Front Door Refresh for Fall

October 3, 2018

Fall to me seems like a time to declutter and refresh. I don’t know about you but I feel the urge to clean in fall more than any other season. A couple weeks back I was home alone for the weekend and went on a cleaning tear. I decided to go room by room and purge the items no longer working in a space or ones we were not using. I donated craft materials, sold items on Facebook Marketplace and recycled some stuff. It felt so great. The house feels lighter and more energized already.

As part of my clearing out of items I also did a mini makeover on our front entrance. This was not only a makeover of the space but also a huge way to declutter as the storage ottoman was a huge junk collector. Our front door feels lighter and has more space. It’s so nice to come home to an entryway that feels light and fresh. After taking items to the car, I realized how neglected our front door had become! After a few warm fall days a few plants died from lack of water. The whole scene was a little sad.

I figured clearing the front door would be a good idea as well, since that is the first thing people see when they come to visit! I wanted to get rid of the large items I had near the door like the lantern and the large planter. By removing the large pieces I felt it would open up the space at the front door to make it feel more open. I was totally right! It instantly made it feel more open and spacious.

For inspiration I follow a few interior designers on Pinterest and Instagram. This is a great way to see trends and styles. I find sometimes searching online can bring up old sources. Following people who are working in interior design or decorating is a great way to see what is current. I have seen a few designers layer the front door mat and I really liked this idea. It seemed like a great way to add a touch of fall without replacing our door mat.

Speaking of the door mat, it was looking a little sad. The white letters were totally faded and the black and not looking wonderful. It was not an expensive mat to start with so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try and paint it.

I always have paint on hand so I grabbed some tools. Black and white acrylic paint, two different sized paint brushes and a sealant spray so the paint would not come off on anyone’s shoes.

Look at the difference! I cannot believe this update took 5 minutes and made such a huge difference. The rug totally pops now, which is what I wanted! Plus the layered rug is great for fall with the yellow and botanical pattern. The underneath rug will be easy to replace for different seasons.

For the plants, I went to Garden Works by my house. They have really nice quality plants and their prices are reasonable. I think for the three plants I only paid $25. Hopefully I can keep them alive all month! I ended up purchasing the larger concrete pot as I didn’t have one that was large enough for the mum’s plant. The pot was only $19.99. The rug I found at Home Sense and is a great rug for outside because the underneath is sticky so the rug doesn’t slide around when you are running in the door.

Anyone in Canada hosting Thanksgiving Dinner this weekend or maybe a nice evening with friends? Want to make over your front entrance on a budget for under $50? Grab a new outdoor rug, a couple plants and if you need it some plant pots or baskets. I keep seeing all of these elaborate front entrances with pumpkins, plants, pots, dried flowers, baskets, it’s out of control. A friend shared one the other day and said “Why can’t my front porch look like that?” We looked at the photo in more detail, between the white, green, light pink pumpkins, flowers and baskets we estimated this person spent almost $500!! I don’t know about you but spending that amount on items that will die in less than a month seems a little excessive.

Think about how you want your front door to feel when guests come over. You want it be inviting, seasonal and not cluttered. Maybe you don’t need 30 pumpkins but one nice big pumpkin and a couple plants would look really nice. The inspiration photos are wonderful but not always realistic.