Entryway

Or foyer, if you're fancy like that.

This is what we started out with. Yes, this is the first thing guests saw upon entering our home. OK, OK, I'd pick up a bit beforehand, but having to battle this mess each day was weighing on me. Keeping our keys and sunglasses on that tray where Homegirl could reach everything was also not doing our family any favors.

I wasn't sure what to do about the situation, but I had an idea. I knew I needed a dresser, but I couldn't find something modern that fit the space and was functional. Then I stumbled upon this dresser. . .

I'd been eyeing it for some time, and then those magical words arrived: SALE

If you know anything about Mormon temples, you'll understand why I attribute my interest in this piece to my time spent there. This dresser is very traditional, even formal with that burled wood. Surely it had no place in my modern home, right? Well, here's the thing. Lately I've been noticing that I like an eclectic look. I'm starting to feel that when everything is styled from a certain time period it becomes gimmicky. So I told myself to branch out, try mixing things up for once.

I'm really glad I did, because here's the beautiful after:

Not too shabby, right? At the very least it's a major improvement from what we had going on before. The next steps, besides getting some flowers for that vase, are to carpet over those brown tiles and find a chair to go either side of the dresser. I'm thinking wood, black, simple lines. Now that I've freed myself from a few design restrictions I feel liberated, but also a bit scared. It was safe to go with one thing. What if I go into these uncharted waters and choose the wrong chair? You know I don't like to waste money, and since I buy stuff on sale, often times it's non-refundable. I definitely won't be rushing into any decisions here.

As for the shoes, this genius right here realized she needed to get a shoe rack and stick that in the entry closet. Voila. Funny how taking pictures of problem areas really forces you to look for solutions, many of them obvious.

Hooray for design blogging!