Foyer No More

I thought it was about time that I showed y'all the foyer. We have been hard at work getting it into tip-top shape. (When I say we, read it as I.) Anyhoo let me jog your memory and show you a picture of the foyer on move-in day:

Bland and boring are the first two words that come to mind. You can also add yuck and formal to the list. And if you know me, none of those words describe me, so why should they describe my house? Um, they shouldn't! So tearing out the built-ins, ridding the house of gold, laying hardwoods and refinishing to a darker color were immediate needs. Yes needs. And since this is the front door foyer and the first impression of the house, that makes remodeling this space number one on my list.

I'm not going to go into the details of remodeling this space. I've already posted about the projects individually, so you can go here and pick which project you want to know more about. Are you ready for the after picture yet? Are you scrolling down and skipping ahead of me? Shame. Just kidding. Drum roll please........

Bam! Isn't it wonderful? I am drooling over my own hardwood floors. Totally different look in the house now. It feels much more relaxed, comfortable, and fun now - words that describe me and the hubby. The slim entry table opens up the space and the gallery wall gives the house a not-so-formal vibe. And we added a little pop of color in the used-to-be bland foyer. The large corn plant is supposed to make positive energy and a fresh room, at least according to a google search on feng shui.

It just get better. No more gold chandelier or large fireplace hearth. No more fake marble surround or carpet. And doesn't the light look nice filtering in through the sidelights? Can you believe they had mini blinds on them? Yuck. I love this area of the house now.

Take a look back at the before picture and you'll easily notice how large those built-ins were. And you'll also notice the totally different look we now have. I don't think it is a "foyer" anymore. That word is too fancy-shmancy. Now it is an entry. Just a simple, welcoming entry.

Beefing Up The Foyer

My lonely table in the foyer is sad and looks tiny in the now open foyer:

There is a definite need for some artwork or photos, and pronto. I have been keeping my eye open for something that caught it. No artwork ever jumped in my hands, but a giant red S screamed "take me home" when I saw it. And the clearance price of $5 made it all the sweeter. I was so excited to hang the S above the table when I got home.

The S, although large and in charge, isn't cutting it. I like it and want to keep it, but, all by itself it looks lonely. I think I should surround the S with some little art friends to create an asymmetrical wall arrangement. However, I have champagne tastes on a beer budget, and don't want to pay out the wazoo for the art. Frames straight from the store might be all neat and pretty, which I want neat and pretty, but they can also be expensive when purchased in number. The best solution, once again, is to purchase frames from a thrift store.

I used the same process on these frames as I did in the Man Cave - separate the mats, frames, and artwork. Spray paint the frames gloss white so they look like expensive store-bought frames instead of cheap thrift store frames.

Instead of using paper on the mats, I used fabric - burlap and brown/white polka dots. To make the fabric tight on the mats, fold the fabric over onto the back of the mat, hot glue into place and then snip away the excess.

The artwork for this arrangement was almost free, I only purchased one item from an Etsy shop. The other art is a picture of me and the hubby, a picture of a waterfall from a cabin we visited on our 5th anniversary, a note from our wedding, silhouettes of the girls, a feather from our bird, and keys from our apartment and house.

And here is what the foyer table is looking like nowadays, actually this is the picture from the fall decoration post, but close enough to nowadays:

The table and wall in the foyer look much better now. And the living area of the house is starting to come together. Do you see those baseboards in the picture above? Yep, got those suckers installed which was the last step in the refinishing project.

Psst - I used a fall picture of the wall because the table sits empty now waiting on spring decorations. And I hung the arrangement in the fall - slap my on the wrist for just now posting it.

Built-ins Be Gone

Step inside the front door of my house and you are immediately greeted by some very large built-in cabinets. Really, they aren't even built-in, just an extension of the fireplace wall.

These suckers are huge, not just large. They are designed to store an old-school tube TV. They also severely limit the flow of the house and block off the open floor plan, which is one of the main reasons I fell in love with the house. So, why do we need to keep the in-the-way built-ins if they don't serve any functional or practical purpose? We don't.  Let the demolition begin!

First we removed everything we easily could - knobs, shelves, doors - and were left with some naked built-ins, and a large hole in the back of the cabinets. They didn't drill a hole in the back for access to power...they sawzalled a titanic fissure! That is so nice of the builders...

We were lucky to discover that the built-ins are two separate pieces and only held together by 4 screws - very safe. Thanks again builders. However, the two pieces made it much easier to take them apart and out the front door. And when we took the top unit off the base cabinets, we found that the cable wire was unthoughtfully shoved thru the drywall instead of coming from an outlet plate close to the floor. Wow, these builders were not very friendly to future DIYers. 

And this is what we were left with after removing the built-ins. A bare concrete floor (which I outlined in red), unfinished drywall (complete with an extra hole at the top), and missing base boards. Perfect - another project for a DIYer! 

The space might seem to need a lot of work to be finished...especially the concrete floor, but it is just another day and another project in our casa. The built-ins were so large that we gained 16 sq feet with those puppies outta there.  The space is open and much more welcoming now.

Share your thoughts on demo. Isn't it the best part of remodeling? Do you think I am crazy for removing the built-ins? Or have you recently opened up your entry way? Any stories on builders that are not-friendly-to-DIYers?