Cottage Entryway Phase I and Rug From Ballard

 

 

I am in the process up updating our Cape Cod home. For those of you who are new to my blog, the deets on us is that we are in a unique situation right now where we have his and hers houses and that will change in the near future when we put the Cape Cod on the market for sale. Until then I have been updating it slowly but surely, one room at a time, as time and budget has allowed.

 

My projects are geared towards fixing things/maintenance, and adding character for staging.

But I am happy to say that recently I updated the mud room/breeze way by adding my newly found cottage style bench. I had one of these outside when I first bought the house but it was old and ended up rotting and falling apart a year after I moved in, so ever since then I have been on the lookout for a new bench that I could use indoors.

 

When I found a solid wood bench at my local thrift store I knew it was the one for my space so it came home with me and got a good sanding and several coats of off white paint to give it a cottage feel.  

 

 

 

 

Here it is getting one of the last coats of paint. See

the bracket attaching the seat to the leg? That was wood tone of the entire bench.  

 

I found a quart of paint at Lowe's that was a mis tint and it was the perfect off white color that I was looking for so I only paid about $3-5 bucks for the paint. Score!

.....And I HIGHLY recommend browsing thru the mis tinted paint to see if there is a color you like.  Most of the time the mistinted paint is good paint, the only thing wrong with it is that the color did not meet the customer's expectation, so if you like the color then why not? And the mistinted paint sells for A LOT cheaper than new paint.

 

So here is the fully painted bench in its new home. I added a pillow and basket underneath for the dog leash and misc items.

 

 I am creating an entry way that will eventually include the rest of the accessories like coat rack and mirror, etc, but for now this is what I have completed for the space.

 

The rug is another awesome deal I found at Ballard of all places! I found it in their online clearance section in the summer, so it was off season but the price was perfect!

 

It is a gorgeous high quality wool rug and I only paid about $35 bucks for it. Its my first Ballard purchase and I {LOVE} it!!!!! 

 

Another tip: don't pass up deals on off season items! Off season is the PERFECT time to buy since this is when the price will usually be the cheapest!

 

 

 

Here is the rug up close and personal.....I love the various shades of taupe and browns-they add dept and richness to the color pallet in this space. I didn't want everything to be white and yellow so by adding a dark rug color it grounds the space and tones down the brightness of all the white and yellow hues.

 

 

And here it is on the hardwood floor in the front room. I was debating on where to put it but I think I like it best in the entry way with this bench.

 

 

 

 

 

So there is Phase I of the entry way. Next to come is the beadboard wall paper. (SURPRISE!)

 

 

 

I was going to add the bead board wall paper to my half bath(you can read about it and see pics here)but decided this long, stand alone wall is a better candidate for my first time using the beadboard wall paper. Wish me luck!!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

 

Jennifer

Linking Up to These Great Parties: