Our Entryway Refresh: Upcycling & Shopping your Home

It’s not often I blog about house updates – generally I stick to DIY projects and plant tips. But after doing a (relatively) quick entryway refresh that totally changed the feel of the space, I thought I’d share it in more detail, in the hopes of inspiring unique and inexpensive refreshes everywhere.

To be honest, the bones of this refresh came out of the idea of ‘shopping your home’. Instead of going out and purchasing a bunch of new furniture and decor items, you find things already in your home to move around, use in a new light or update them with paint etc.

BEFORE

I had a skinny entryway table with three shelves and a round mirror. It was feeling a little dark and wasn’t an overly practical spot to keep bags etc. I didn’t even think to take a photo because I wasn’t planning on re-doing it. But when the inspo hits, you’ve gotta work with it!

AFTER

The entryway is now lighter, brighter and has a spot to place bags or sit to put shoes on.

The Pew

Ahh, the pew! I bought this at the beginning of the year (around 8 months ago) without having a spot for it (or a plan)! I found it at my local Recycle Centre for $30 and came with a second, smaller pew too.

After painting it white almost immediately, I sat on choosing a new upholstery fabric for, well, 8 months. Maybe it was partly because it didn’t yet have a space for it to live.

The other week I thought I would try it out at the entryway, and moved the existing table into our kitchen. The switch worked wonders for both pieces of furniture!

This gave me a fresh wind to finish updating the pew and the entryway altogether. After (so) much deliberation, I chose a graphic black and white upholstery fabric from Spotlight. It kind of reminds me of mudcloth, and brings a little bit of an organic feel to the contrasting black and white.

The Mirror

I’ve always loved arched mirrors but never had a space for one, or the budget, seeing as most I found were priced over $500. The Kmart arch mirror had been doing the rounds on Instagram and after realising the existing entryway mirror didn’t suit the space, I decided to jump on it.

For me, the key to not looking like your home is sponsored by Kmart is by using their items sparingly and mixing them in with other unique pieces. While I was once an avid Kmart shopper, I now mostly window shop and grab the odd thing every now and then.

I find this also helps with not falling for ‘trend’ items. I got so sick of feeling like  decor was out of date within a season! And to be honest, I think that’s kind-of what trend-driven decor & fashion stores want you to feel.

The mirror also ties in well with the pew in terms of a traditional ‘church’ theme, with the arch. Julian and I have always said it would be so cool to live in or do-up an old wooden church! Maybe we’ll just bring church to us, haha.

The Light

Shop your home strikes again! This pendant light has been sitting on a shelf in the office since I bought in Bali 18 months ago. Fortunately I still love it as much as I did when I bought it, but just never got around to hanging it.

I originally was planning on hanging it in the back living area. But when I remembered I had this light, I had to test it out with the mirror and pew in the entryway.

I love that it matches the metal, cast-iron look of the mirror. And I think it brings a bit of an exotic, north-African (or Middle Eastern..?) vibe to an otherwise pretty crisp space. Lanterns like this were everywhere in the south of Spain, mostly because of the moorish, Islamic influence from north Africa.

Decor

What I love about this entryway makeover is that it’s something that probably won’t ever be replicated. Even when scrolling entryway pew inspiration on Pinterest, I couldn’t find anything towards the style I was aiming for. Most were heavy, wooden pews with a more traditional, farmhouse feel.

Adding a plant, cushion and basket gives a contemporary touch and keeps it fresh. While I love the main pieces of the pew, mirror and light, if I do want to change it up I can easily swap out a cushion or two!

Pricing the Entryway Refresh

I’m always interested to see what makeovers end up costing others and love bargains! Keep in mind that most of these items were bought over the space of about 18 months. But even if you were to attempt it in a weekend, $160 total isn’t bad for a completely new look!

Pew: $30 (for two)
Upholstery Fabric: $18
Mirror: $40
Light: $50
Cushion: $20
Basket: old
Plant: old

If you’re after a detailed guide to re-covering chairs like the pew, I’ll be posting a step-by-step guide soon.

What do you think of the entryway refresh? Anything you’d do differently?