How to enhance your main door with more than just paint

 

 My small foyer Photographed by Robert Levi

I wanted to show you this picture above first so you can see the wall color through a professional lens.  This is the continuation of the left wall below. 

I found this awful before picture of my entryway.  We got rid of the this closet which was on the wall where the chair in the picture above is.

We've been trying to replace our main door for like forever, but our condo association people are not the most cooperative.  They're mean!  I wish they're reading this!  "never buy a condo" is what I have learned after this. 
Anyhow, our door was not the part of my house I was most proud of and I kept it untouched for a long time.  Sorry, I didn't find before pictures.  It was a bare space with nothing, literally.  Walls and door were all beige.  Boring! until I decided to do something more than just painting it.  I had a carpenter install simple molding that I got at Lowe's to make it look like paneling and painted all, well, yes beige, but I had a vision.  I went to Dykes and got a half round spoked pediment (not exactly the one pictured below)  of the same width of our door, painted the door and the pediment black and put mirror inside it to make it appear like a window.  This photograph doesn't really give it any justice.  It really looks beautiful and dramatic which is what I was looking for.  I hope this inspires you to do something beautiful for yourself and your home.

 

photos by Julie for Belle Vivir 

this last awesome image from here.

How to add value and interest to your home for little money and effort

When we first started remodeling our home, one thing I regret is not having opened up the doorways.  I've always loved big, tall doors, but being just one month due from having a baby all I wanted was to move in and wait for that day without any hassle.  With that in the back of my head I always knew I was going to do something to my doors to make them look their best.  I crowned them, literately.  It's a simple and very affordable way to add interest and value to your home while enhancing the architecture.  I also painted them in a dark gray color and painted the molding silhouettes.

I chose a 3" Greek Key as part of the crown molding, but they were not too visible, so I painted it with a mixture of two colors, the door paint and the molding paint to make it lighter. 

When there is not enough storage space and no additional space to expand, look at the corners and turns in your home which are usually not utilized.  I had this closet custom built on the landing of my stairs and it didn't take any extra space from the walking area.  I painted it the same color as the wall to have it blend in and the outside corner was done with a curve for free passage.  The new one became the linen closet and the empty one became an additional clothing closet we didn't have before. 

Niches are another way of adding functionality and storage to your home.  Pretty them up with decorative paper or mirror and they become a point of interest as well.

Over the doorway storage like this one is very smart and interesting too.

Two last images via Pinterest and Apartment Therapy.