Where Bloggers Live: Come On In!
Welcome to the monthly edition of Where Bloggers Live. It’s kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…Bloggers! Who doesn’t like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes? Every month a group of six bloggers share their workspaces, homes, towns, and more!
This month’s theme is Entryway/Landing Strip. That spot just inside your entry where you transition from the outside world to the inside.
How nice is it to walk into your home and NOT be faced with mess and clutter?? Ahh. So nice. I remember the time that happened.
Sigh.
Usually my entryway is a big mess of piles of things going in and out, like books, grocery bags, trash, camera stuff, electronics, etc. Once in a while I do a deep clean but clearly I do not have a system that works well for me because before you know it it’s a mess again.
So to prepare for this month’s Where Bloggers Live, I really tried to think about what my actual needs are and how to design a set-up that will work.
I was reading on ApartmentTherapy.com about thinking of your entryway as being a big filter for the outside world. Nothing should get past it that doesn’t really belong there – like dirt, mail, trash, shopping treasures, etc.
I don’t have an actual “entryway,” but I have a small corner and piece of furniture inside the front door that acts as a landing strip.
So, what systems do I (or anyone) need as soon as they set foot inside?
KEEPING DIRT OUT
- Floor Mat: a washable one is good. Now if I just had a washing machine.
- Shoe Spot: I’m trying so hard to follow the Asian tradition (of course I am) of taking off your shoes as soon as you walk in the door. I’m not sure why they can do it and I can’t, but I’m still trying.
- Slippers
MANAGING ITEMS BROUGHT INSIDE
- Coat closet, rack, or hooks on wall
- Catchall for outdoor clothing accessories: gloves, scarf, umbrella, dog leash, etc
- Keyholder: my keys actually stay in the lock in the door because that’s how I lock the door, and so I always know where they are
- Change: I keep an old mason jar in one of cubbies. It’s actually full right now so I need to take it to the coin sorter. Wanna guess how much is in there?
- Mail: this is not an issue for me as my mail goes to my landlord’s door and then they bring it downstairs (inside) and leave it on their side of a common door, and text me when I have mail. So mail IS an issue for me, but in the kitchen (where the mail door is) not the entryway.
STORING ITEMS THAT REGULARLY GO IN AND OUT
- Camera equipment: I have multiple cameras I take with me based on what/where I’m going, so they live near the front door
- Electronics: I am someone who likes my cell phone to be fully charged At All Times so I have quite the collection of different types of charging cables and externals, and sometimes their accompanying chargers
- Grocery Bags: I don’t know how many other places are like this now, but there are no more plastic shopping bags to be had at stores on Long Island or the 5 boroughs. For while you could buy them for a nickel apiece but that even seems to be a thing of the past, so you need to bring your bag or tote. And I am notorious for coming home with groceries, than leaving the bags in the kitchen (not near the front door) and winding up at the market the next time, bagless. Ugh.
LIGHTING
- I don’t have any lights that stay on while I’m out so it’s nice to have a way to turn light on right inside the front door so you’re not fumbling around in the dark.
- What I DO have (always) is an interesting lamp that a) does not work and b) has no lampshade. Quirky nonfunctional lamps are my thing. Someday I’ll get this one repaired and a shade for it and THEN, then…well, then I’ll have a unique working lamp in my entry.
Now, my entryway is not pretty. I’ve had prettier. But in the process of creating this post I did manage to straighten it up a bit…and now my coats are hanging on actual hooks vs being thrown over the snow shovel handle (true story). So. Yay me.
Part of the “pretty” challenger is that “window” that opens to the back of my computer in the bedroom above. Yes, I could close those shutters, but then it will be claustrophobic sitting at the computer (27.5 hours/day as I do). I like feeling open to the living room and getting the LITTLE bit of light that comes in down there.
But while it may not look just as I would like, it is functional for my needs. Yawn, ha ha. Hey, we can’t all live in the pages of Architectural Digest. I have an old door with fairy lights on it, I’m good.
Be sure to visit my friends’ blogs and see how they handle the entryway situation. And Happy Lunar New Year!
Daenel at Living Outside the Stacks
Iris at Iris’ Original Ramblings
Jodie at Jodie’s Touch of Style
Leslie at Once Upon a Time Happily Ever After
Em at Dust and Doghair
jodie filogomo
I love that furniture you use at the entry way. In fact, maybe I need something more like that?? Mine is not as functional and hardly holds a flea!! Of course, I showed the front entry area which isn’t where we go in and out as much. Maybe that was cheating, LOL!!!
Quirky non functional lights…now there’s the name for a band or good book!!!
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
bettyewp
Yes! Ha, that’s pretty much what I said in my comment on your post. I think something a little more substantial would be good there…and storage is never a bad thing.
“Quirky non functional lights…now there’s the name for a band or good book!!!” Or a race horse 🙂
Iris
While you didn’t show them in this post I love your fairy lights on the old door. They are actually the inspiration for the fairy light I now have on a cornice in my living room.
That looks like an interesting lamp, you could put a bulb and shade on it even without it working and who would know. All of my lamps are on smart switches so I can turn them on and off from anywhere with wifi. I’m spoiled.
Grace & Peace, Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
Daenel
Your post is so full of helpful information that really needs to find its way into our house. LOL I like the idea of removing your shoes. I mean we walk in some pretty disgusting stuff outside and then track it into our homes.
I like the lamp. My son bought me a lamp at a yard sale when he was about 5. It didn’t work and was so ugly, but he was proud of it. I fixed it, put a new shade on it and it’s one of my most prized possessions.
Our official entry is also my office and Bleu’s room.
bettyewp
For some reason your original comment had gone into the trash folder. Stupid trash folder!
Yeah, the shade for that tall, slim lamp is a challenge for me. I’ve consulted with my decorator sister and shopped around online and I just haven’t seen IT yet. I find lampshades challenging under the best of conditions, and I think the shape and height of this one is really tricky. Mostly I just forget that it even NEEDS a shade. I so enjoy the whimsical architectural pagoda shape I forget that it has a job to do and it needs my help.
Aww, yay lamp-giving son 😉
Daenel
I think my original comment got deleted and I can’t remember what I wrote….
I like the lamp, you can shade it until it’s fixed. Taking your shoes off is genius. I think we need a cubby by our door. Tracking the outside in is pretty gross.
em
First, the new look! Amazing redesign of your blog! I am completely jealous of how spectacular it looks from top to bottom! Damn! Did you do that yourself? Freaking impressive! Oh my gosh, it’s even more spectacular on my desktop. I repeat, Damn! Gorgeous!
And your landing pad! As always, your post is fascinating. Your systems are well thought out, your challenges to maintain them are Everyman/woman. That’s what I love about this series, we see all these Instagram pristine pictures and everything is staged and kind of bland…or just the opposite, they’re ridiculously improbable. But when I come here to “visit” you, I get lost in “interesting,” and aside from wanting to read every word about how you do what you do, I find myself not looking at your pictures, but studying them. From your curated, non-working but very engaging lamp collection to your do dads and composition, you have a VERY discerning and artsy bend on what you see and how you capture it. Quite a gift, missy!
bettyewp
Thanks, Em. No, I did not do the redesign myself. I worked with a website consultant for a couple months and this was the “front-facing” result. I’m still working on “behind the scenes
things. It’s sort of a long, slow road for me but I’m getting there 🙂
“your curated, non-working but very engaging lamp collection to your do dads and composition, you have a VERY discerning and artsy bend on what you see and how you capture it. ” Oh gosh, well now you’re just making me blush! I really appreciate this compliment 🙂 I hope this doesn’t come out all creepy (oh boy ha ha), but…one issue for me with my ex was that while he LOVED me, he didn’t love me for the things I wanted to be loved for, does that make sense? Like…there are things we value about ourselves and things we could kinda give a sh*t about. But one thing I do appreciate about myself is my ability to make “not much” look good…so I really appreciate when someone else “sees” that, or gets that. Does this make sense?
I’ve lived in so many places…and some are just more suited to your stuff, to your aesthetic, your needs. This space is NOT. I have a hard time here making anything really look…like I want it to, like it belongs here, like *I* belong here. So it made me feel good to hear that someone (whose opinion I value) thinks I’m making something work here!
Oh jeez I’m a weirdo. Why can’t I just say THANK YOU FOR THE NICE COMMENT? Ha.
Thank you for the nice comment, Em 🙂
em
No! Go with the “weirdo” reply! Much, much better! It completely made sense and made me EXTREMELY happy to read it…(.even though I revisited in the hopes of learning more about this “mack major: person ).🤣
bettyewp
Ha ha, yeah, given the choice of weirdo vs not-weirdo, I almost always go with weirdo 🙂
Leslie Susan Clingan
Great tips and thoughts on what should be in an entry way. We need a mat inside the door. Our weather stripping is messed up, though, and anything I put in front of the inside of the door scoots when the door opens. Oh, these first world problems!!
I read that we should only touch things like mail once. Retrieve from the box and immediately make a decision about it. Which I try to do. Throw it away immediately, file to look at later. That helps me until I forget to look at the filed things later!!
bettyewp
At my last apartment, when I still had Caleb, I got a great washable pile doormat that works really really well. And there I had all hardwood floors so you really knew if stuff was being tracked in. Here, with carpet, it’s not as noticeable, but still. That was a good investment.
Yeah, mail is a pain in the butt.