The Horse Farm Project: Entry Makeover

Today we begin our series of posts featuring, The Horse Farm Project, a home makeover we completed in November of last year. We started the planning phase in August and Team Crowned Goat (along with the help of this fabulous family) rallied to the finish line mere days before Thanksgiving.

When I initially met with the homeowners they were trying to decide if they should take the wall down between the den and the dining room. There was flooring to pick out, paint samples to work out, trim colors to match, ceilings that had to be scraped, lights that had to be moved, furniture that had to reconfigured and in some cases painted, linens and blinds that had to be ordered, accessories that had to be sourced and artwork that had to be hung up. It took almost 12 hours just to get through that first meeting because there were so many decisions to consider!

This family was like most families I work with, in that, they already had a house filled with beautiful pieces of furniture. They just wanted a home that felt fresh but still fit their comfortable lifestyle. Thankfully, they had already gathered tear sheets and plenty of pictures to provide inspiration and over the course of four months we reimagined their home room by room.

I can’t even begin to tell you what a true honor it was to work on this home and with this family. Seriously, it’s a gift I’m grateful for every single day, even now. So, without further ado, let’s dive into how we created the entry….

During that initial meeting we drew up a list of priorities and on that list, was creating a more inviting entry just inside the front door. This was important to the homeowners because almost everyone (visitors included) accessed the home by walking through the side door instead of the front door. For those of you with multiple porches and entryways, I know you can relate to this scenario.

This was the previous view when you walked through the front door, the dining room. Not a bad room at all, it just didn’t have the open feel the homeowners wanted.

There was only one thing standing in the way of this totally doable entry idea though, the wall separating the dining room and the den.

Obviously, taking down a wall isn’t something we took lightly. There were hours of conversations between our team and consultations between other professionals and the homeowners. I knew it would drastically change the look of the entire floorplan, so we gave the homeowners plenty of time to weigh this tough decision.

While we were waiting, I hatched a plan to create a gallery wall filled with pieces by a local artist who is favored by the homeowners. And secretly, I kept thinking about all the natural light that would begin streaming through the space the minute they said yes to taking that wall down.

Just a few weeks after our initial meeting, I got this text…

A few short days later, the wall that divided the dining room and the den was completely down. After that the ceilings were scraped, a chandelier was moved, can lights were installed, the trim was stained and put up, the walls were painted in Swiss Coffee by Behr and the new flooring was installed as well. Once the new flooring had settled, it was go time for Team Crowned Goat!

We moved the table that had been previously used in the formal living room to where the hutch had been featured in the dining room. Is this table gorgeous or what? It really helped to ground the gallery wall.

I enlisted my Dad who should be called General Perfectionist (kidding, Dad) to hang the gallery wall because I knew he would be painstakingly precise about each piece of art. Of course, he did not disappoint.

My mom and I had been sourcing all sorts of stuff from linens to accessories to rugs for months. It was fun to finally see everything come together like these thrifted books we picked up for a few dollars each and mixed with these antlers the homeowner already owned.

The homeowner also had a great collection of canes which we used in the entry as well.

 

We chose a fabulous runner to help create a new path from the front door to the den.

 

The homeowners gave us free reign of the property, so we got to use all sorts of greenery throughout the house. I can’t even tell you how many different trees we had to choose from!

The homeowner had been saving this beautiful wreath which we hung on the front door and

flanked each side of the door with urns we gave a mini makeover. I’ll share it with you soon.

All these flowers were purchased at THE cutest local nursery.   I could have hung out there all day!

I know we all love a good before and after so let’s just take one more look at the entry before…

and after…

It’s drastic, right?

Here are a few things to consider when creating an entry in your home:

• Use statement pieces of art, a large mirror or decorative architectural salvage to create a focal point on the entry wall.
• Ground the focal point with a piece of furniture that is the appropriate scale.
• Be intentional as you layer in accessories like books and other pieces that have meaning – keep it simple – you don’t want your accessories to become the focal point.
• Add in touches of nature, greenery or flowers where you can.
• Add a rug that runs at least the length or longer of the piece of furniture that is grounding the entry. This can help visually lengthen the room as well as provide a “path” from one space to another.

I’m going to share the rest of the dining room with you tomorrow. It’s just as drastic and one of our favorite spaces. Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Many blessings,

CoCo