Tuesday, December 16, 2008

A Christmas Walk of My Own Home - Day Eleven


Welcome to Day Eleven of a Christmas Walk of My Own Home. Be sure to check posts One through Ten to see pictures of the other rooms if you've missed them.
Today's Featured Room is my Side Entry Way and also the new addition to the house. Simba, my cat, follows me wherever I go around the house, and decided to include himself in the photograph again! LOL! The original house was only about 1200 square feet, and, needless to say, we quickly outgrew the space in a few years of living there. So, about seven years ago my husband and I designed and built the addition which doubled the square footage of our house. Everything you see was done by my husband and I. The only thing we had professionals do was the heating system. It took us about three years to complete and was only officially finished about four years ago. Because the original house's main entry was into the dining room, I really wanted a more 'formal' entry and a place to sit to take off muddy boots, hang your keys, etc., thus, the 'Entry Way' was created. The entire addition is built off the exterior wall of the original house. You can see the original outside brick wall in the picture. The doorway to the office/dining room is the original back door of the house. We left all the original stone work intact. The floor is ceramic tile, and the ceiling is a faux tin ceiling. Its just embossed wall paper painted with a metallic copper paint. I wanted the new addition to 'look old' so it fit in better with the older portion of the house, so I 'aged' the walls. I simply applied dry wall compound to the wall, but left it 'rough', then I painted an off-white, sponged a darker neutral on top, and followed with a wash of stain. I was inspired by some friends of mine, Julian and Sandy, who used this same technique in their own home. The french doors that lead into the family room (which will be featured in tomorrow's post) are also 'faux'. I used the 'lead' and stained glass paint that can be purchased at Michaels, to create a leaded-glass look. Everyone that walks into my house and comments on these doors always thinks its really leaded glass.


To decorate the entry way for Christmas, I first set up a trio of little trees to greet my guests. The colors of all the decorations are gold and jewel tones. The third picture shows an old radio I purchased at a rummage sale for only $3.00. It doesn't work, but I bought it for its look, not its function! LOL. The old picture is of more people I don't know. I picked it up at an auction because I liked the shape of the frame and the picture. The 'Modena' sign is one of my most treasured possessions. It was given to me last Xmas by my friend Pam. I treasure it because Modena is the name of the small community in which I live and love. The wire garden chair I picked up for about $12.00 at a decorating store in Wheaton, Ill. Are you getting an idea of how thrifty I am yet? LOL! Yes, I firmly believe you can have a beautiful home on a budget! That's the main reason I am showing you all these pictures, so you can take some of my ideas and use them in your own home! If I can do it on my meager resources, so can you!






Here is a side table I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I also bought this beautiful statue of Jesus and His earthly parents there. Its the first decoration my guests see when they enter my home. The suitcases were found at Goodwill.




Here is a Christmas wreath that I hung on the door to the entry way. It has a little birdie in it since the first thing you hear when you open the door is live birds and water (more on that in a later post).






This is a close-up of the Xmas decorations on top of the radio. The lamp was purchased at Hobby Lobby. The black and white photo is of New York and the Statue of Liberty. Its a vintage photo I picked up while visiting New York with my daughter a few years ago. The book and gloves are antiques.
If your bored with the house photos, don't worry, I'm almost done! There's only two rooms left, plus a few outside pictures! So hang in there! God bless, Amy




2 comments:

  1. AMAZING ... LOVe the addition you two have put on ... and keeping the outside wall (inside) looks AWESOME!!! Really gives it extra character! Your decorating ideas are wonderful and what a WARM welcome your guests receive as soon as you open the door!!! WOW ... thanks again for opening your home! (Just wished more people would come see!) They don't know what they are missing!!

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  2. Amy and Todd - What wonderful memories of our time with you seeing the twelve days of your home !! Of course "our" bedroom was one of the first featured! We all missed our time in your home after we left. We wanted to go back. Thank you also for the touching Christmas card. It is very likely with my responsibilities I may not make it to that this year. So, please know you are in our hearts and prayers and we are very grateful for the blessings of your hospitality and faithfilled home. Blessed Christmas, the Barney's PS Todd I have the wool socks on today at work in california cause my office is freezing!! Thanks again.

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