Finished Entry Way – Gallery Wall

My entry has gone through many transformations since we have lived in this house – but its finally just how i want it!

Lets look back at the evolution of my entry, shall we?

This was the very 1st pic of it that i took…

I dont know what i was thinking with the goldish and chocolate brown walls – but hey, its all about figuring out what you do and dont like and letting your style evolve  Man it has come a long way!! Im not even going to bother trying to edit this pic and making it look even a little better – its hopeless!  By the way – this was 9 years ago, right after we built our house and moved in.

Then, i repainted the walls in Mountain Haze by Behr, found this cool old dresser and then hung up a curtain rod that i would change out for the seasons.  I also had a really cool old architectural piece hanging up – i still really like that thing, i need to hang it up somewhere else now!

Then – i swapped out that dresser to this one – i liked the less heavy look.  We are getting somewhere now…

Then – i found the dresser of my dreams.  I LOVE this piece.  It was an ugly dark wood with a messed up top, so i painted it white and replaced the top.  I still have this piece – its one of those that gets moved from room to room.  Its currently in the kids playroom, but is getting ready to head up to our bedroom for under the TV.  I also swapped out the wood piece for an old window and lightened up the decor even more – im figuring out what i like.  Neutral backgrounds with pops of color.

Next, came my plank wall obsession in 2012.  This was the 2nd place in my house that i added plank walls.  You can read more about how i did it here.    I LOVE the white, love the character it added and how it really brightened up the space.  Im officially hooked on plank walls – they are all over my house now.

I eventually painted that dresser blue and tried to hang this old cupboard above it – it just didnt work out like i wanted.

This was the only horrible pic of it i could find…

It sat this way, empty with just that dresser in it for about a year.  I just waited for inspiration to strike – it took a long, long time.

But then – i found the buffet of my dreams and painted her with Sweet Pickins Milk Paint in Tickled Pink with a dark glaze.  My oh my – i love her!  Finally i decided on a gallery wall, i started my wall – oh maybe 3 times and could never get it just right!  I made lots of holes in the wall – but the good thing about gallery walls, is that you can hide them with frames  I also tried to do my nails in between the planks so i didnt have as many nail holes.

I loved the gate, but i just couldnt make it look right.

But then i got an email from a company called Artsheaven.  They make reproduction paintings of a pic that you have.  I sent them a pic of flowers in a mason jar that i had taken and they turned it into an oil painting!  It turned out so good – i was definitely impressed.

I used a frame i got from Hobby Lobby for the oil painting and then used that in the center of my new collage wall.  I started out by laying out all my frames on the ground, but it ended up just being easier for me just to start hanging things on the wall and moving them around.

The wall kinda turned into things that i love – kind of an ode to Sweet Pickins!  I used old paint brushes and framed them, a bunch of vintage hinges, old door knobs, some cool old spindles and lots and lots of frames.

I painted the frames that i have collected in various shades of Sweet Pickins Milk Paint.  Some of the frames are new from Hobby Lobby – some are vintage.

I got some cool old huge paintbrushes from a FB yardsale page and just stuck them in some empty frames – i love how they look.

I FINALLY changed out that builder light!!  I found this crystal orb chandelier on Overstock.

I purposely left a lot of the frames empty so it didn’t feel so cluttered.

I also decided not to put anything on top of the buffet – again, i dont want it to feel cluttered.

I like the frame within the frame  For the old spindles – i used some industrial strength hot glue and glued them right onto the wall!   And notice the framed in light switch?!

Heres a close up pic of the brushes….

And thats it!  My entry is finally finished – well, close to being finished!  I have a cool clock that i bought that will be going on the empty wall on the right.  When i get that painted, i will be sure to post a pic

Im really happy with it now and it goes with the rest of my house perfectly.  It will definitely stay like this for a while!

Gray wall color is Sherwin Williams Repose Gray @ 125%

Plank wall tutorial – here

Planks are painted with Valspar Ultra White

Buffet color – Sweet Pickins Milk Paint in Tickled Pink