2021 Spring Into Summer Blog Tour
Happy Tuesday friends!
I'm delighted to be participating in the 2021 Spring Into Summer Home Tour hosted by French Creek Farmhouse and I hope you'll visit all of the amazing bloggers in this tour! You can find links to all of their homes at the bottom of this blog post.
Although we are currently going into Winter here in Australia, I'm writing this post for my friends in the northern hemisphere who are getting ready for Summer.
Let me introduce myself. I'm a wife, mother of two, and DIY blogger living in Sydney, Australia. I would describe my style of decorating as Neutral Farmhouse. I love white and wood and distressing. I love wainscotting and shiplap walls. I love vintage furniture and decor and lots of natural textures and fabrics. Most of all I love a DIY project!
So if you are a first timer to my blog, welcome! I'm so happy you are here! 😊 I hope you love my decorating as much as I do.
For this blog tour I'm sharing my Farmhouse Style Entryway and showing you how I gave it a big bright burst of Summer vibes.
Summer to me spells lots of light. And our entryway gets plenty of it. We have glass bricks on the other side the of the entry door and the morning sun streams in and warms up this area so much.
In front of the glass bricks is my road side rescue vintage table. With a coat of white paint and some distressing it came up a treat! It's also the perfect size for this area. I've teamed it with a faux Fiddle Fig plant I purchased from Adairs in a cute hyacinth basket. I love how the sun catches it's large glossy green leaves in the mornings.
As you walk in, don't forget to wipe your feet on our jute mat! 😄
Okay, I love jute rugs and mats! I love their natural colours and rough textures. I especially love how the jute massages your bare feet in Summer. I have a large jute rug under our dining room table to catch (and hide) all the crumbs. 😜 Which reminds me, they are super forgiving with dirt and stains so they make a great rug for high traffic areas. And our two cats love sharpening their claws on them. 😼
On the left hand side of our entry way I've hung my DIY Flower Market sign. I made this sign almost 4 years ago and I still love it! I used a scrap piece of pine timber which I painted white. Then I created a stencil on my computer, printed it off and transferred the words by shading the back of the stencil with lead pencil, then tracing the front to transfer the lead. Next I used a black marker to fill in the wording. Lastly I used black paint on my finger to smudge across wording and around the edges of the canvas to create an aged effect. Large worded signs make a huge impact and give a real farmhouse feel.
And it wouldn't be a Flower Market without flowers!
And nothing says Summer more than large bouquets of beautiful flowers.
And who doesn't love themselves some peonies! 😊
Let me just say here that if I could have real flowers I would, but we have had sick kitties after they ate plant leaves so we try to stick with the faux variety now. And they last longer. 😛
I purchased these gorgeous bunches of faux cream coloured peonies from Early Settler a few years back. They are a constant in my decor because they go with everything and look perfect in my baskets and metal wall vases. (I also love metal wall vases. I have some in our living room and our bedroom. It's so simple to change up the flowers with the season.)
Peonies remind me of Summer as in the real world they generally bloom from late spring to early Summer. And fun facts, they represent good fortune and a happy marriage. They are the floral symbol of China and the state flower of Indiana. Coincidentally my husband is Chinese, we are happily married, and we are fortunate and blessed in many ways. There you go!
Summer also reminds me of pretty woven baskets made from natural materials. And I love this one I purchased it a few years ago from The French Ladder. It's hand made from natural raffia and is a gorgeous texture and generous size. You could also take it to the beach or a farmers market!
This wall also is where I display our large entry mirror. We bought it when we moved here approximately 11 years ago! I love the size and how it reflects into the living room. I have recently considered switching it out with a large gold framed mirror so that might be something I do in the future to change it up. Large mirrors can make a small space feel bigger, brighter and lighter and this mirror does all of that for our cosy entryway.
As you enter our home, directly in front of you is our entryway table.
I built this table all by myself! In fact, some might say it was custom made for the space. 😁 Which makes it just a bit more special.
I decided to make a table as this space is very small. Just over 100cms in width and about 30cms in depth. So it had to be relatively shallow so you didn't bang into it as you walked past.
And I'll be honest, this piece of furniture was a bit of trial and error. The initial construction was a bit more blockish. I swapped out the straight legs for spindles. They just add so much more character. And the original wood was clear varnished. Later I used a whitewash followed by a walnut stain and clear wax to achieve the current look. And I love it! Walnut furniture adds warmth to a room which this piece definitely does.
You may remember I decided to use faux brick wallpaper behind our freestanding fireplace in the lounge room. It looked so go I decided it would be fun to incorporate it into our entryway. I only did a small area to make it appear like a brick pylon in the centre of the entryway. I love the muted brown tone of the bricks. It was a very inexpensive way to add a bit of contrast to the DIY Board and Baton white wall I installed a few years ago.
Another prominent feature of our entryway is the beautiful scroll wooden mirror. This might be my most favourite ever item in our house. I purchased it 3 years ago from Early Settler and it hasn't left this wall since. The design was love at first sight. 😍 Am I right or am I right?
Originally it was a greenish grey colour. But like everything that comes into my possession, it had to have a makeover. And I love it even more now. I used an off white to paint it and then distressed the edges. The slightly different shade of white provides great contrast to the bright white wall and bricks behind.
This wasn't a cheap purchase and it wasn't on sale, but it was definitely coming home with me! No way could I leave the store without it. 😂 And I'm so glad I did. I haven't seen a similar one anywhere.
The large glass vase is a new purchase from Kmart and displays the whole flowers. So while the blooms are the main attraction of the stock flowers, putting them in a glass vase puts the entire flower on display, showing the natural beauty of the entire bouquet. I usually trim my stems but I love the long stems on these flowers and the height they provide to the display.







So many beautiful layers of farmhouse charm, Julie! I love the way you've incorporated lots of fabulous makeovers with big box store items. This mix is really pretty. Hope you have the best week, CoCo
ReplyDeleteThanks CoCo! So happy you stopped by. Hope you have a great week too! x Julie
DeleteOh my word, Julie...we are truly kindred spirits from across the planet! Rescuing furniture from the side of the road? Building your own DIY pieces? Making your own signs? Stopping the car to gather pinecones? Girl--were we separated at birth?! Haha! I love your entryway so much...just stunning! You've given me tons of great ideas, and I'll be pinning like crazy so I don't forget! xo, Kristi
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up Kristi! Thanks for organising this amazing tour! Love your work too! xx
DeleteYour entry is beautiful and the door is so unique. I love it! I am so glad to be participating in this tour with you.
ReplyDeleteYour entryway is so stunning. I love every detail. You have such a pretty home.
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you so much! x
DeleteHi Julie - Thank you for sharing your foyer all the way from Australia. It must be odd to be sharing summer when you are heading into the winter. I just love that mirror! I can see why it was love at first sight. All of your styling is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteLynn Vogeler
www.livinglargeinasmallhouse.com
Thanks so much Lynn! x
DeleteWow, your foyer is so inviting! I love the soft colors and the farmhouse vibe. I'm a big fan of peonies as well. It's so pretty how you filled a basket with them. Gorgeous space!
ReplyDeleteShelley
Thanks so much Shelley! x
DeleteYour entryway is so stinkin' cute! I love everything about it - especially that gorgeous mirror!
ReplyDeleteThanks for you kind words Michelle! x
DeleteYour entryway is beautiful Julie! I love that mirror and peonies are my fav!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tanya! Glad you dropped by! x
DeleteYour entryway is so pretty Julie. I love every spring detail. So happy to be hopping with you today.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Kim! x
DeleteWhat a gorgeous entryway Julie, I love all your custom DIYs, the mirrors, basket and signs!!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty! I love all of the warm tones.
ReplyDeleteI love the basket of flowers!! So pretty!
ReplyDeleteA gorgeous entryway filled with DIYs! That's my kind of entry! So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYour foyer is so beautiful! I love the basket with the gorgeous flowers flowing over, the beautiful mirrors, well pretty much everything!!! You are so talented!
ReplyDelete