THE ENTRY WAY IS FINALLY FINISHED!

Over a year ago, we did some remodeling on our entry way; and I've been looking for the perfect little table every since. I finally found it a couple of a weeks ago. I wanted something kind of rustic, just the right size with patina.

It needed to hold the perfect little alabaster lamp that my friend, Susan, gave me for my birthday last year. I never found the perfect shade for the lamp, so I covered one with a herringbone wool fabric.

I don't have any idea the age of the table, but it is put together with square nails.

The frame for the mirror came cheap from a garage sale several years ago.

At last, the entryway has come together!

I'm joining the following parties:

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

The Shabby Chic Cottage for Transformation Thursday

I'm headed out for a wonderful very long weekend with a bunch of great women. When I was a Freshman & Sophomore in high school, I went to a girl's boarding school where I met these wonderful girls. We lived together, went to school together, and raised each other during those early, trying teenage years. Even though I didn't graduate with them (I returned to my hometown high school), they have always included me in their reunions. There is just something special about friends you've known for 60 years that you became acquainted with under those circumstances. So, we are headed off to celebrate in the Land of Enchantment at a very posh hotel in Santa Fe for 5 days. Hopefully, I'll return with some great pictures of the wonderful southwest architecture and culture, plus more memories of great friends.

OUR SUMMER PROJECT

Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch
for once again hosting Metamorphosis Monday. Be sure to check out her blog for a list of the participants this week.

FINALLY, I have a metamorphosis to post about. All summer we have been working on a project to make the flow better from our front door, through the entryway, and into the dining room. Phase I of the project included adding a mudroom in our garage with a large closet. You can read about that part of the project here, if you are interested.

Phase II included demolishing the coat closet in the entryway to make more room, then tearing down the wall between the entryway and our dining room.

In the past, when you entered through the front door this is what you would see. The front door opened the wrong direction, and guests were left trying to decide which way to go. There was a tendency to want to go down the hall to the bedrooms and not into the living room or the dining room.

In this before picture, the closet is on the right with the doorway on the wall into the dining room.

Now, this is what you see when you enter the front door and are standing in the entryway.

In this before picture, this is what you saw from the dining room looking into the entryway. That is the former closet on the left that was demolished.

In this after picture, this is the view of the entryway and front door from the dining room. The old wall and closet were where the little desk now sits. The front door has been switched around and now opens into the entry.

Bob did all of the demolition work, redid the hardwood floor, and redid all of the crown moldings and baseboards plus repainted the hall, entryway, dining room and kitchen. We did hire out the electrical work and had a friend who used to do high-end wall finishing work heal up and finish the walls. He did a wonderful job, and you cannot tell where the closet and wall were.

Then, we did a couple of small metamorphosis projects for the dining room. Years ago Bob made this plate rack for me when I was more into the shabby chic look. It has been up in the attic for a couple of years.

He put a stained bead board back on it and painted it black.

The second mini-met project was the painting of this wardrobe which over the years has stored linens, then displayed my collection of German Lustre dishes.

My collection has gotten out of hand, and I needed space to store dishes, not just display a few. So, the cupboard now has lace curtains on the inside of the glass doors to hide my addiction.

There you have it! Our house is quite small, and this remodeling project has really opened it up and it flows so much better. It took me 6 1/2 days of solid cleaning to get everything back to being livable. Now, we are decked out for Fall and ready to celebrate birthdays and the upcoming Holidays.