Front Entry Renovation

This post is part of my Growing Home series...

documenting the renovations to our 1920's home.

Our home originally had an airlock entry. This was done in many older homes as a way to keep out the cold air. It is a double entry where the exterior door leads into a very small entry foyer that is closed off from the rest of the house. After shedding your coats, boots, umbrellas, etc. you would then enter through another interior door to the front room. 

This airlock entry to our house had a high peaked ceiling (see the silhouette of my Growing Home graphic?) that was covered by a flat ceiling. However there is a round front-facing window up high which basically was a window to an empty space. We found this out one day by dragging out the ladder, climbing up and looking in the window from the outside. Nothing but empty space and some pitiful excuse for insulation.

This was a real estate picture of our house listing when we bought it.

The inside of the airlock entry also sported a ridiculous coat closet that was obviously put in after the house was built. That window you see to the right of the door was covered up and lived INSIDE the closet. Dumb. What a waste of precious sunlight.

I swear I took before pictures of the entry from the inside but I can't find them. Here is the best I could find: 

Anyway, we ripped out the second entry door and wall, the interior closet, and tore down the ceiling to uncover a beautiful peak. The wood floor was something we wanted to salvage, but where we tore out walls, it was too damaged to save. 

Progress. Note the messed up floor where the old
wall used to be.

Mid-construction. We lived with that blasted
blue ladder in our house for a year!

The peak, after we drywalled and installed tongue and groove.

Like I said, the original wood flooring was pretty damaged under where the closet was put in so we decided to also rip that up and put down this tile: 

The room was a hideous olive green so we painted the whole room and entryway a lovely grey. A fresh coat of white paint on all the trim, and new custom made heat registers (all done by Nick) really made the entryway look great! 

Nick custom built an entryway bench, and installed tongue and groove boards on the ceiling. I am in love with the light fixture we chose.

I made that welcome sign from a piece of reclaimed wood
taken from the ceiling we tore out.

The girls love it too. Charlotte says this is where she will wait for the
school bus. Poor girl is in for a disappointment as our schools don't have buses!

It really opens up the whole room!

What do you think!?