Another day, another room ticked off the list! ✅
(Disclaimer: it actually takes us months to get a room done)
Earlier this year, we finished giving our entryway a classic (with a hint of quirky) glow-up.
So let’s get into it! 👇
The Before
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the space before… except the fact that it was too dark.
Our entryway is south-facing, and given we’re in Western Australia, this means we get very little sunlight in the space.
We’d originally painted this room with Taubmans Racing Green, to match our library.
While the bold colour totally works in our dark and moody library (which has the benefit of a big window) it really didn’t work in our entryway. This space only gets a bit of afternoon sun, so most of the time it just looked dark and dusty 😬
So sadly we pressed CTRL ALT DEL on the dark green and designed something lighter and brighter instead.
But I still have these photos (take at the most opportune time of day) to remember it by!
Archway
Before we tackled the walls, we wanted to add a bit more character and traditional charm to the area by converting the builder-grade passageway that separates our entry and living space into an archway.
It was quite the process to do this, one that I didn’t really capture step by step because I wanted to let Martin do his thing!
After he created the arch, there was a lot of plastering involved!
The other passageway you can see above just got the archway treatment too, so I’ll try to make a reel about it soon!
I love me an archway and I’m so happy Martin agreed to do it! You don’t see them too much in modern homes which is such a shame… I guess that’s because builders want to build homes quickly and cost effectively.
Wall Panelling
Once the archway was done, we moved on to transforming the dark green walls.
Instead of just picking a light paint colour and calling it a day, I wanted to incorporate texture and pattern into the walls to make them a bit more interesting.
So we decided to install wall panelling on the lower half of the walls, with a plan to hang wallpaper on the rest.
We used Easycraft Panels in the VJ60 profile, with a simple skirting at the bottom and some beautiful chair rail moulding on the top.
Once Martin installed of that, he sprayed it all with our go-to white paint, Taubmans Crisp White.
I really pondered on the colour for a while. Martin was always keen for white, but I was toying with maybe sage or a light blue. In the end, I figured we should keep it classic and add colour elsewhere. After all, there’s already a LOT of colour in the house, and I didn’t need every single space in the house to be saturated… so white it was! 🤍
Wallpaper
Another thing I ummed and aahed over for the longest time was wallpaper.
I wanted a more subtle pattern, but I was torn between a classic pattern or a whimsical, abstract pattern.
I had samples on the walls for months… but because we needed quite a lot of wallpaper (we got some for the hallway too) budget restrictions won and I picked a wallpaper that I liked and was in our price range.
We went with the Ash Branch wallpaper from World of Wallpaper, which features a repetitive leafy green pattern on an off-white background.
I love the big expanse of pattern in the space and I’m glad I won the wallpaper vs paint argument I had with Martin! I think wallpaper and wall panelling is such an elite, timeless combo.
It isn’t super obvious in person and undetectable in these photos, but you can kind of see the dark green paint where the wallpaper joins. In hindsight, we should have painted the walls white before laying the wallpaper… but you live and you learn!
Despite that little boo boo, I absolutely love how the walls turned out. All in all it is pretty pared back, which might be a surprising for long time followers of our Instagram!
Lighting
Previously, the lighting here was nothing special, so we really wanted a statement, sculptural piece here.
We have standard height ceilings in the entryway, so we couldn’t have a pendant or a huge chandelier.
We went with the Dhia chandelier from Residence Supply, which is fairly close to the ceiling, so there’s no risk of Martin hitting his head on it 👌
It’s also dimmable, so we can light up the space while keeping it cosy (yay to no harsh lighting!)
If you’re in the market for interesting lighting, you can use our code MISMATCHED for 10% off at Residence Supply.
Console & Mirror
We already had this console and mirror; we saw no need to replace them since they still work with the new walls.
We found the oriental console at a vintage store here in Perth, and we bought the big gold mirror at a heavy discount from Scurrs Mirrors before it closed down.
The lovely green kissing couple statue was found at a thrift shop and of course we needed a floral element! These everlasting flowers have literally been there for years without losing much colour (no idea what they’re called!)
Wall Art
So since the space is super classic, I wanted to add some eclectic touches through artwork and accessories.
We made a mini gallery wall moment with a few pieces we already had plus a couple new prints (the frog and the tiger) from Fy!
The comedy and tragedy mini masks were picked up a vintage store; they used to live above the now archway, and I wanted to reincorporate them somewhere.
Of course we had to rehang the Magnus portrait and the oval piece was also a vintage market find.
Beside the mini gallery wall lives our air-conditioning controls, and they were quite the eyesore!
We had the idea of covering them up with this square mirror we already had. Martin built a simple frame then added the mirror to it with hinges! Now it just looks like it’s part of the gallery wall.
This big phrenology head poster was already here before the reno and it’s staying put!
This is the first thing you see when you enter the house through the front doors and I think it adds that eclectic touch I wanted when viewed with the walls, oriental console and archway.
Storage
Another way we added an eclectic touch to the space was via this cactus shaped coat rack from Maija.
We could have easily found a traditional style coat rack on Marketplace, but it just would’ve been too predictable. I love the juxtaposition of this quirky coat rack against the classic walls.
In this nook below the gallery wall, we previously had a beautiful oriental chest. It was lovely, but we didn’t really use it for anything because it was inconvenient lifting the lid.
So instead, Martin made a built-in bench with two deep drawers for shoes. We got a cushion upholstered by a local upholsterer and now it’s the perfect place to put on and take off our shoes. It’s a cosy little waiting area for Magnus too!
Rug
The rug we had before was OK, but it had done it’s dash!
So we got something a little more vibrant from my favourite maximalist rug supplier Maia Homes. This is the Blossom Grace rug which is very tame by their standards!
They’ve got lots of crazy rugs (like the trippy one in our library or the tiger shaped rug in our playroom) but they also stock more traditional styles. If you like anything from there, our code MISMATCHEDHOME gets you 10% off at Maia Homes 💖
Doors
When we moved in, the doors were just plain white. Not ideal for curb appeal at all!
So we painted them mustard and it was fine for a while, but the actual doors were pretty crappy quality.
So we went to our local Doors Plus store and picked the prettiest doors we could find! 😍
I love the rose detail in the glass and the physical quality is just so much better! They really are a beautiful first impression.
The After
Just because we’re eclectic, doesn’t mean every space needs to be loud 😉
I’m super happy with how it all turned out… despite someone on Instagram saying it was boring and they preferred it before!
Every time I look at it from our bedroom, it just looks so much more inviting… not to mention, we don’t feel like we’re in a tiny dungeon anymore. Yes, it’s not as bold and colourful as our other spaces, but we’re allowed to like more classic spaces and light colours too, aren’t we?
Someone else on Instagram said our entryway gives visitors a false sense of security before they enter the rest of our house… I’ll take that! 😅
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