Giving our entry way a refresh with second hand peices
This is probably the most simple decor update we have done in our house, but probably one of my favourite and the cheapest of them all!
It can be easy to forget how important the space you enter into can be. Wether it is a garage, mudroom, front door, side door, it is often one of the most used spaces in the house!
Our entry way is the first thing anyone sees when they walk in our home. We have no mudroom or garage entry into the house; everyone, us, dogs, guests, comes through our entry. When we first moved in, the entry way and the stairs leading to the main floor were a disjointed, slick, plastic tile- they did not match the following of the rest of the house and it was a bone of contention for me. When Mr. Lovelee finished the flooring, he also did the stairs and entry and closet. I knew I wanted to revamp to match the floors.
Mr. Lovelee and I had been looking at built in solutions- but the placement of a baseboard heater limited our options. What we knew we needed- a bench, some hooks and a place to drop keys and dog leashes.
Enter Facebook marketplace. Within two days, I was able to put together a new entryway.
Second Hand Scores:
All of the things in the entry way were free or super inexpensive from Facebook Marketplace.
- Shelf- FREE! The catch? It was missing two hooks. But it was solid, and we were able to find two hooks at our local Restore for $4.
- Bench- $10. Description? “Its a bench, shrug emoji.” However, a bench where you take on and off shoes is such a small luxury. And we could not have built this ourselves for that price with the cost of lumber these days.
- Cabinet that hides keys, and dog leashes? Free from parents basement. Painted with extra colour from kitchen island samples.
The best part? I was able to sell our original shelf (also a second hand score) with baskets and give away the bench for someone to up-cycle. I actually think I made money on this project. We have since added baskets to fit underneath the bench for shoe storage for the littles ($5.97 in the clearance from Superstore).
Lovelee Lessons:
- Just because something is “missing” a part doesn’t meant that it cannot be fixed or salvaged (obviously proceed with caution). For us, a shelf missing two hooks was such an easy fix, and this thing is cute!
- Know the cost of material. Mr. Lovelee would not have been able to recreate this bench with the current cost of lumber!
- Sometimes something you have had for a while (or stored at your parents house) can be updated with a coat of paint! Paint samples will always come in handy for small projects like this!
- Sell what you are no longer using. Our previous shelf held keys in their baskets but they were see through and really wasn’t functional for our family. I was able to sell it on Marketplace (I actually came out ahead $ wise, even after “updating”).
