Front Entry Friendly. Foxcroft Farm Before and After.

Foxcroft's front entry. These photos were taken the day we closed on the house. Huz knows I am unlikely to leave "as is", so declared the "before" photos should be taken immediately. He's not wrong. It wasn't more than a week or so before I painted the front door! 

This is the view into the snug, I think that "before and after" is the previous blog.

So, the things I liked Day One entering Foxcroft; I love the knocker on the front door. It is brass, and a brilliant big fox head. I like that the door is centered on the house and wide front porch, and has a transom above. The wood floors are a wonderful 9" wide plank. There is also very nice heavy, wide tongue and groove from the chair rail to the floor. 

Things I wanted to change: It is dark, it feels cramped, I am not a fan of carpeted stairs. So, I determined to replace the front door with one incorporating a lot of glass, and open up the stairwell on both sides. Neither one has happened. I am waiting to mix that in to the other bigger changes to the home, post pandemic, when I can have knowledgable, strong people do some of the heavy lifting! 

Youngest and I started the way one does- stripping down to the basics. Steaming and scraping the ceiling stuff off, steaming and peeling the wallpaper- this one had been painted over, and some other treatment that left ridges between the wallpaper seams? 

Working on the stairs, I really appreciate my Little Giant Ladder. It's a lifesaver, and makes working on the ceiling above the stairs possible. 

This phase is just really dirty!

 

The ceilings are best if I take it all the way to dry wall, and retape and mud the seams. 

 All cleaned up and ready to start re-dressing. First up, fixing the ceiling dry wall seams and then coating  a lot of Kilz Primer, pretty much on everything. 

Then, for this space, gallons of WHITE.

One staircase in the house made it a challenge to paint when it also has to handle foot traffic. 

So, I tagged the stairs you could step on, and everyone had to do two at time for a few days. 

Next up was the floor. I wanted to expand the space and make it feel larger, and also make a transition between the original wood floors in the house which are honey colored and the wood floors we just put into the snug, which are darker. So, I painted one of my traditional favorites. Checkerboard on a slant. 

For this treatment, I just measure out my lines and create the 12x12" squares. Then, I free hand the lines. I have a lot of practice with this, so it is easier for me than tape. One coat of Kilz and two coats of white. I top coated with Minwax Clear Satin Polyurethane. It yellowed a lot, but it ends up looking kind of soft and antiqued. 

We replaced the fixture with a gold toleware one. Then I decided the stairs needed something special, a little detail. So in a nod to wonderful architect and designer, Gil Schafer, I created some decorative detail for the skirtboard, or outside stringer.  

I hung a mirror I bought at auction, added the library table I bought in Oklahoma and my collection of family heirloom walking sticks, including two that were my great grandfather's. A few treasured favorites; hand tied rug, original artwork of Affirmed (winner of the 1978 Triple Crown) as a tribute to the racing heritage at Foxcroft Farm, nests from Cowfeathers Farm and Foxcroft Farm, and a lovely hunt whip from a dear friend. 

The entry is now brighter and simply lovely. 

My models came to help beautify. 

Daisy came for a visit too.

 

I'm a front door person. I am a front porch person. I like these things. Now I am happy to have folks find their way to the front! If only I had a walkway.....

It is on the list.