visualize before this is what I just guides your eye right down the hallway and into the living room which was my ultimate goal. All right you guys so that about wraps up this video. I hope you enjoyed. I have a couple more rooms coming out in the coming months. I'm trying to really take my time and be intentional with my decor and not just hurry up and slap something on there just because I want to get a video out so thanks for your patience. If you guys decorate your own homes you know decorating is a process so yeah anyways thank you guys so much for watching. We will have a dining room master bedroom and workout room video coming sometime in the coming months so it should be a fun little future time on this channel so make sure you're subscribed and thank you guys so much for all your love and support. It really means a lot to me and I will see you all in my next video. Bye!