A chance for change.

I wanted a grand entryway…

As someone who is obsessed with interior design and home decorating, I love being a Wayfair Homemaker (click here to read my previous Wayfair posts). In the past year, I have used Wayfair to decorate two homes of my own, one carriage house for a friend and purchased more gifts than I can count. When we bought our new house earlier this summer I was most excited about three upgrades that, no matter what I did, I would never be able to get out of my beloved 511: A small master suite (in our old house we did not have an en suite bath), great curb appeal and, my fantasy of all fantasies, a beautiful, big entrance hallway.

I wanted a big space, a staircase with turns or multiple landings or a swooping curve and high ceilings that would give a first impression that I just could not get from my precious sideways-facing house.

Below is a photo of our old entrance hallway, and although I loved it, it was not the entrance hallways of my dreams. Because, yes; some people have entrance hallways of their dreams.

(The awesome zebra rug is from a previous partnership opportunity with Wayfair and Home Dynamix rugs!)

Our new home met and exceeded those wants and wishes. And it afforded me with the opportunity to do one of my favorite things: decorate.

Pictured below is the grand entryway of my dreams. Except, part of it being so “grand” is that it is the size of a full room, and so I found styling and decorating it to be a daunting task.

As you can see above, this was taken right after move-in, when we still had unpacked boxes and were playing around with the decor. Not like we have any unpacked boxes here anymore. None. Nope. None at all.

Upon moving in we painted the walls, changing them from a goldenrod shade of yellow to Benjamin Moore’s Stonington Gray, an old favorite of mine, but that reads more blue-ish in this space. I switched out the light fixture for this more transitional piece and really opened up the space. It became our new favorite spot for dance parties and sock-sliding.

But, alas, the decorating bug bit me and itched away until I had no choice but to start filling my new, special entryway with things.

In one day, after a day of antiquing in Lambertville, NJ and an urgent trip to Home Goods, we ended up with an entryway table, something that I was obsessing over for weeks. I did not want to close off the room, but I wanted the vibe of our home to pop immediately. I decided that this room-ish space would be functional and funky, using pastels, art deco pieces, different areas of interest and a whole lot of mirror.

For example, I fell in love with these Italian pink obelisks from the 1940s, spotted at an amazing co-op in Lambertville, and decided to make them a focal point.

And so, I went for it.

I knew the look that I was going for, but played around with the pieces and placement.

As always, I took a high/low approach to decorating, complimenting the special, unique pieces (like the industrial metal piece below) with Home Goods goodies.

There. That’s better. Velvet and mirrors and crystals, oh my!

I truly wanted the entryway to reflect our family and the things that are important to us.

(And for those things to color coordinate, but of course.)

The pastel books below are from a set of children’s books that were my husband’s growing up. They are sentimental and perfect for the purpose. Topped with a Jonathan Adler zebra and a vase with sticks and, well, hello! Here I am!

But there has been a void in the room, despite our hard work. We needed a rug to tie everything together.

We experimented with a small rug that was woven in South Africa, and although it was cool, it wasn’t the right fit; it was not formal enough for the space and the size was just off.

And then, like a home design angel answering my prayers, I was selected by Wayfair to participate in their “Change Your Rug Change Your Room” campaign, so that I could show just how transformative a rug can be. Once again, I had the chance to select a rug from Home Dynamix, about which I was thrilled, as I love my first rug from them so!

I chose a plush, neutral-ish rug in a much bigger size.

When it arrived to my home, I took down all of the fragile pieces around me and rolled out the rug carefully and meticulously. And then I stepped back to the threshold of the door to my home and I took it all in.

And…

I am not sure.

Let me say this: the rug itself is fantastic. It is plush, with a thick pile, and clearly well-made. The cool color scheme works perfectly with my gray walls, silver velvet bench, mirrors and pastel accessories. It is an awesome rug, with the Moroccan vibe that I admire when stalking all of the home design sites, Instagram and Pinterest.

But is it right for this space? This special space?

Let’s take another look, this time from above.

It certainly isn’t awful. And it does change the space. But does it elevate it? Of that I am not sure.

And, once again, it is NOT because the rug itself isn’t fabulous. I just do not know that it works here.

My Buddha is contemplating this, as well…

Clearly we have some big fans and that is because, as I will say again, it is a great rug.

And clearly we will have to find the right space for it in our home. Perhaps we will replace the leopard print in the master bedroom. Or really jazz up the guest room.

But first Lola will have to get off of it, and that is not going to happen anytime soon.