A Lackluster White 100-Year-Old Entryway Gets a Peppy Pink and Blue Makeover
ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER
HOME TYPE: Historic Home
PROJECT TYPE: Entryway
STYLE: Colorful, Vintage
SKILL LEVEL: DIY
RENTAL FRIENDLY: No
An entryway can set the design tone for an entire home. Rachel Mae Smith (@thecraftedlife), author of Hello Color and her new book, Colorful Living, lives in a home that was built somewhere between the late 1800s and early 1900s and used to be a nun convent, so it has personality in addition to the colorful upgrades Rachel and her husband, Ryan, have added to it.
However, the couple found that flair lacking in the entryway, which came with low-hanging, textured ceilings that had seen better days. “While nothing was really wrong with the entryway before, it didn’t feel in line with our design style,” Rachel says. “Because the entryway is the first impression people have of our home, we wanted it to feel happy and inviting without feeling overwhelming.”
With a fresh coat of paint and some fresh crown molding, she and Ryan were able to turn their drab entryway into a warm, eye-catching spot.
Goodbye, dated ceiling texture.
They kicked off the $1,200 renovation by scraping the entryway’s ceilings. “This was one of our first home projects, so there were tools we needed to buy,” Rachel says.
Rachel and Ryan wanted to remove the texture partially for aesthetic reasons, but mainly because they needed a flat surface to which they could add crown molding. However, Rachel cautions against diving into this task before fully protecting the rest of the room from the resulting debris.
“I think that if I were to do it again, I would really cover all the areas before we started scraping the ceiling,” she says. “It’s a pain to clean up.” (Read this article for extra ceiling scraping tips, like having the ceiling professionally inspected for asbestos before beginning.) But with a smooth surface, the homeowners were ready to add architectural detail and color.
Hello, crown molding.
After the ceiling texture was gone, they got to work installing crown molding from Lowe’s. Rachel’s advice? Choose a style with corner pieces, which she says are “notoriously hard to make on your own.”
“I’m excited to add this throughout the rest of our house,” she says. “I love the pattern on the crown molding and how it makes the space feel a bit more historical.” She and Ryan also added a ceiling medallion and crystal chandelier, which give the same effect.
Bold paint colors make the entryway cheery.
Lastly, Rachel and Ryan added some color to the entryway by repainting the front door bright blue and the ceiling pale pink. Picking the right pink was a lengthy process. Because the entryway is a “bit dark,” Rachel says, hanging test swatches in order to get a sense of the lighting was important.
“Painting the ceiling allowed us to bring a pop of color into the space, and it makes the space feel bigger because it draws the eye upward!” she adds. “I love how subtle the pink is and how it’s really almost this surprise, as you can’t see it from the other rooms of the home.”
For more striking front-of-home makeovers, check out this wallpapered beauty, this limewash paint job, and this maximalist entryway.
Inspired? Submit your own project here.
Further Reading
I Tried the 90/90 Rule and My Closet Is Now Fully Decluttered
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
