The Entryway, aka: Your Calling Card

"Your entry is your calling card to the world", Susanna Salk.

You've heard me say it before, the entry sets the tone for the whole house. Which is why I decided to give mine a bit of a spruce this year.

In keeping with my love affair for the constant switcher-oo, I moved the cedar chest out of this space around Christmas time. The idea came to me while brainstorming ideas to create a less formal and more family friendly dining room {more on that later}. Plus, the addition of more workable surface space in the entry was an added bonus! 

Two birds, one stone, you know?

Decorating for the holidays was great with all my new surface space, but when the decorations came down I was left with a lot of space and not a lot of ideas. That's when I remembered the quote from Susanna Salk. 

I knew casual elegance was the look I was going for. But what next? Must I really define my style and highlight it in my entryway? That seems pretty daunting. 

So I started simply: a collected look, with nothing too matchy-matchy; mostly well-worn English traditional with some Asian influences. Something that has come together over many years.

Yup, that about sums it up - in a sentence. At least for today.

Let me break it down for you: 

trunk - thrifted, junk shop, England - relocated from the office

lamp - hand me down from my parents, has been sitting in the attic for 2+ years

mirror - Graham & Green, London - relocated from the powder room

bird cage/bird print - HomeGoods

brass ginger jar - Etsy

I'd say that's collected. Not to mention random. But there's a method to my madness. You see, there's not much natural light in here...placing the mirrors opposite each other helps to bounce around what little light there is. But obviously, you can't just have a hall of mirrors {Cincy shout out for any of my hometown readers!}, hence the bird print leaning against the mirror. Birds are a common theme around the house, so a cage only seemed fitting. And the lamp, well, I need something pretty sizable, and with the addition of the new shade, it went from back porch to front hall, if you know what I mean. Plus, I thought it worked well with the floral mirror...takes the mirror from country to slightly Asian influenced. The brass ginger jar ties in with the metallics in the mirror on the opposite wall. And the gigantic, leather trunk - well, why not?!?! It fills the space, adds that vintage collected vibe and reminds us of our time in London. Win-win. And there you have it, a look inside my mind when it comes to creating a curated look. 

Have you updated your entry lately?

Linking in with:

The Polohouse

Until next time,

If you'd like help designing your home, please contact me on designingdomesticity@gmail.com.
Don't forget to check out the new SHOP section on Designing Domesticity!