Entry Way: The Reveal

Kwikset sent me some products to make this makeover possible. This is a sponsored post but all of these opinions are 100% my own.

Our little entry way has been a work in progress since January and I’m happy to be able to call it complete. Here’s where it all started, back in October.

kitchen remodel remove soffit and wall

Then after we removed the wall and refinished the terrazzo, it looked like this.

Terrazzo Refinishing

And here’s where we are now. So. Much. Better, right?!

Modern entry way

After tearing down our kitchen wall, the entry way started to stick out like a sore thumb. Although very popular in our area, the floral glass door just isn’t my style and needed to go. We found a great deal on a door in stock at Lowes and my father in law installed it for us. Shortly after, with my dad’s help, I cased the door with 1 x 4’s. With the leftovers I made a diy coat hanger, which was on my “must have” list for the entry way. It was super simple, the hardest part being the painting part – my least favorite, always. There is an offset on our wall to house our air handler, which created the perfect spot for a little shelf using a 1 x 6. The entryway stayed this way for nearly four months while I took some time off major house projects to heal from birthing a baby and of course to spend time with said adorable baby.

There were some trouble spots I still needed to tackle, like deal with those unsightly home alarm power supplies, fix the missing baseboard, deal with the beige door threshold, and paint the door!

black door kwikset entry way

I used Benjamin Moore’s Onyx color matched to Behr’s Alkyd Enamel in Satin. I wanted a durable paint to stand up to the wear and tear (read: slobbery child hands) a door will experience and during my research I found that alkyd enamel is the way to go. Knowing that I hate to paint, Philip (who also hates to paint) surprised me by painting it while I was out one day. After the second coat dried, I wasted no time swapping out our cheap temporary lockset with the set sent to me by Kwikset.

coat rack shelf entry way

onyx benjamin moore kwikset

I love the black on black door, even though the set would look good no matter what the door color. I chose the Milan Lever and Uptown Deadbolt and am a huge fan of a minimal matte black. I always find it a pain to have two different keys for the handle and deadbolt locks so I was worried when the new locks came with non-matching keys. I learned, though, that Kwikset offers SmaryKey Security that allows you to rekey your lock so you can use the same key for both locks. It took me a minute to follow the instructions (thanks, mom brain) but it was strangely exciting once I figured it out. Yep, that’s right, messing around with my locks is exciting now – maybe I ought to get out more? Or maybe I have always been this way, you’ll never know.

kwikset entry way

The entryway now functions completely for us and makes it so much smoother to walk into the house, especially with a designated space to hang all of the things I come in and out with, since I have at least four things in my arms every time I come home, one of which cannot be hung on a peg hook (hint: it’s a baby).

coat rack shelf entry way

Of course little Pip still likes to plop down right when he gets inside the door to take off his shoes, leaving it impossible to close the door as we stand guard with arms full of grocery bags attempting to scare Fran away from running outside. BUT, besides that, the entry way is 100% better than it was before and can claim the title of the first officially “done” space in the house. Maybe next can be the kitchen?! Ha, we’ll see.

modern entry way

And because I love a good before and after, here it is again:

Terrazzo Refinishing

and after.

Entry Way Black Door

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27 Comments

  1. Nicolr says: Reply

    Absolutely beautiful! So simple and clean while feeling comfy and homey! Great job!

    1. Thank you!

  2. Oh, I love the entryway, it looks so bright and welcoming! Gorgeous space!

    1. Thanks!

  3. Stunning I must say. I love that American homes seem to have so much space! Love it!

    1. I agree, I’m definitely a fan of open spaces.

  4. LOVE IT!! Love the shelf, love the picture, love the plants, love it all!! Great job!

    1. Thank you!

  5. Angie says: Reply

    Oh your entry way turned out so cute! It’s seriously adorable, and I”m going to have to do something like this since I don’t have a real entry way.

    1. Thanks, let me know how it turns out if you do!

  6. Love this space!! Love all of the greenery!

    -Jennifer
    https://maunelegacy.com

  7. This is some very fine work. I love how open it all feels!

  8. Rachel says: Reply

    OMG! It’s absolutely GORGEOUS! And yeah – removing that wall is a game-changer! Looks incredible!

    1. Thanks!

  9. Carly says: Reply

    This is beautiful! Love the design you went with!

  10. Farrah says: Reply

    That looks absolutely gorgeous! I love how the light falls into that space!

  11. Oh wow! What a difference! This is such a beautiful entry way! We’re going to be working on ours soon so I hope it comes out as good as yours.

  12. Kloey says: Reply

    Holy Crap freaking gorgeous my dream!

  13. What a dream! LOVE how clean and open it is. Well done!

  14. Nancy says: Reply

    Really admire how your entry way turned out. Beautiful!
    By the way, what kind of flooring do you have there. I really
    liked it.

    1. Thanks! It is terrazzo flooring that we had refinished.

  15. Library kat says: Reply

    I really like what you did. You’ve got good taste. I wondered what the kitchen looks like now. The wall you removed had your stove and cabinets on it. 🙂

    1. The full reveal of the kitchen is coming soon! In the meantime, if you type kitchen into my search bar there is a progress post!

  16. Debra says: Reply

    Absolutely GORGEOUS!

  17. Andrea Philipson says: Reply

    I really like the way your new door turned out, and am now (thanks to your post) totally going to incorporate the matte black door and lockset, as my front door looks just blah, and yours is FAB! PS, how did you do your flooring? I love it!

    1. Thanks Andrea, great choice for your door! The flooring is terrazzo and is original to the house, we hired a company to refinish it,

  18. jolly says: Reply

    Oh wow! What a difference! This is such a beautiful entryway! We’re going to be working on ours soon so I hope it comes out as good as yours. thanks for sharing this amazing article.

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