Greetings from Syracuse where Jordan and I are staying warm and cozy. We do not have any major projects planned for this visit, although there is an area I would love to tackle. It is their stairway area that leads to the basement. I’m thinking we could turn it into a well-tuned organizing space for all of those things you never know what to do with. If we get struck with a bolt of motivation, we might just take it on.
Meanwhile, I haven’t shared the changes I made to our foyer with you. This all went down in November after our long week-end trip to Istanbul. While there I purchased an antique Turkish kilim rug specifically for our foyer. I am crazy about this rug. I wanted an old rug because it has so much personality with a worn spot here and there. Plus, it is in a high-traffic area, and I don’t have to worry about wear and tear. It ups the look in that teeny-tiny space big time.
(Before)
Before, it was just dull, dull, dull. I had a brown rug that was really practical because it was the color of dirt, but it did nothing for the space. There also used to be a drop leaf table with a lamp on it sitting in there. However, when we walk to anything (and that’s just about everything), we exit from this door. There was no place to sit when we put on our outdoor shoes. So, I moved a pine bench with storage from the kitchen table to this spot to solve that issue.
Now, here is the same space after. In addition to adding the rug, I painted the door Naval by Sherwin Williams. I love this color. I think it’s the best navy on the market.
It is the same navy blue that I painted on the back wall in Mr. Right’s office last summer. This room is the first room you see from the foyer, and so, it’s nice that the eye goes from the navy door to the navy office and then picks up touches of navy throughout the first floor.
Now, let’s get back to the rug. I knew exactly what I wanted when I went to the rug shop in Istanbul. They had a ton of rugs, and I mean a ton stacked to the ceiling. If they didn’t have the right one, they would have had friends who also were selling tons of rugs. The selection is endless. I told them I was looking for an old rug with navy along with some green, red, gold, and any other color that happened to be in it., and they had it. These guys weren’t typical rug salesman that we have encountered on our travels. They weren’t pushy and recognized and respected that I knew what I wanted, and they weren’t gonna change my mind.
I knew I wanted the rug to fill up as much of the foyer floor space as possible, and I took the measurements with me. That worked out great, because this rug was a tad too long, but they were able to have it shortened in about 20 minutes. The local rug repairman just happened to be a partner of theirs, and his shop just happened to be next door.
Another change I made in the foyer involved pillows. Thank goodness for pillows, right??? I bought some kilim pillow tops when I was in Paris in October. These pillow tops came about because rug dealers will take the good parts from an old and worn out rug, and have them made into pillows. That’s so clever. Anyway, this rectangular number is one that I bought. The others are in the great room. I liked it because some of the design looks like the letter “H” which is the initial for our last name. I also added some navy and cream pillows that I made from fabric purchased at Ikea. This all ties in to the door. And by the way, these rug dealers gave me two kilim pillow tops of my choice when I bought this foyer rug. Sweet!!!
A fringe benefit of painting the door is that the dark blues in one of my favorite oil paintings now really pop. Two more things that I did in the room were to raise the height of the mirror that hangs behind the bench, and I also added blue and white plates on both sides of it. This area is a real photography challenge (at least for me), and while writing this, I decided the photos of those tweaks just aren’t blog worthy. And since I’m at Jordan’s and not chez moi, there’s no way to quickly set up my tripod and take a few new photos. I’ll share them with ya’ll soon. Okay?
Now, here’s a side by side. I think it is so improved.
Take care.
Linking to Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style and DIY by Design
Judy says
I just love the rug in the foyer. Awesome colors. I would love for you to come and link this up to my Winter Blues Wednesday party going on right now. Hope to see you there. http://diybydesign.blogspot.com
Nicole @ Mendez Manor says
Love the new look! The rug is great and the door looks really nice painted black! Stopping by from Wow Us Wednesday 🙂
Kathy says
Very nice! I am relatively new to your blog and I love the impact of your ideas. I always feel “I could do that!” after reading your blog. Have you told us about traveling….is it just for fun? accompanying your husband on business trips? or are you a decorator looking for finds?
Janette says
Kathy, thanks for being anew reader. Yes, most of our travels are for fun. When my husband and I had our first real conversation when we met in college, one of the things he told me was that he wanted to travel the world. I guess he wasn’t lying. Jordan and I have a spot on our banner called “Good Times” where we plan to insert our travel posts and entertaining posts. We just need to get that done. We’ll probably start while I am here visiting her in Syracuse for the week.
Liz says
The new rug is great! It infuses such personality into your foyer–and you have a great story to go along with it!!
katie clooney says
It looks great!!! So love the door. I am going to Istanbul this summer. Can’t wait. Have fun with your daughter.
the cape on the corner says
certainly not dull now! and I’m about to check out your paris post-we just booked a vacation there for the spring.
Bonnie @ Our Secondhand House says
I love the changes you made to the foyer. It’s so bright and cheery now.
Susie says
Hi! Love the new look, and was noticing the difference in the hardware “color”. The door hardware and mail slot look to be the same style, but different finish. Did you actually change them or did you somehow change the finish? Either way, I think it adds a lot to the overall look, and if you changed the finish on the existing, do you have a tip on what you used?
Thanks!
Janette says
Susie, we bought new hardware for the entire house when we moved in 2.5 years ago. The finish is brushed nickle by Baldwin Brass. I think it just looks different and shows up more now that the door is navy.
Susan N. says
I love the blue door. It is beautiful. The rug is awesome too. I would love to see the stamps in your passport! Thx.
Janette says
Susan,
I actually did a post about what I did with my old passport book. Here’s the link: http://the2seasons.com/2011/07/05/passport-art/
DessertForTwo says
Wow, how gorgeous! I love that rug! Seriously love it! And I love the pillow tops with the Hs!
That DOOR. So lovely! it really is the perfect navy. Did you paint the entire door, or just the inside part? I’m curious.
Jordan says
Hi Dessert for Two,
My mom did just paint the inside. I agree it looks great!
Cheers!