Home is where you hang your hat.

Home is where you hang your hat,
and I've got a new place to hang mine.

Here it is!

Just a few months ago, this is how our front entrance looked.

Jeepers creepers!

I could have brightened the photo, but I wanted you to see

how dark and haunted the space really was.  Now that I see
how gloomy it was, all traces of painter's remorse have suddenly vanished!

I painted the door a creamy white and that just made the

dark wood trim look worse.  So I painted the trim.

And the walls.  And the brass door hardware.  And the built-in bench.

And the floor.  Whew!  That was a lot of painting!

I painted the floor with Rustoleum oil-base paint.

  Here's how it looked before (below).
  As you can clearly see, I had nothing to lose by painting the floor.

Our plan was to have the floor refinished at the same time as

the bedrooms, but it was beyond repair.

Before we could remove the 1960 era linoleum floor, we had to pull up the narrow 

 molding around the perimeter of the room, as well.  The wood was so old and brittle that

many of the pieces broke in the process, so I installed new trim, too.
It was good practice for all the trim that needs to be replaced upstairs.

I painted the built-in bench, but left the top as is.

I stripped the old battered finish off the bench a few years ago.  Since then,
I've grown to like the weathered look of the natural wood against the painted finishes.

An old mirror and a few of my blue & white plates
adorn the wall above the bench.

For the opposite wall, I made a coat rack with a display shelf above.
Now that I've mastered shelf construction, no wall in this house is safe!
I brought out my straw bags and a sun hat for a summery display.
The empty wine bottles?  Medicinal pain relief
for the many hours spent on my knees while painting the floor.

I made a simple shelf out of plywood
trimmed with inexpensive wood molding to cover the radiator. While I was at it,
 I gave the radiator a fresh coat of creamy white paint, too.

I couldn't resist these adorable straw shoes
 for only $3 at a local antique shop.   

I hung my 4 miniature cuckoo clocks on either side of the doorway.

As you can see there's plenty of room for my clock collection to grow.
  Christmas?  Birthday?  hint hint

Off to the right is the dining room which has also been painted.

And to the left............

.......mmmm, lots of painting yet to be done in the living room.  Sigh.

I think I'll be needing a few more bottles of wine.

This is what I do on my summer vacation
when it's too hot and muggy to play outside.

Thanks for visiting!
Vickie

I'm joining the parties at:
Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style Wow us Wednesday
A Stroll Thru Life Inspire Me Tuesday
Common Ground Be Inspired
Funky Junk Interiors Party Junk
The Style Sisters Centerpiece Wednesday