Come On In!! Fall ORC 2017 Entryway

I have chosen to freshen up our foyer - entryway, if you will. 

It's the first room you see in a home.
so in the words of the famous Julie Andrews-
"Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start."
#doremi

There are some things we like and will stay.

There's something I don't like but it has to stay because I don't live alone... so, there's that ;)

And the foyer really needs whatever it is it needs (?) to perk it up,

to take it to the next level and to just pull it together. 

The obligatory "Befores":

When you walk in the front door this is what you see.

Stairs going up to the left.

Doorway to the Family Room to the right.

This entryway has doors on all 4 walls. Yep.

I love the prints.

 They are prints of my beloved Lowcountry by Marty Whaley Adams. 
We bought them years ago. Marty's mother's garden and books are some of my favorites!

The clock is from my husband's family and the dresser is from my family. 

The green chinoiserie lamps are a great find from a thrifting outing during a previous ORC.

They've been rewired and I love them there.
Things staying (I am pretty sure): dresser, elephant on the left, green chinoiserie lamps.
Things that might move: prints, accessories on the dresser.

"The Herd" isn't staying.

The largest one on the far left is mine but the others have gone off to the shop @elizabethandpayne

Next. Standing at the front door looking right.

There are French doors to the right. 

A few years ago I "DIY mirrored" them.

More on that later.

(The chair and the Amazon boxes were just there temporarily.)

And there is the thing I don't like - the hall tree full of hats. 

But my husband wants.it.there. #staying

I have white IKEA curtains across the front door.

They are a game changer. I've had them at least 5 years. 

We can pull them for privacy at night and to block out brutal Summer sunshine that would fade artwork, etc. They are great in the Winter - they actually block some of the cold. 

They have actually changed our heating and cooling bills.

They could use something - trim, painted stripes, a band of colorful fabric on the bottom. And the curtain rod could be improved upon. It's plain Jane from IKEA.

All possibilities but the curtains must stay - they are so functional.

Here they are pulled (not neatly, I might add #keepingitreal) on a sunny afternoon.

They puddle but maybe I should shorten them a tad? 
They just look messy because they get moved so much.

On the same wall is a mirror and some of my Haitian art collection.

The bamboo mirror was a thrifting find and I painted it yellow.

Below the mirror is the "challenge" part 

of this One Room Challenge...

I found this pair of amazing, fabulous, dream come true Brighton Pavilion Style bamboo chairs and table a couple of months ago.

We were leaving on a mission trip the next day so Mollie and I ran to meet the seller and brought them home.

I had intended for the entire set to go on that wall.

But, guess what?

They are bigger than I realized and do not fit.

I don't want to break them up so I am trying to be tricky and try to incorporate one into the Library where the green bamboo chair used to be and use the table and 1 chair in the foyer. 

The set will run along the wall but actually be in two rooms.

 I will need to figure out how to make this work and not look disjointed or just plain terrible.

 I don't know if I can pull it off or not.

It would be easier if the flooring did not change but, of course, it does!

Fabric or pillows may be the solution to creating cohesiveness.

The room is actually very neutral and may benefit from some more layering.

The walls are white and I'm still liking my clean white walls. 

 This room opens onto the only non-white walled room on our first level. 

The Library. (A previous ORC)

The walls are glossy black and there is a lot of color in that room.

Something to take in to consideration.

This is what you see when you walk into the front door and look through the opening on the left side of the foyer at the bottom of the stairs:

(Oh, and the rug has changed since this picture was taken.)

A friend gave me this rug that she did not like and it had barely been walked on. Literally.
(I now think the blue ikat on the bottom of the curtains needs to change but that's for another time!) 

The second Brighton chair will sit where the green bamboo chair is in the picture.

Whew. That's a lot to take in. 

And it's a bit confusing so here is a quick little sketch to help you visualize the whole thing:

In true ORC fashion, 

things are bound to change on the daily so follow along 

on my Instagram account for the latest updates.

And if you want to look back on my previous One Room Challenges - here's a quick recap!

And be sure to see what everyone else is up to by visiting the blogger who started it all - Linda at Calling It Home Blog!