Traditional Front Hall Makeover

I am drawn to classic and traditional design. This was my inspiration for our traditional front hall makeover.

Many of you know we live in a 1927 Dutch Colonial right in Scituate Harbor.

The first thing you see when you enter our home is our front hall. We have two dogs and two boys and EVERYONE seems to drop EVERYTHING in this small space. Tired of the mess and clutter I decided we’d embark on a little makeover.

I shared my inspiration post here and how to paint a mirror here.

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It is AMAZING to me how changing a just a few elements has made this space feel completely new.

Come on in and see the changes we’ve made!

One major change is the floor cloth. This floor cloth by Spicher and Company is actually vinyl. For quite a while I’ve been drawn this this star pattern in tile and thought it would make such a big statement in our entry.

Wouldn’t you swear it was tile inlay in the floor?

I think this pattern makes the hall feel longer and spacious.

Here’s a view from above on the staircase:

Vintage Vinyls come in all shapes and sizes and can be customized for your space. I actually had this size custom made for our hallway. This is a 10 x 5 floor cloth. The reason I chose this floor cloth is it’s so durable. I can easily wipe it clean if the dogs or kids come in with muddy feet.

I’ve also added a door mat to soak up any snow or water in inclement weather and added two boot trays for the winter months.

We had a lot of furniture in here but I decided to pair it back – leaving only the marble topped dresser and black mirror. We store all our hats, gloves and scarves in here and we each have our own drawer.

I painted the mirror black using Annie Sloan’s new jet black color, Athenian Black. I LOVE how it makes the mirror feel completely modern.

I already had the beautiful brass lamp. I bought it when we first moved in.

I love that brass is oxidizing on it. The barometer was from my childhood and the mirror hung in our family restaurant.

I love lighting fragrant candles to welcome guests.

The plant and the pot are new. I found them at Winston Flowers in Hingham. The plant is a Swiss Cheese Philodendron. These plants are very low maintenance and don’t require lots of light.

I LOVE the leaves so much and thought a plant would be more affordable than buying flowers each week.

The pot is amazing and a piece of artwork in itself. It’s handmade in Japan and is known as Raku Pottery. Raku is a process in which work is removed from the kiln at bright red heat and subjected to post-firing reduction (or smoking) by being placed in containers of combustible materials, which blackens the clay and causes crazing and those imperfection you see in the surface. I love how this gray and white pottery plays into my black and white theme.

Here’s a view of the front hall you don’t often see:

Living in an older home, we have such beautiful period details that you couldn’t see with all the furniture and clutter.

Now you can.

The lovely banister:

The lattice covering the radiator. I believe this is original to the house:

The pendant light is also new. I love that it has no glass so won’t collect dust but has a very traditional shape. The light bulbs are energy saver from Ikea and absolutely love the warm hue they emit.

My kids collect umbrellas. I found this bamboo basket at a neighbors house. They were moving and had it outside for free. I’m thinking of replacing it with this one but it works for now.

Above the umbrellas is an old image from our home. Jeanne Stewart who grew up here gave it to me and I framed it. You may remember Jeanne gave me a fish print which I have hanging in our living room.

Isn’t that photo fabulous. Here’s a closer up version:

I just realized I’ve only shown the hall with a view of our kitchen. Here’s a view from the kitchen:

Say “hi” to Luke who was trying to wrangle the dogs for a photo. Ha! Ha!

The changes are small but make such a huge impact on this space.

I often leave the door open so the dogs can look out:

I hope you enjoyed seeing this updated space and hopefully it gave you a few ideas for your own homes. I’m going to include a full source list below as I often get asked about colors and sources.

Thank you for stopping by! I can’t wait to hear what you think about it!

Shop the Look

Source List

• Door Color – Buxton Blue (in high gloss) by Benjamin Moore
• Wall Color – Muslin (in matte) by Benjamin Moore
• Floor Cloth – Vintage Vinyls
• Pendant Light – Wayfair
• Light Bulbs – Ikea
• Candle – Target
• Plant and Pot – Winston Flowers
• Lamp – Vintage, originally from Bent Nail Farm Antiques
• Barometer – Antique
• Marble Topped Dresser – Antique
• Mirror – Antique, paint tutorial here
• Boot Trays – Ikea
• Door Mat in Charcoal – LL Bean
• Black Picture Frame – Ikea
• Boots
• Slippers
• Umbrellas
• Magnolia Wreath – Balsam Hill
• Curtain – Simply Shabby Chic at Target