My Waterloo....

... otherwise known as the entryway into our little split level cottage. What does one do with these small, "neither upstairs nor downstairs" landings that constantly need a stick vac dragged up & down to keep them dirt & dust-bunny free?


I can try to dress it up by throwing a cute vintage tablecloth over the shoe cubbies... and even make everyone put away their shoes from time to time!


I can try to brighten up the area up by painting over the old dark, scuffed woodwork...


..with creamy white paint...


I can remove the old threadbare, stained carpeting from the stairs, but that leaves me with construction grade plywood floors, the perfect recipe for splinters...


...so I can cover them with inexpensive peel & stick floor tiles until I hit the lottery and am able to renovate them with hardwoods... (Silly me thought we could just replace the treads with nice hardwood ones.... Turns out the entire staircase, risers and all, would need to be dismantled and reassembled in order to do so!)

So yes, I can try to do some spiffing and sprucing to the entryway, but I still want to keep the lights off if at all possible, because the one thing that can't be hidden or disguised or made aesthetically pleasing is....


...the pile of coats and hats hanging across the coat rack...


I just hate this area... my Waterloo for sure... the battle I can never win. From September through April everybody seems to wear coats or jackets of some sort, and they all end up here. (how I wish split-level homes had a closet right in the entryway!) I think this fall or winter I'm going to do a major closet reorgnization and see if I can get everyone to bring their coats upstairs to the hallway closet instead of hanging them on the hooks down by the front door... And if that doesn't work, I may suggest everyone start wearing pretty cottage colored coats of pinks and greens and blues, maybe with stripes or florals! (just kidding, hubby.... kind of :)

And speaking of the entryway...


The weather has been so beautiful lately! Not too hot, not too cold... Perfect for leaving doors and windows open. A couple of weeks ago I heard a big CLUNK and looked down to see that Spotty had leaped into the front door, and was now on his hind haunches, peering out...

In the next instant, this handsome boy came calling and Spotty was beside himself. I think Mr. Neighbor Kitty was enjoying taunting poor Spotty (strictly an indoor kitty), whose tail was getting puffier by the minute! Mr. NK finally realized Spotty would not be able to come out to play and went on his way, which made Spotty very happy.

And regarding these last 2 photos - please ignore the scatter rug which was about a week overdue for its trip through the washer... and please ignore the box just laying there in the entryway (containing the floor lamp that went into Amanda's new apartment)... and please ignore the poor bannister that desperately needs to be re-sanded, re-sealed and re-painted... ha ha.. there's a lot to be ignored in this little entryway!!!

Comment Update: Sharon, I have no idea why we were told the stairs needed to be completely reconstructed. When we had the hardwood floors put down 2 years ago we tried to get the contractors to cover the stairs with the matching hardwood at that point, but they said they were not allowed to cover stairs for 'liability' reasons. So I then called two other contractors to get quotes and they both said the stairs would need to be completely reconstructed (which made the quotes way more expensive than we can affford for the time being... Maybe some day post-college tuition! ha ha). I then went to two neighbors who also have splits and have had oak stairs put in over the past few years, and both of them said their contractors had, indeed, rebuilt the stairs, including treads, stringers, risers, etc... I'm so happy for you that yur dad was able to give you wood stairs without all the hassle of having them rebuilt!

Donna