Around the House – Renee Wilcox

A Different Approach to Wreath-Making

August 16, 2017August 16, 2017 reneewilcoxLeave a comment

For a couple of months, my front door was naked. It had no cheerful, welcoming decor to clothe it. Several different summery wreaths had been tried on, but none of them fit. It needed something unique and non-traditional in order to cohere with the rest of the home.

I searched Pinterest for non-traditional front door decor. I found inspiration and decided to build my own piece. Here’s what I did.

2 frames

New frame

I found a large canvas frame and a smaller picture frame (with the glass removed). I cut the middle bar of the canvas frame and attached the picture frame to the inside with wood glue and small nails.

Then I painted the whole thing cool-green to accent the mint-colored front door. First I put some flowers on it. It looked okay, but it didn’t have enough visual weight. I wanted it to be more impactful. So I cut a bundle of greenery from my yard and attached it to the outer frame. Result:

Now that’s what I’m taking about. My once-naked door no longer needs to be ashamed.

Kitchen Refresh

April 22, 2017 reneewilcoxLeave a comment

I painted the cabinets in our kitchen and made a few other updates. Down the road we are planning to completely remodel the kitchen, but until we can afford that, this refresh makes it much more pleasant.

House to Home: Progress

July 25, 2016July 25, 2016 reneewilcoxLeave a comment

I wanted to share the progress we’ve made in updating our house since we moved in 2 years ago. The most drastic changes have been made in the living room and the baby room.

Entryway Makeover

March 20, 2015 reneewilcoxLeave a comment

Thanks to my latest house project, I have a sense of giddiness whenever I walk through my front door. I now have a designated place to put shoes, jackets and bags when I get home from a busy day. Organization makes me happy, especially when it looks this good.

To start out this project, I screwed strips of wood straight onto the drywall with a 2 x 0.5” piece at the top that acts as a shallow shelf (to place artwork or picture frames). I then painted the wood and the drywall a very light grey—almost white. I put an IKEA Expedit shelf on it’s side to provide seating and a place for shoes. On the coat closet doors I used the same light grey paint on the lower halves and a mint color on the top (same as the front door). The strip in between the colors is the original, unpainted wood. I found a unique, vintage chandelier on Etsy from this shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/smilemercantile. It has mid-century modern character, which matches the rest of my house. Plus it’s made of brass which I think is a popular material and it’s pretty. To finish off the entryway I added frames with photos of the coolest places I’ve been to remind me that traveling is awesome, but nothing beats coming home.

If you are looking for a project to spruce up your home, the entryway is a great place to start. It’s the first thing you see when you enter your home and the last thing you see when you leave, so putting your touch on it is important in providing inspiration for the rest of the house.