Entry Hall Remodel

I know I've been pretty quiet here this week. My last 7 days before school starts! And so many projects to finish!

• chicken coop cleaned out for fall and winter... done
• girls closets and drawers cleaned and reorganized... done
• new on-line class orientation (and computer ready) for daughter... done
• family schedule reorganized and planned... done
• desk cleaned off... done
• ready for fall Bible Study... done
• fall garden planted and low tunnels ready to go... almost done!
• September lesson plans... barely started
• entry hall makeover... well...  working on that one!

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier or not, but we remodeled the hallway last winter, right where it meets the entry hall, so that we could install a door. The reasoning behind this was so that we could shut off part of the house and heat it in zones. We're about to find out if it's going to work like we hope.

If all goes well, the wood stove will heat all of the house except the upstairs bonus room which is shut off by a door, and the bedrooms, which now are shut off by another door. The woodstove wasn't big enough to heat all these spaces, so we zoned them off. The upstairs isn't used much in the winter and it has it's own heating unit, so most of the time it won't even be heated. The bedrooms now have a small unit and will be regulated by a timer on the thermostat so it is only heated for a small portion of the day when we get up early. Maybe some in the evening when getting ready for bed, but not much.

So, back to the entry hall. We have never finished painting it and the old green paint has had white plaster on it in places for months. I knew if I didn't get this done before school started it wouldn't get done at all! The delay had to do with the color and how to paint the 12 foot ceilings that go up the stairs (now you know why we have a heating issue - high ceilings!).

The new color... WHITE! Can you believe I'm going with just white? It's my new favorite. Here's some of my inspiration...

The main thing I didn't like before was that the entry was dark. We get very little sun in the winter and I want it light and airy. (Now I totally get why the Swedish people use so much white!). And since I live in a farmhouse, I want that same feel when you walk in the door. Before, it was much too "Tuscan" with a bit of French Country flair. I still like the French Country look, but just subtle hints of it. To create that farmhouse look, I'm going to add some beadboard...

All I need to do is get a sisal rug and a light fixture, then hang some family photos. I'm leaving my antique German bench. Maybe a few pillows. And that's it. Here's the white so far...

The big question is...

Should I paint the door red?

I've always wanted a red door.

{Sigh....  }

Red is pretty daring and takes a bit of courage, don't you think? But it's cheerful and happy! And should I paint both the outside AND the inside? I have plenty of red accents in my house, so it would look fine. Just... BOLD.

The outside of my house is a grayish sage green. I think it would look something like THIS if I were to paint it.

So... for fun, I'm adding a temporary poll to my sidebar. Help me decide, friends! I could use some input (and support when I tell my husband that I'm not kidding about the red and I really want to actually paint it RED!!) And you can leave me a comment with some thoughts, too. I'd love to hear them.

Now to get back to those projects...