How To Decorate a Small Entrance [In Winter]

When we first moved into our home 2.5 years ago, I cried. At the time, it was the only 3-bedroom rental on the market, and we had no choice but to rent it. I remember sitting on our Ektorp sofa in our living room, just looking at the empty home and feeling sorry for myself. The walls felt dark and isolating; the fireplace felt very dated. The house felt like a trailer and not the good kind; not that there is anything wrong with trailers, but in 2012 we had to live in one briefly when we lived in Saskatchewan, and it was the most isolating and depressing time ever.

While I sat in our new empty house, I had thoughts of calling and telling our new landlords that we couldn’t do it. I wanted to pack up the few belongings we brought in and drive far, far away.

But we didn’t. Not only was this the only 3-4 bedroom on the market, but it was already way over our budget at 2,000 a month and we couldn’t afford to save money for our future house and pay more in rent.

I tell you all this for context because I’ve had to learn to create magic out of nothing, and I promise you can do the same in your home!

Since we’ve lived in our home for 2.5 years, here is the blog on how all the rooms look today. I promise, much, much different than they did a short 30 months ago.

Truth be told, it’s been a lot of work. After trying to match the original grey paint 2,480 times (maybe slightly exaggerating), we finally decided to spend our own money and paint everything simple white. Well, even though it was a bit costly and very time consuming, the white has made a MASSIVE difference in making the home feel bright and welcoming.

Here’s how I decorated the entrance in the first year we lived here and it’s come a long way since then.

So without further ado, here’s how you can decorate a small entrance in winter.

How To Decorate A Small Entrance

1. Wall Treatments

Our entrance is 4 feet wide by 5 feet long. Read veryyy small. Without taking away the space, you want to add a feature for your eye to hold onto.

We installed this easy board and batten on the wall to give a big impact. We also installed the peg hooks for added storage for coats and baskets. This hasn’t taken any space away from our entrance, but it’s made our entrance so beautiful. Best yet – it cost under 50 dollars!

Here’s a tutorial on how we installed the board and batten.

2. Add a Mirror

Mirrors are a great way to brighten a space and bounce light. Regardless if you want to see yourself every time you walk past it, it can make a space feel much more lively and welcoming.

I purchased this mirror [here], and I love how the wood grain offsets all the white. My specific mirror is discontinued, but the mirror I linked is very similar and comes in three different wood tones. Here’s another that is really well priced.

3. Add a Rug

Adding a rug to separate the space can help make it feel more put together and cozy.

I used to have [this rug] in the space, and we just switched things up for the New Year and put [this rug] in our small entrance. It adds a lot of detail to this small space as it’s the only colour.

4. Adding Fun Lighting

When we moved in, this entrance had an outdated boob light, but it worked, and we used it for quite a few months. When we finally installed this flush mount pendant, it made a world of difference.

Over the years, we’ve had different sconces in the entrance. Our previous sconces you can find [here] and our new sconces you can find [here].

Even if you don’t have hardwiring for a sconce (we don’t), you can still hang them up for visual appeal. You can also get puck lights off Amazon that is battery operated!

5. Add a Bench for Seating

Last spring we built [this simple bench]. It was super cheap to build and it is the first thing guests see when they enter our home. I’ve stacked some cozy pillows on it, and we left the base open so we can have oversized baskets for additional storage.

6. Paint Your Door

Painting your door can make such a big statement in your entrance. We first had this painted sage and then recently painted it a more neutral colour and I love how it sets the tone of our entrance.