Welcome Inn

The front entry, as purchased

After having been abandoned for several years, the Inn did not present the friendliest of welcomes.  Though the front stone stairway was impressive as ever (if a little chipped), the peeling porch ceiling paint, overgrown ivy, and vinyl tile floor contrived to take away from the grandeur of the house. (Have I mentioned how pretty the fall leaves were?)

We pulled the ivy down first thing and scraped and painted the porch ceiling and trim shortly after at the same time as the rest of the house.  Then, distracted by other issues, we left the entryway alone for a long time.

The font entry, mostly finished

Eventually, around the time we put the laminate down in the main room, we picked up our entryway project again.  The dark vinyl tiles were replaced by white marble and a mirror and hall table were custom made for the space.  The hall table was topped by broken marble pieces and painted to match the mirror.  Last, we turned out attention to the door.  We liked the large amount of glass, but it was a very plain door for such a wonderful entrance.

 At first we looked at purchasing a new one, but, of course the doorway was an inch smaller than a standard door, which meant we would have to order a custom door.  So, instead we updated the existing door with paint (red, what else?) and a few strips of trim for embellishment.

We hope it says "Welcome Inn," when you stop by for a visit!

We used the same paint washing technique on the mirror and the hall table. Dark brown paint was used over the cream and then washed off with a wet rag, leaving softer colors and accentuating imperfections.

Prepping the door for it's makeover.  We taped off and painted the lines black first, then glued the painted wood strips over the paint to produce a cleaner finished product.

The finished entryway with marble floor, new light fixture, painted door and handmade mirror and entry table.