$100 Room Challenge – Front Entry Makeover, Week #1 (Preview)

Hi friends!  I’m so excited to tell you that today I’ve joined the $100 Room Challenge!  This event is held twice per year, and is hosted by Erin from Lemons, Lavender and Laundry.  The plan is simple: a group of bloggers spend one month making over one room in their homes with a budget of just $100.  Talk about thrifty decorating!

The links to all of the participating bloggers is at the bottom of this post, so you can follow everyone’s progress each week.  For the next 4 weeks, the updated posts will begin to go live on Wednesday mornings.  For more information about the $100 Room Challenge, check out this post on Erin’s blog HERE.  She was even featured on the Rachael Ray show!  If you’re a blogger, you can link up and join the challenge, too.

For my part, I’ve decided to refresh our front entry.  Right now, it’s pretty blah.  The prior owners of our house painted the accent wall a shade of maroon that’s just not my style.  I’ve wanted to try removable wallpaper for a long time, and since this is a small space to cover, I’ll be able to stay on budget.For color, I’m leaning towards green.  I want to use a dramatic wallpaper print.  Then, I plan to paint the front interior door.  Right now, there’s a lot of white, and a new color will give the builder grade door more of a custom look.  I’m not sure yet which color, but something that coordinates with the yet to be decided wallpaper.  Black interior doors are trending now, so I may just try painting it black!My industrial cart presently parked beside the door needs to go somewhere else.  I love it, but the scale is too large for this space.  I’ll look around the house for something else I can use, and if nothing I already own works, I’ll check out the Habitat Restore and Goodwill for side tables.I’d love to incorporate these prints into the decor if I can.  The two with matching frames were a gift from my friend Meredith, who found them at a church tag sale.  Coincidentally, I happened to have the middle print in my stash, which came from my mom’s collection.  My vintage hooked rug fits nicely in front of the door, but I’d rather use it in my daughter’s room, so I’m going to look for an inexpensive used rug or just leave the floor bare.This light fixture is another builder grade item that I’d like to change out.  We replaced the cheap brass chandelier in the dining room with a vintage crystal chandelier 2 years ago, but I still have it in the basement.  I plan to spray paint it a yet to be determined accent color.  Then I’ll up my DIY skills by installing it myself, as hiring out help isn’t in the budget.  Oh, the wonder of YouTube videos!  And yes, I’ll make sure to cut the electricity first.

If there’s any money left in the budget, I’ll spend it on a plant for the side table and some decor for above the door.  There’s a little shelf up there, and I’ve added seasonal touches before like starfish, mini pumpkins and bottle brush trees.

So that’s what I’m planning to do!  We’ll see if I can pull it all off…at the very least, it can’t look any worse than it does now.  I can’t wait to get started!

Now be sure to check out what my blogging friends are doing to their homes with $100!