I Painted My “Boring” Entryway Moody Green, and It’s Now Cute as Can Be

Front entryways are where your home makes its first impression, and I had been severely neglecting mine since I moved from my Manhattan apartment to the ‘burbs a few years ago. I’ve found, though, that when you don’t do anything to a space — particularly a pass-through, drop-zone area — it can become a mess quickly. I guess I’m just more motivated to keep a room tidy when it’s somewhat designed. 

So right before the holiday season, I decided to give this boring spot the decorating love it deserved. I knew that I’d need to have coat and shoe storage here, because this room also functions like a mudroom (it’s the door we always use to come and go). 

The entry’s best feature is the built-in window seat bench with storage compartments underneath it, but the super-long custom cushion (which you unfortunately can’t see in these “before” images; I took the photos a little too late!) had a very faded ’80s fabric on it. This wasn’t doing the room any favors, even though it matched the wall color, which I liked well enough. 

So I kicked off the makeover by hunting for a few yards of House of Hackney’s Opia fabric in the petrol. This is a favorite fabric of mine, and I actually have a bolt in the mauve color, but most of my whole house color scheme is tans, greens, and teals. Luckily I managed to find three yards on Etsy for about 70 percent off retail.

Once the fabric arrived, I dropped the cushion off at the upholsterer and got to work on an inspiration board for the redo using Apartment Therapy’s Mood Board tool. The pillow part of the board for the bench came so easily. I pulled a Crate & Barrel pillow I already had from another room in. Then, I pinned a few velvet-look styles from Target, like this piped hexagon from the Studio McGee line, to match the bench cushion.

With the textile plan in place, the room was begging for a fresh paint job. The fabric is just so cute, cottage-like, and moody. So I wanted a shade that felt just as intense, and I knew the room could go darker because it has so many windows. I grabbed a bunch of paint chips at my local hardware store, narrowed it down to a handful of shades, and then ordered larger swatches for my finalists through Samplize so I could really get a good sense of how they’d appear on the walls. From there, I settled on Benjamin Moore’s Vintage Vogue (462).

Around the same time, Yelp serendipitously reached out to offer me the chance to try its Local Services program, which is aimed at consumers interested in finding nearby service pros. What’s great about this offering is that you can request a quote super easily, and the brand also offers Yelp Assistant, which explains how to find the right pro for a given project. 

A painter came and totally knocked the job out of the park. I also had him paint the ceiling to go after a cozy color drenching moment, and they coated the built-in bench, too. I’d have done the trim, but the windows are metal, so I’ve held off on that for now. Once the paint was dry, I swapped out the knobs on the storage cabinets with glass designs from Anthropologie. These little cubbies are where I stash a lot of shoes.

On the topic of storage, I already had a bin from H&M Home for things like totes, hats, gloves, and scarves, so I parked that right at the front door. I brought a Brightroom garment rack in and used that for coats and jackets. 

I couldn’t change the tile flooring, so I grabbed a sweet scalloped rug I had on hand from the Anthropologie outlet and rolled it out. For a final finishing touch, I “shopped” my house again and found an old HomeGoods inlay table, which I placed by the front door for keys, a candle, and other odds and ends. 

Now, the space feels so cute and pulled together enough that I actually don’t want to leave mail, shopping bags, or packages in it. The final step here? Replacing the boob light!