Love at First Glance – The Foyer

So, y’all remember when Sarah Jessica Parker in the last SITC movie walked into the Penthouse Apartment with Big, took one look at that beautiful closet and knew she was in love? Well, that is how Mr. Tony and I wanted to feel every time we walked into our Foyer.

Mr. Tony and I are kinda obsessed with transforming houses. We are the epitome of the “seven year itch” – meaning that about every seven years, we get the itch to move. That means we have done three houses in the past 19 years. And, each one has been a completely different look and feel.

Since you and I may be just getting to know each other, I thought I would show you mine and would love to see yours – LOL. This is the first post of several that I will be doing to show you our home transformation, how we did it and most importantly, how we saved a bundle doing it.

Five years ago, our current home went on the market and we knew a deal when we saw one. The real estate market was getting hot here in Denver and they were no longer building a series of homes called Urban Estates. We immediately dialed up our realtor for a tour.

We loved so much about the home…location, the yard size, the layout, the upgrades – it had a great foundation. The main issue that could have deterred us was that it was decorated in an Italian Renaissance style which we had already experienced three houses ago.

However, for us, this was a dream come true. We knew that for minimal investment, we could transform the home into our current dream: that feeling of walking into a crisp, bright interior that immediately lightens your mood and elevates your spirit. We coined it a french eclectic look.

We created our inspiration boards, engaged our parter in crime, Kris, who has worked with us on other houses to identify colors, patterns and pieces to create our vision, scoured the internet for items in our price range, and started the transformation.

We decided to create our focal point on the ceiling. Somewhere along the way, I got it in my head (probably from a feature on MacKenzie Childs in a Nieman’s catalog) that a harlequin print would be cool on the ceiling. And, that I wanted a neutral cream background (you will find I am really big on neutral foundations) with primarily gold accents.

Kris to the rescue engaged the “Gourmet Lunch Girls”, (as Eva calls them because this fabulous, all female painting team comes in to paint, and each day, lays out a beautiful gourmet lunch during their break) along with Colleen (a fabulous accent painter) to figure out how to make that vision a reality. We picked colors, Colleen taped off the design and voila, a couple of weeks later, the palette was set.

I really wanted a statement chandelier and found many that would have fit the bill but none in our price range. So, I started searching keywords in others that I liked, and finally stumbled upon this. It was a little much for my taste as a stand alone but I had a feeling that combined with the ceiling, it just might work.

And, it did!

Next up, we filled the space with our larger pieces – the mirror and accent table to create another focal point. Again, it was a searching game. Find ones we loved at prices we couldn’t afford and then start looking for replicas. Homegoods, Joss and Main and Wayfair were our best friends.

The final step is what I call “the polish.” Those special things that will transform the space to make it you. I always look for unique items that I will not find in a showroom floor. I want things that scream “me” and make my heart full when I see them. 95% of the time they are items I find at Homegoods.

For this room, we kept it simple. Two topiaries and some varying picture frames and that was it. Voila – our Foyer transformation that I hope would even make SJP scream for joy and fall in love at first glance.

Thank you for stopping by! Want to know where I got something? Drop me a message or comment below. I am happy to share.

Stay tuned for another room reveal soon.

Drink Up Glitter Girls!

xo,

Hilary