Neutral Foyer – Before & After

I really love my newly redesigned neutral foyer with before and after pictures.

Neutral foyer before and after - So Much Better With Age

The other day I showed you how I redid the sign in our foyer. Well today I’m showing you my neutral foyer with before & after photos!

If you were to search waaaaay back in my blog, you can see what it was like after we renovated our house (actually, maybe you shouldn’t look back at that embarrassing post).

I’ve been wanting to paint the wooden staircase like forever (okay five years when we bought this house).

When we first moved in, we had it painted by someone and that someone told us the staircase couldn’t be painted – that the stain would just continually bleed through the paint, so he restained it.

I’m sorry but that’s a load of crap!

And because of that I’ve held off painting it…until recently 😉

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed the first couple of coats I painted.

I’m also trying to get the house ready for a magazine photo shoot (say whaaat? More on that later this week so stay tuned!)

A picture of the completed neutral foyer.

So let’s start with the ugly before picture, shall we?

A before picture of the foyer with an outdated light fixture, striped wallpaper.

 And now we see the light!

We changed all the flooring in our house, added beefier baseboards, crown moulding and doorway trim. It makes a world of difference.

The after picture of a new light fixture, a graphic rug, new flooring.

I’m sorry, but who would put carpet up on that second level? Do you notice there’s even an electrical outlet??

I guess someone wanted a Christmas tree up there?

Carpet on a ledge by a window up high in the foyer.

Ahhhh so much better.

A couple of years ago we added new front doors. I took the shades off my Restoration Hardware chandelier (thanks for the tip, Tanis, my bestie).

The foyer painted a light neutral white and cream.

Our 80s house was definitely dark and dingy when we bought it.

A old wooden staircase in the foyer.

I’m all about light and white neutral decor!

And I’m so excited about our newly painted staircase!!!

The same staircase painted white.

Just over a month ago my staircase was a dark stain when I showed you my gallery wall.

A gallery wall and the staircase.

Now it’s finally brighter!

So I managed to get two coats of paint on the staircase by myself that totalled about 12 hours.

Then when I went to Haven I guess my hubby was sick of looking at a half finished staircase for over a month and so he arranged for someone to come in and finish it for me (thanks boo)!

The newly painted white staircase.

Oh yuck.

The carpeted stairs.

You might recall my painted junky trunk. It’s still here!

A white and wooden trunk at the top of the stairs.

The staircase all redone with dark wood stairs and carpet.
A before picture of the foyer with striped wallpaper.
An after picture all painted a bright white.

The main floor is Country Beige by Behr and the upper floor is Seaside Sand by Behr.

I like the slight contrast in color. It’s just a touch lighter on the upper floor.

The color of the walls in Seaside Sand and Country beige Behr.

So yeah, I love my neutral foyer now!

Before and after pictures of the foyer.

What about you? Do you love a good before and after? Don’t you find paint makes a world of difference?

 And here are my paint colors again:

Top walls:  

behr-seaside-sand-2 - So Much Better With Age

Bottom walls:

behr-country-beige-2 / So Much Better With Age

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56 Comments

      1. Beautifully done! I have been searching for a neutral for my home. I’m going to give the Country Beige, super excited! May I ask you what color you painted the back of your door? Thank you so much for your inspiration!

        Reply

        1. Hi Lauren,
          Country Beige is such a nice warm neutral! The front door was custom made and I believe it was a charcoal grey color even though it appears black. I sold those house a couple of years ago so I can’t double check.
          Hugs, Jamie

          Reply

  4. Hi Jamie, it looks great! I’m getting ready to do mine when the kids go back to school. Did you first put on shellac so you wouldn’t have bleed through, or did you just paint it? I have blond oak, which tends to bleed.

    Reply

  9. LOVE your foyer! Shared it on my FB page tonight! 🙂 Life to the full! Melissa @ DaisyMaeBelle

    Reply

  11. Your foyer is looking amaaaaazing! I am always obsessed with your accessories, but that painted trunk is absolutely delicious! I love the painted staircase too!

    Reply

  14. Wow, your foyer is huge and so much prettier now that is light and bright. The front doors seem more intentional painted dark beside the other white doors. We painted the interior of our front door black too, although it is much less dramatic in our tiny foyer. I really like the RH light fixture too. Happy Weekend.

    Reply

  16. I think it’s fabulous and about that ledge with the outlet. You could decorate it and add lights for holidays.

    Reply

  18. It looks absolutely beautiful! Can I ask what color you used on the door? I painted mine black and it just doesn’t seem to work

    Reply

    1. Ruth, you’re going to laugh (or maybe cry), my front doors are actually painted this ugly brownish color but in photos they look black. I’ve been meaning to paint them black for some time. When I DO paint them, I’ll be painting them a charcoal grey because actual black would be too stark. Try a deep or charcoal grey. That might make it a bit softer but give you the same effect. I’ll be posting when I do my door too.
      Hugs,
      Jamie

      Reply

  19. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! What a transformation! You’re right, who in their right mind would carpet an area no one steps on and gets incredibly dusty. But the outlet, pure genius! I love to decorate a lot for holidays (Christmas really). Having an outlet there would be so helpful, for me anyway. Beautiful entry!

    Reply

    1. I know! I think that’s what it was originally for. Sad part is that outlet doesn’t work 🙁 I love decorating for Christmas too. Thanks so much for your sweet comment.
      Hugs,
      Jamie

      Reply

  21. Gorgeous Jamie! I can’t believe the difference! I also have a white painted staircase and the builder couldn’t believe I didn’t want a dark wooden one. Best decision I ever made! I love your new doors and everything is just beautifully updated and so light and bright. Oh and great job ‘starting’ the staircase… 😉 your hubby sounds a lot like mine. Thank goodness for amazing partners. 😀

    Hugs and again- beautiful! xo

    Reply

  23. Great transformation-home owners version of a frog that turns into Prince. What is the thought behind two different wall colors in the foyer? Thanks

    Reply

  24. Your foyer is absolutely stunning! I love every detail. Do you mind if I ask what color did you paint the entry doors? Your whole home is gorgeous!

    Reply

    1. Thanks Jeanine! I’ve been wanting to paint the doors black (they look black in photos) but they are chocolate brown. They are new doors and it’s the darkest color they could be ordered in. My plan was to always paint them black.
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply

  25. Hey, so sorry if I missed this in the post, but did you cut the carpet on the sides of the stairs? It looks like it went all the way to the edge before and then now you can see wood on the sides? Just curious…

    Reply

    1. No they’ve always been that way, Sarah. We had the hardwood installed first and they did a portion on both sides of the stairs then the carpet was laid down the stairs.
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply

      1. What a great idea! Nothing is worse than vacuuming the corners of the stairs! And what a great look for not much money! I am hoping for our wood floors before too much longer, so it’s something to keep in mind.
        Thanks!

        Reply

  27. Nope, sorry – I cannot agree with all the positive comments here. WAY too neutral and white for me. And the script rug is so trendy. But I would never have bought a house with this design – I don’t like the high entryway. And I think painting all the staircase balusters and bannisters white is really just awful: at the very least I would have used a (at least slightly!) contrasting color for the two. But I’ve never lived in a house that wasn’t at least 50 years old, and more likely 100 or 200, so this contemporary style just doesn’t do it for me.

    Takes all kinds!

    Reply

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