help me choose colors for entryway remodel

[caedmyn]

We're opening up our entryway closet (up to the ceiling and removing the center partition) and adding built-ins with a bench and coat hooks, along with replacing the carpet in the closet area.  I removed wallpaper in the entryway itself and it needs to be painted too.  I'm having trouble making the final color choices.

Entryway paint color will be Behr Exclusive Ivory.  The built-in in the former closet area will have beadboard on the back wall, painted a navy, probably Behr Very Navy.  I'm not sure whether the built-in shelves should be the same ivory color as the entryway, or a whiter white.  DH thinks the ivory and navy won't look good together but they seem ok to me.

Also need to choose a laminate wood or LVP flooring for the former closet area to replace the carpet there.  Was thinking of something with grayish tones to try to reduce the contrast between it and the stone floor that's in the entryway, but open to suggestions.  The stone floor has black, gray, and reddish brown in it.

Also not sure about stain colors for the built-in bench.  Ideally I'd like a darker brown like the inspiration photo, but I wonder if it would look best to match one of the stain colors that are already in the entryway.  The door and door trim are a reddish brown which DH wants to keep as is.  Floor trim is walnut (which is also the trim color in the living room next to the entryway...there is a wall separating the two so the entryway could have a different trim color than the living room.  There's an oak banister leading away from the entryway.  Should I choose one of these colors for the bench? 

Also debating about whether it would look ok to paint the floor trim the same ivory as the walls to reduce the number of wood tones in the entryway.

 

I've attached pictures of the current entryway, my inspiration photo for the closet area, and the paint and flooring colors I'm considering.

 

 

 

Edited January 20, 2020 by caedmyn

[prairiewindmomma]

Painting the beadboard navy is a smart choice. It keeps the scuffmarks that will inevitably develop a bit more hidden.

I would paint the shelves the same ivory and I would be pushing to paint the back of the red stained door ivory as well. 

Visually, every time you have a different stain or paint color, that is a visual break. You want to create as much flow as possible in an area. 

I would stain the bench oak to match the bannister. It’s the most prominent color in the photo.

[Pen]

The inspiration photo is lovely.

our house has no entryway to speak of and no entry closet.  I crave an entry closet.  

Though less lovely than the inspiration picture, the existing closet in your picture with plenty of useable room — to put a bar for closet hangers, or shelving for stuff like library books coming/going, etc etc—looks wonderfully potentially functional and appealing to me.  I don’t think I’d want to lose the coat etc space for a long bench (though I can see some seat useful to sit on for tying  shoes).  I guess if you try it and find you miss more working closet space you can change it out for a closet.  

 

I’d match any faux wood to existing wood tones. Well, no, I personally would probably put down a mud hog runner mat.  But I’d like the look of wood tones matching.  Navy with ivory or white - either okay.  

[almondbutterandjelly]

I think navy and ivory go together great.  I would not add a whiter white.

Although I love navy, I am concerned about painting the inside of a closet a dark color.  It makes it harder to find stuff, IMO.  The inside of my kitchen cabinets are dark brown, and I plan on painting them white.  Light makes a big difference.  JMO

[Tap]

As for ivory or white, go with what is on the walls already. You are going to have a lot going on, I wouldn't want another color shift if possible. 

Navy on the back wall is great. It allows the white/ivory to still reflect some light for you, but gives a fun contrast.

For the seat, I would match the door.  The red tones will play nice with the ivory. I would not add a completely different wood color. If you want darker, you just take the red tone stain a bit deeper.  

Flooring, it could go either way. I think you could go grey like you suggested, or you could go with something that matches the red stain. Are you using this flooring anywhere else? I would not go with the oak colors (doesn't seem like you were thinking this, just sharing my opinion). I would work really hard to make this flooring blend in as much as possible.  

Cute idea and great way to use the space.

I hate, that the first thing you see entering my home is a bi-fold closet door! Once the kids are gone (and fewer coats need stored), it is a project I desperately want to tackle. 

Edited January 20, 2020 by Tap

[caedmyn]

Anyone have an opinion on whether it would look funny to paint the floor trim ivory to match the walls?  It's hard to tell from the picture, but the floor trim is a different color than the door trim...a bit lighter in color and a straight brown with no red tones.

[caedmyn]

11 minutes ago, kand said:

I like the advice you’ve gotten so far. As far as trim, jumping off the suggestion above of painting the back of the door ivory, you could then do the trim around it and the floor trim ivory as well. Or, you could change out that section of floor trim there to a taller trim, painted ivory. Since it’s just that section that goes with the closet and you’re putting in bead board anyway. Then you don’t have the same trim but in different colors meeting up. 

I'm having trouble figuring out what you're saying.  Are you suggesting that all the floor trim in the entryway area be changed to a taller trim if we paint it ivory, or just the trim in the closet area?  Would it look odd to have different trim sizes in areas that are next to each other (ie living room and entryway...living room trim is the same trim in both size and color).

I would love to paint the door ivory but I don't see DH agreeing to that.  I already tried to convince him to paint the door navy and he didn't like that idea at all.

[alisoncooks]

If the bead board backing is navy, I'd go ahead and make the entire space the same. Then it'll look like a single built in piece of furniture. And instead of new (mismatched to the entry way) flooring, I'd just have navy wood along the bottom, to make it look built in. So like the photo below, but instead of the flooring running up under, the cubby material/color as the "floor" of those shelves/cubbies.(Unless you're worried about wet boots...then vinyl plank of some sort, not laminate unless it's water resistant.)

Edited January 20, 2020 by alisoncooks

[Storygirl]

I'm thinking. We had a built in bench like that at our previous house, but in the mudroom, not at the front of the house. The simplest choice for you is to do as @alisoncooks suggests and paint the entire bench area the same color. Our entire bench -- back, seat, cubbie shelving over the top, and bottom divided into cubbies for shoes -- was the same color as the trim paint in our entire house. So a warm white.

Although a blue bench would be cute, it would also draw attention to that area. And is that really what you want? With coats hanging there all of the time and shoes under the bench, it's not an area to really call attention to in design, in my opinion.

So I would paint it all, including the seat, your ivory color. Then, if you want a blue accent, buy some blue baskets to put on the shelves and, if you want, buy a blue cushion for the seat of the bench. Put a long blue rug that runs from the entryway at the door all the way along the front of the bench. This can act as both an accent piece and a practical way to contain the dirt and mud from shoes. And it will cover up your multi colored flooring.

I think the vinyl flooring that you show would be fine, as long as that gray matches the gray in the current floor. Gray and blue go well together.

And another tip -- put two or three hooks across the back for each person, unless each of you only owns one coat. Sometimes cubbies like that just have one hook per person, which might look nice but is not enough for a family. We added extra hooks to ours.

 

[Storygirl]

And just a little warning -- even though the bench itself was cute, it was always covered haphazardly with backpacks and junk the kids left there as they came in the door. Don't expect your area to stay cute looking like the inspiration photo. Expect it to be and look like a functioning coat storage area. Unless you plan to make organizing it a daily task. Or somehow teach your kids to hang up their things in a consistent and tidy way (which was beyond my skills for my own family).

I do prefer coat hooks and a bench to a closet, since I have a family of six. It takes a lot more time to choose a hangar and hang a coat, than it does to sling it on a hook as you go by. Having hooks is more efficient when a big bunch of people comes in the door all at once, because you can all move through the area more efficiently. But that kind of massive family entrance activity never results in a nice looking selection of coats hanging on hooks. It looks like a cyclone whipped through. Your family may do better than mine, but expect to have to teach them what you expect.