Rain on a Tin Roof

Tag: entry

Easy Front Door Makeover

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of At Home. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’m partial to lions.

I find it hard to walk away from just about anything lion decor related.

I have good reason for this though.

Grunt Labor and I met while we were both teachers. Our school’s mascot was the lion. Grunt Labor has always coached the lions. The Circus knew how to say “Go Lions!” before she left the womb. She had her one year old pictures taken on the lion paw prints surrounding that same school’s football field. Bill played for the lions.

So I’m partial to lions.

I have wanted a lion statue to go outside of our front door longer than I can remember. However, finding a good sized lion statue for a reasonable price was not as easy as I thought it would be. I had kind of quit looking.

But it was when I quit looking that I found my perfect lion.

I was in At Home a few weeks ago for no particular reason other than to take a much needed break from the renovation at the 70’s Landing Pad. It was then, while wandering through the endless Outdoor Decor Collections aisles, that I found my lion. He was white, of good size, and only $30. I could hardly contain my excitement and having no one else with me to celebrate with, I pulled that lion right off the shelf and gave him a hug. Given that I’d been searching for him for years, I felt this was completely reasonable.

Once I found my lion, my trip to At Home suddenly became a quest to whip the front door entry into shape at the 70’s Landing Pad.

I decided the lion would go on one side of the front door, but I would need something of similar size to the lion to even out the other side of the door.

I went through shelves full of At Home Patio and Outdoor Entertaining items and tried out no less than 15 different plant stands, garden stools and small tables right there in the store. I’m sure people hate to turn down the aisles I’m on, because I tend to take up half of it testing out what works together and what doesn’t.

After I found a garden stool that worked, I then did the same thing with flower pots.

And before I left, I figured I might as well get a new door mat while I’m at it.

Here’s what the front door space looked like before:

Now friends, you know I love me some green. But that shade of green with those bricks just wasn’t doing it for me. And so to really make my new lion feel at home and shine, I painted the front door and trim for him.

I went for a wine colored front door and opted for black trim because we have a lot of black in the house and that seemed to tie in well with the brick color and the front door color as well.

Of course, Mr. Lion is taking up residence on one side of the door. By the way, he also has a solar light built into him – that’s what the light and black thing are on his base! The new doormat also brought some of the black down to the porch floor.

On the other side of the door is a black and white planter on top of a garden stool I finally settled on at At Home to give it a bit more height and even out each side of the door.

I think Mr. Lion likes his new home – especially when the Circus makes him a crown out of rocks.

May 23, 2016
Fall Home Tour: Cowboys and Elvis

This fall tour is not at all about pumpkins.

Sorry if you were ready for pumpkins.

Instead its about some of my favorite fall-ish things…cowboy hats and boots…red plaid blankets…and Elvis.

Ok, Elvis isn’t really fall-ish, but its my house and I’ll do what I want to.

If you want pumpkins and leaves and all that jazz, check back in a few weeks when I’ve actually had time to remember where I stored all that decor from last year.

#storyofmylife

A huge thanks to Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for organizing this Fall Tour of Homes. She is so on top of her game – don’t miss her tour. If you are new here from A Thoughtful Place or another blog on the tour, welcome! Fair warning that I’m not near as talented as all those other ladies and also don’t speak as eloquently as they do. I’m also just weird. And random. You’ve been warned.

So, let me tell you something.

I love country music.

You may have already figured that out.

But in the fall, I love it a little bit more.

Which I didn’t even know was possible.

I don’t even know why I love it a little more in the fall besides the fact that I drink a bit more Jack in the fall and what pairs better with Jack than country music?

Nothing I tell you. Nothing.

So in the fall, instead of leaving my grandfather’s cowboy hat tucked safely away with the vintage cowboy blanket, I pull them both out.

And decorate with them.

Because what’s better than a kelly green pillow paired with a modern black and white one and cowboy paraphernalia all against a confetti wall?

Random? Yes. But it makes me smile.

And I might play a little bit of musical lamps.

And put the cowgirl lampshade in the living room.

Just because.

And mix in a little red and gray plaid with another green velvet pillow.

Because you can’t have enough comfy green velvet pillows.

And to top it all off…

We’ll put Elvis against a random abstract circle wall beside red watercolor lips.

Because every home needs a little Elvis in their lives – whether its fall-ish or not.

Am I right or am I right?

P.S. That abstract circle wall is the stairwell! I finally figured out what to do with it – it only took me five months – more on it soon!

What are your favorite fall-ish decorating pieces? Besides pumpkins!

The next tour stop is Style Your Senses – I promise Mallory won’t let you down!

September 10, 2015
The funnest entryway you ever did see, even if it is mine

I’m not sure that funnest is actually a word. I googled it after saying it over and over in my head a hundred times and still couldn’t get a clear answer as to whether or not it is a word.

I finally just went with my redneck instincts and left it in the title.

Keep in mind, I used to teach middle school Language Arts.

Those poor children.

So I know I didn’t tell you I was doing an entryway makeover.

Here’s the thing.

I hadn’t really planned on doing an entryway makeover.

And then it all just kind of happened.

Story of my life.

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with Kirkland’s. All opinions and sporadic makeovers are 100% mine.

Before we start this makeover process, let’s take a moment to look at the before so that we can really appreciate the after:

I didn’t hate the entryway before. I loved that navy wall, but that navy wall was really making the space dark.

Furthermore, the circus would barely miss hitting her head on the corner of that table as she tornadoed down the hall.

Really, I could just say that I did this whole makeover for her safety. Right?

Quit shaking your head at me.

So, as my former students would say, what had happened is…

These prints.

That’s how it all started.

I went into Kirkland’s a few weeks ago and lo and behold they were on sale for $13 a piece.

And did you see how big they are?

It would have been a sin to leave them behind at that price, so I bought all four designs:

The Elephant One

The Leopard One

The Zebra One

The Giraffe One

And then I got home and realized that I had grossly misjudged how much all four of them together on the wall would overpower the bench (I’ll get to the new bench in a minute).

I was forced to pick favorites.

The elephant and leopard won.

Actually, my pick was the leopard and giraffe, but the circus screamed when I attempted to take the elephant off the wall, so that decided that.

Sidenote: they are all still only $13 as of the writing of this post.

And then there was the bench.

You see, while I was in Kirkland’s I also happened upon this bench.

And I’d been thinking I wanted a bench to put in place of the table.

And this bench was a nice neutral, which meant it would work with my ever-changing decor.

And it had nailhead trim.

And nailhead trim kind of makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

So it came home with me too.

And then I got it all home and I said to myself, “Self, this wall color has to go.”

And Self concurred.

Self deems it the “confetti wall” and you can read how Self and I did it here.

And after the wall was finished, the bench placed in front of it, the art above it, I shopped my own house for the pillows, fur throw, and painted plant basket.

Because I’m good like that.

But then I realized the old light fixture no longer worked there.

So I made a new super easy DIY light fixture for only $25.

And that is how this entryway makeover came to be.

Looking for more fun room design inspiration?

Mudroom – Laundry Room Makeover – complete with a wall of swimmers. Seriously.

Home Office Makeover – where color and Burt Reynolds collide. 🙂

DIY Master Closet Makeover – colorful tassels and black and white stripes – oh my!

You know you don’t wanna miss any of this crazy.

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February 5, 2015