DIY : Something Up On My Door

I have this one habit, that could be perceived as being creepy - that is peeking at the houses while I am out and about - be it a car ride or neighborhood walk or even a TV show - if there is a house I am sure to give it a good look. When I first came to US, one of the first things that I started noticing - besides clean roads and lush lawns was the wreaths hanging on houses - on most of them anyway. That is one thing you wouldn't see much in India - you dont hang stuff on doors there other than may be nameplates. But I loved the tradition nonetheless.

A door hanger was the first thing I thought of, made, hung up - in this new house. I know that be it design or decor or organizing - door hanger isn't really the first thing you need. One doesn't really need it either. But for me, somehow it was important to have something up on my door. A feeling that without it, it isn't home yet. Freak! I may be!

I had base wreath and many wreath making supplies in my DIY stash. But for reasons unknown I didn't make one in advance. I wanted one that is close to nature and I love the look of magnolia leaves or olive leaves on the doors - Like this one above. But they were way out of budget and I needed one quickly. That is when I spotted this basket on clearance from Home Goods. I just got it home without any clear direction.

It is funny that making a wreath was one thing that forced me to unpack my decor/craft stash faster than expected. A thorough search brought out these faux yellow leaf stems, a bird and some dried flowers that were part of potpourri. The glue gun and the wreath hanger were the only other things I needed to make something unique for our door.

Only thing I did was to tuck the yellow stems tightly inside the basket and glue on the faux flowers and bird in place. Boom - you have your one of a kind door hanger. It could easily be wall decor - so it is safe to say that they might find a new place inside the home when season calls for.

Here is a visual of our door from farther -

So that is how this pretty ended up on my door. What do you have one your door? Do you make DIY or buy them? Spill all about your door secrets here, I love to hear them.

Cheers,
Anima

New House : Entryway Tour

"First impressions may be wrong but they are nevertheless important" 

- David Hicks

If what the famous interior designer Hicks said is true, our front doors and entryways have a tough job to do. They have to deliver beautiful first impressions to the guests and at the same time serve us - those who live there right and well. Historically a foyer is the transitional space that allows the flow between the outside world and the home be as smooth and calm. And when I started thinking of our entryway, that is the feel I wanted to achieve - that it be a threshold where you leave the stress, heat, humidity or cold vibes and transition into the safety of our home.

Many of us are lucky to have a dedicated foyer - but those who don't have one still can carve out a small niche to serve as the entry station. For me the small corner by the stairs is that niche. I had pinned images and drawn out plans well in advance here - we had about 3 months of time to plan from the time we chose the model to the time the house was built and handed over. I wrote about my inspirations here a few days ago. So truth be told I had plenty of time but a meager budget. But I believe in David Hicks here again. He said -

" Good design is in no way dependent on money. Spend minimum of money and yet gain maximum of effect"

So that is what you are going to see here. I haven't used a lot of furniture pieces or decorations and those bare decorations that are there could be easily changed out for season changes and mood swings. But yet it is functional and suitable for our family and how we live. That is the goal right.

Before we proceed to the current view here is the before shot of this corner.

First thing I did was to create a mood board. The primary elements - the hooks, the shoe rack and the mirror was chosen before hand and art was chosen for its colors and perfection.

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 And here is the after :-)

The art here is a free printable from Burlap and Blue - Linda creates beautiful yet minimal printable and shares free versions from time to time. If you are looking for some colorful budget friendly art - do check her out. The big frame is  from Target  that I had from years ago and  smaller one is from IKEA ( the art in there is an old calendar).

Is the space going to stay this way? Probably until the one year warranty period is over - I would love to wall-paper it or cover it with fabric or even some unique stencil? Choices are plenty and imagination wild . Let us see.

So that concludes the tour of this small entryway. Hope you enjoyed. Do throw in your thoughts and suggestions, it is a pleasure to hear from all of you.

See you soon,
Anima