"What I'm Workin' With" Week: The Foyer & Hallway

This week I'm taking you readers on a house tour full of "befores" in a series I'm calling "What I'm Workin' With". To fully appreciate the eventual "afters," you have to be subjected to the not-ready-for-primetime "befores", right? Most bloggers would cringe seeing these current photos without immediately sharing a jaw-dropping "after" but I'm keeping it real.

You've seen the kitchen, the living room, the den and the master bedroom; but today we're talking about the all-important first impression: the foyer. Foyers and entryways are the perfect place to introduce friends and family to the style of your home and, right now, our foyer doesn't offer much about us so why not start here?

The spaces I'll share this week have had nothing done to them since we moved in, short of cleaning and functional decorating. Each room has updates that I'm itching to tackle, but that will all happen in time. Take a look at the foyer and the upstairs hallway at present:

So, that's what I'm workin' with in the foyer and upstairs hallway. Lots of space, but definitely in need of some attention and impactful decorating decisions, right? 

Here's what I already know I'll do:

• Replace the dated front door and single sidelight with a traditional 6-panel door;
• Refinish the hardwood flooring with a darker stain (throughout the house);
• Close the faux "window" that opens the foyer and living room;
• Remove the ornate taupe wallpaper; replace with a more exciting pattern; 
• Swap the diminutive chandelier in the foyer with something grander;
• Paint the upstairs banister black to match the banister at the foot of the stairs.

My ideas aren't fully fleshed out (obviously), so any opinions or proverbial 2¢ would be great!

There you have it: the foyer and hallway and my thoughts on both. There is lots of work ahead of us, but that means a lot of material for this blog. Keep reading and, as always, chime in with your thoughts and suggestions.

Tomorrow: we finish the first floor and chat about the dining room and laundry room!