Decluttering: Front Entry/Foyer - Pictures

Here are some very wonderful examples from the beautiful ladies in MIH Group...

Cassidy...she has been one busy lil' momma! 

Let me just say that the entrance to my home is probably one of the worst places in my house, yikes!!!  That is very welcoming, right?  ~smiles~  Today, Mrs Cat had us to start in the foyer or entrance to our homes.  I do not have a foyer as my front door opens right up into my living room.  I do, however, have 2 tables near the front door.  One is right when you walk in the door on the left. 

A picture is below:  Like I said, YIKES!

What a mess!!  Here are the bulletin boards I made for the girls waiting for my hubby to come home so he can hang them.  They've been there for over a week!  :(  Then you can see the headphones & game bag that the girls carry when we go in the car for a little distance.  Beside the table is the package of bumper pads I got for the baby's bed - how long have they been there?!  Hanging my head now for sure!  Then you see the karoke machine I use when I want to hear music in the living room.  This belongs to my oldest daughter, Hope.  I found a neat basket and put the game bag & headphone set in there under the table scooted to the back so that you cannot see it from the front.  I put away the rest of the items and decided to cozy it up!

Picture 2~

I have been looking for a new home for the birdcage I made a few years ago.  I really like it but there seemed like no where to keep it.  It fit nicely here with a pretty cloth under it.  I then added my candle to burn, a vintage doile to the top of one trunk and then a sprig of tiny antique roses to the other trunk.  If you have more ideas for this space or any comments I would love to hear them! 

Here is a picture of the full view.  I love portraits - especially of my children and love to display them.

This table is an heirloom.  It has a record player built into it.  My grandfather bought it for my grandmother many years ago.  It was passed to me and is probably the only piece of furniture I will ever have handed down since my grandmother has 4 daughters and MANY, MANY grandchildren.  I grew up with my grandmother, Nanny, being more like my mother and best friend than any other person in my life.  I adore her.  I need to replace the handles on this table but other than that I would like to leave it as is.

The next picture is of a table on another wall in my living room near the door.  I did nothing to this space because I really love this space already.

The work I did in my entrance today took me a total of about 20 minutes.  The main time was spent figuring out what to cozy the space up with :)  God bless you!

THANKFUL Mommy, Cassidy :)

Cassidy...you did a beautiful job!!

Teri from Sweetbriar Cottage (love that name)

Teri...what a great entrance!  Great job and love the solution you found. 

Kim (Reality Check) shared with our MIH Group what she has done in her Front Entry/Foyer area...

Decluttering Challenge - Front Entry/Foyer

To learn more about the Decluttering Challenge, see Mrs. Cats Xanga Site by clicking here.

Well, I started on my front entry today and I must say it looks better but I want it to be more inviting. I know that the white walls don't help but painting will be another day as if I paint the front entry I will have to continue on to the living room as well because they share a wall. Anyway, I am not finished by any means but here is my progress so far:

Before: Cold, Stark , Messy, Very Uninviting and just plain Blah...

After: Progress...I have declared a new rule, No Shoes in the front entry! This drives me nuts! So, I think I will have to find an alternative like a shelf ormaybe one of those benches that provides storage as well for the front porch. I washed down all of the walls and bleached all of the grout? so it is nice and bright now.
Like I said, I am not done. I would like to maybe take the picture down and put something different in it's place...I am still trying to find something else and debating on what to do to make it more inviting.

Should it stay or go?

Okay...Revision! I decided to take it down, it is just a bit too much for me. I will use it in a different area of the house...

I added this cute little floral thingy to the top of the mirror, what do you think? I am undecided. I am trying to use what I have since I vowed not to purchase anything right now, but it's hard because it seems I don't have much to use in this space other than whats there. But maybe a little thinking outside the box is necessary. I also added a cozy rug which isn't pctured.

I think I might start on the walls today, painting that is. I have a little over half a gallon of a tan/off white left from a different project. This should warm it up a bit..

more later.