Entryway Decor Ideas from My “Before” & “After” Makeover

Our Entryway “Before”

Our house had a color palette of primary colors when we first moved in. The rooms were mostly yellow, blue, and green, including the entryway which had yellow wallpaper. The previous owners had a small console table and mirror on the back wall and a longer console table on the wall to the left that you can catch a little peek of:

1. Add New Life With Entryway Wallpaper

While the white walls weren’t cutting it in our entryway, it was hard to pick another color that would flow well with all five of the rooms coming off of it. I came across {this wallpaper} and knew it was the perfect subtle yet statement-making wallpaper to tie all of these spaces together:

My wallpaper rolls actually sat in the boxes they came in for a full 2 ½ years (!) before I finally made it a priority and carved out the time to get it up on the walls:

It took me three long days of work to get the wallpaper hung but it was so worth it! It changed the entire feel of our home as you walk in the front door:

2. Create a Focal Point with a Stunning Entryway Console Table

After the wallpaper was hung it was on to the fun part… decorating our newly refreshed space! I wanted to find an entryway console table that would take center stage and be the focal point of the space. To keep our entryway feeling light and bright, I shopped for an entryway console  that was fairly open (no closed cabinetry or drawers) and light in color. These were my favorites that I found in my search:

1. Cabot console  |  2. Byron waterfall console table  |  3. Modern minimalist console table  |  4. Folsom console table  |  5. Geometric framework console  |  6. Belmont shore curved foot console  |  7. Capri console  |  8. White curved leg console table  |  9. Blake raffia console – no longer available  |  10. Hamilton rattan console table

This isn’t our forever home so getting a console table that was versatile enough to also be used in a future home was also high on my priority list. I ended up choosing this raffia console in the Natural color (unfortunately it was recently discontinued):

3. Art is a Great Way to Showcase Your Style

Next it was on to the art… it’s an entryway decor idea that makes SUCH a difference! I went on the hunt for a large vertical art piece for the top of our console table and at the same time I was looking for a similarly sized art piece for a bare wall in our bedroom. Since my colors are similar in both spaces, I ordered two pieces of art and decided to choose which one to put where after they arrived.

Option #1 was “Grace in the Winds” by Emily Jeffords found {here} (on the left) and option #2 was “Marathon” by Laurent and Leif found {here} (on the right):

Both are 30″ x 40″  Minted art prints with the classic white wood frame option. Minted is one of my favorite places to find art because there’s a HUGE selection, you can get most prints in a ton of sizes, and they have a visualizer so you can see what it will look like in the size, frame, and matting you choose. It was a tough call but I ended up deciding to go with the more calming print (on the left) in our bedroom and the more colorful print (on the right) on the console.

4. Consider Adding Seating

Having seating in your entryway can be a big plus, especially if you like to sit down when putting on or taking off your shoes when you’re going in and out the door. If you have the space for it, consider a narrow hall bench but if you don’t, consider ottomans, poufs, or X-base stools that you can slide under an open console.

For my entryway, I chose two of {these cube ottomans} that were a perfect fit for the space:

They’re great as quick seats and those brass zippers… love!!

They have lots of other stylish cube ottoman options too – you can check them all out {here}. If you want entryway seating that also doubles as shoe storage, check out my post on entryway shoe storage ideas.

6. Add Light With 1-2 Table Lamps

One key to decorating any room, including the entryway, is to have multiple layers of light. It’s an entryway decor idea that’s often overlooked but has such an impact in creating warmth and ambiance at night! I added one of {these white lamps} to the top of my console – they come in a pair and are really reasonably priced:

7. Layer in the Decorative Accessories

And last but not least in wrapping up this makeover… the smaller accessories! Next to my table lamp I added a decorative wood box and {this decorative snail} that I swiped from the floating shelves in our kitchen:

And on the right is a piece of faux wave coral that I scored from HomeGoods years ago.

The console shelf was the perfect home for some of my coffee table book stash, {this shallow wood bowl}, and glass beads similar to {these}:

And with that… we’re done! Ready to see how it all came together??

It’s definitely a big change from this “before”:

to my makeover “after”:

I decided not to add any furniture to our entryway other than the console table so I could keep the open feel but I did hang {this large wall basket} on the wall to the right:

And with that our entryway makeover is a wrap! I’m already scheming up my next makeover that I hope to start in a few weeks… stay tuned! 🙂

XO,