Room Recipes Feature: The Project

room recipes blog header


"Come on in, baby take your coat off;
Come on in, baby take a load off."
The Oakridge Boys


Today I had the pleasure of reviewing Room Recipes by Tonya Olsen and also interviewing her. If you missed that post, you can read it here. Tonya offered to whip up an entryway room recipe for me.  She asked me to send her some inspiration photos and a few key must haves for the space. Follow along on my blog as I transform my space from blah to wow! Here's what Tonya cooked up for me (you can see this same post on her blog here and look at all the other fun stuff she has on there):


{INSPIRATION}

{BEFORE}
My Wish List:
1. A place to hang four children's backpacks.
2. A small seated bench.
3. Extra storage.
4. A warm and inviting entryway!

My Challenges:
1. The house is a rental, so no major renovations allowed!
2. There isn't a lot of wall space to place a bench.
3. The closet must stay as is since it stores coats and sports equipment.







Here's what Tonya did with what I gave her:



{PALETTE}


{INGREDIENTS}
1. BENCH
Paint a geometric design on the seat of a small wooden bench.

2. RUG
A natural fiber area rug made of sisal or jute is neutral in color yet provides a hint of texture.

3. WALL HOOKS
Provide an oversized decorative hook for each child's backpack.

4. ARTWORK
Handmade artwork and screen printed graphics can be customized to fit the space or the family.

5. LIGHTING
An oversized light pendant adds an artistic, dimensional focal point to the space.

6. STORAGE
A wicker basket or two provides extra storage for odds-and-ends that sometimes collect in an entryway.

7-8. ACCESSORIES
Incorporate a decorative mirror to the wall collage to reflect light (and to check your teeth before answering the door!), and throw in a colorful, round clock to add an additional shape.


{ROOM RECIPE}
Tonya's Take: Even a rental home or apartment deserves to welcome guests in a creative, inviting way! Paint, furniture and decor are easy to add when moving in, and just as easy to remove or change once it's time to move on.

REPURPOSE an old piano or organ bench, which often come in odd, small sizes. Follow the instructions here. As a bonus, the lid lifts to provide extra storage space and a basket can be tucked underneath to provide even more storage. Paint a black and white geometric pattern on top and paint the inside a bright turquoise. Place in the space below the window.

PAINT the top 1/3 of the wall and the ceiling the same color such as Sherwin Williams Gauntlet Gray SW 7019. Install a decorative trim piece to separate the top 1/3 from the bottom 2/3 of the wall. This will pull the ceiling height down and create a coffered ceiling effect.

INSTALL tongue and groove or wide board and batten on the bottom 2/3 of the wall. Paint it the same light color as the overall trim in the house.

HANG four decorative hooks approximately 12" apart from each other on the far side of the wall next to the front door. Install hooks at approximately 48" from the floor.

ARRANGE a gallery wall of artwork in mixed frames to fill in the space above the hooks across the wall next to the front door. Add a clock and an uniquely shaped mirror to break up the square and rectangular shapes.

INSTALL a large, oversized pendant light in place of the existing fixture.

PLACE a 3'x5' to 4'x6' area rug in front of the door. The bigger size provides more space for leaving muddy shoes. A natural fiber hides dirt better and is easier to clean.

ACCENT the space with artwork in shades of aqua, turquoise, teal, gray, black, and white.





Isn't it all fabulous!!! It was so very nice of her to do this as it was quite a bit of work. She had to design it, but then she also took time to find all those fabulous pieces of decor as well and keeping in mind my minimal budget. That's not always so easy to do. 

I won't do exactly what she has here. There will be some improvisations and I may go with a green instead of the turquoise since the room the entry faces/opens to is in dark browns and green. Although, I love those colors! My sister just redesigned her great room with very similar colors and it looks fabulous.

Tonya says that:
I encourage people to use these recipes for inspiration. The opening quote in my book is "Inspiration is the key to everything." I believe everyone has the ability within themselves to create beautiful interiors.
Not everyone can or would want to completely duplicate a recipe - you need to take in consideration your budget, individual style, and what works for you. She says:
I'd like people to be inspired by the design and see that there is possibility for creating something amazing. 
I have already seen that. It is beautiful how she took my space and did this and I love it! I am so excited to get started and share my project with you guys. I'm hoping to have a post about this next week and then a week or two after as I change each feature or add something until the project is finished.

What do you think? Does this inspire you to make some changes in your living space?


 <---Owl Sighting for 10/25



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