A Small Entryway Mudroom
One of the last remaining areas we had to work on in the basement was the stairwell. Moving materials in and out as we finished up the bathroom, trimwork and painting, it was easier to leave finishing up the stairwell until the end. It was a traffic zone, a nothing space... but now, its a small mudroom that is full of good storage and style ideas for a small entryway.
Small Entry Organization
HandyMan's trimwork in this area is so impressive. Its been fun to see how his skills have improved through projects like the dining room wainscot, our radiator covers, the bedroom panelling, to this. He could do this as a second career, right?
It was a very tricky small space to work with but we loved figuring out the design, the angles, the size and scale of all the pieces of trim. I never thought I could have a small mudroom in this house, but now I kinda do! Here's some of the ways we made this stairwell a much more functional, attractive and organized entryway - and one fun idea for our milk door!
My favourite part is the updated mailbox. Our house was built in the 1950's and this was the original milk door. The exterior door was sealed up at some point and a mail slot was added and to this day it is our mailbox. The interior door giving access to the milk boxwas kept intact and is a really fun feature.
For another surprise, I painted the inside a high gloss aqua using paint leftover from the cutest chair makeover ever. Getting mail is fun, but this just makes it super fun!
Small Entryway Ideas
- Added beadboard panelling and trim. Adding trim and moulding into this small area gave it instant character. The beadboard allowed us to hide the unattractive textured walls beneath. We used the trim to give the space a cleaner look, by incorporating the curved stair stringer (which we did not remove) into the trimwork and making it less noticeable. Adding a horizontal cap rail to the beadboard also helped to accentuate the height of this space.
- Painting everything white. We painted the beadboard and the walls in the same white paint to give a cohesive look. This made this small area feel brighter and clean.
- Changing out the hardware. The black matte hooks provide function and sharp contrast against the white beadboard. To keep things interesting, we've used a gold latch on the mailbox.
- Adding decorative accents. The decal on the mailbox is a final decorative touch. It adds vintage flair and gives a fun look to this former milk door!
My favourite part is the updated mailbox. Our house was built in the 1950's and this was the original milk door. The exterior door was sealed up at some point and a mail slot was added and to this day it is our mailbox. The interior door giving access to the milk boxwas kept intact and is a really fun feature.
Of course, we had to pretty it up! We used ball top hinges in an oil rubbed bronze finish and a transom latch in polished brass. I really like the mix of metals and the nautical feel of the handle (a good fit for our beachy basement). I also added a custom decal by Elephannie for a vintage touch. We have a bit of an obsession with decals on doors around this house, if you hadn't noticed ;)
For another surprise, I painted the inside a high gloss aqua using paint leftover from the cutest chair makeover ever. Getting mail is fun, but this just makes it super fun!
We also added some coat hooks to make this small entryway even more functional. It's a handy place to hang our work bags when we come home, and Chloe can hang her coat here after she comes in from playing outside. Our front hall closet is super tiny so now we can use this as a secondary closet as well.
The stairwell is looking good but there's still much to do. We have to clean up the side door, replace the door hardware, change out the exterior mail slot, and when all the dust has settled, finally get the carpet installed on the stairs. At least we're worlds away from what the stairwell looked like Before:
Oh yes, this is MUCH better :)
The stairwell is looking good but there's still much to do. We have to clean up the side door, replace the door hardware, change out the exterior mail slot, and when all the dust has settled, finally get the carpet installed on the stairs. At least we're worlds away from what the stairwell looked like Before:
Oh yes, this is MUCH better :)
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