Looks MUCH better! Fantastic job.

Great improvement!

So crisp and clean. I love it! Where did the foyer chandelier come from?

Lovely improvement. I'm working on the same project at my house. The light oak stair rail is half way white. Hope it turns out as well as yours. Did you paint or stain the top rail?

@ Surfsup1977...if you read the 2nd paragraph, it says the light was a special order from Lowes.

And I agree, it's a huge improvement! You did a great job!

Gorgeous!
It's so funny that 1997 doesn't seem that long ago to me but 90s decor always looks SOOOO dated to me.
I wonder if, 15 years from now, 2012 decor will look crazy dated to the design enthusiasts of 2027...

So fresh and clean. And I love the buttery color you chose for the door.

The original chandelier was hideous!

Vast improvement! Your fingers did not break in vain!

Well, it's certainly a huge improvement. I'm not sure it's any less "themey" than the previous incarnation, but it's a good update.

Terrific! What is the wall paint manufacturer and color?

It looks great! I think the removal of the munitions in the window above the door also helps!

Love!

The yellow door is a really interesting choice. Nice!

I think you meant mullions. ;)

much better... but the tile looks a bit bathroom-y

did you think about replacing the drywall partition with railing & spindles?

This is fabulous! The tile is a bit unconventional for an entryway, but it looks perfect here.

How did you get the fake grid out of the window? Was it external of the pane?

I find this simple and efficient. Not too yellow, not to grey, not to brown. According to me, it seems there's a kind of balance with colors, space and light... I like it.

Very nice. I see the downstairs rail is gone; looks better. Weatherwise, are you still going to have to have a mat or rug by the front door?

did you do the tile yourself? looks great! Tile scares me, but I kind of want some!

@ surfsup1977: The new chandeliar is from LOWES!! I know coz i bought the exact same one for less than $40! It's on clearance at the store near us. I used it as lighting for our dining nook

Great transformation! So fun and modern.

Haha - I actually meant "muntins", but "mullions" works as well.

The door colour is my favourite touch! Nice job.

I love your stairs and chandelier of course. BUT the front door paint is stunning. Such a perfect yellow and looks fantastic with the grey, and the white trim. Well done!

Beautiful! Great job...looks like you brought in a pro!

I absolutely love the stairs & tiles - but in my opinion it's a little "cold" with the yellow door - I would have chosen red; more glamour and warmer...
But you absolutely have my respect for this gorgeous transformation!! :)

I'm so happy to see this entryway, because in a year, I'll have to do the exact same project - except I have a staircase from the 80's, much narrower and in hideous blue colors. Thank you for giving me more confidence ! I know it will be hard work, but the end result will be stunning.

And I may steal the gray/yellow/white/dark wood color combo, it's beautiful !

Great job! Love the new look!

This is lovely, great job!

I love the tile. It's beautiful, and so sophisticated with the dark wood stairs and the yellow door. You did a fantastic job. Any tips on staining the railings? I have to do the same thing soon.

I looks fantastic!! You did a really nice job and I LOVE that chandelier. I also really like the color of the door. I'm sorry you broke your finger, though. I read that part and physically cringed. Hope it's okay now!

Looks great! I don't hate golden oak as much as many people here, so I think the space might have been reworked without painting it, but what you did was beautiful.

I disagree with people who said the tiles look bathroomy, I think they look wonderful and is the single best thing they did. It's a bit European looking to me, and I've lived in buildings from the 20's and 30's that have that tile in the lobby.

I kept reading the title because it wasn't making any sense to me... then I remembered how Americans pronounce "foyer" and it clicked...

So much better! Sad to se the partitioned window above the door go though. I guess it was too expensive to find replacements?

@B from Stockholm - I think it's the same window, but with the wood pieces taken out. My guess was that the wood pieces were purely decorative and the window was not made of many panes of glass inserted with wood pieces to form one large window.

The yellow door is perfect. Not cold at all. Excellent choices all around. Thank goodness you got rid of all that honey coloured wood. Hideous!

Actually, I think that's an auto-correct of muntins, which is the correct terminology, not mullions.

Thank you so much for the comments! I'll try to answer some of the questions...
The window partition things were indeed just decorative pieces that snap right out. I chose the tile because I knew I wanted black and white but needed the pattern to be a small repeat since the space is pretty tiny. I moved the bottom handrail to the opposite wall to keep that one big wall open. Also, it helps my toddler navigate the stairs to be able to use the same hand on the rail as she goes around the corner. On all the handrails I used Minwax gel stain in hickory. I sanded the rails lightly then applied about 3 coats I think to get it really dark. Took forever to dry and gave me a panic attack. The gray wall color is Valspar filtered shade, and the door color is actually spray paint (Valspar golden maize). I love that the spray paint made the finish completely smooth, but it was a hassle to tape off the area with plastic bags (basically built a tent) and if I ever have to touch it up it's going to be a pain. I painted outside of the door a high gloss lipstick red, and when the door is open it looks really pretty against the tiles. Oh, and the finger is much better now. Thanks!

Thanks, Pi. As I sanded the first railing, the one on top of the spindles that I couldn't remove, I realized that I couldn't sand off all of the old varnish since the oak grain had some deep crevices, and I didn't want to use some kind of chemical stripper indoors. I tried using some regular wood stain on the underside at first, but it turned into a gloppy mess. So I rubbed it all off and tried a gel stain (Minwax gel stain in hickory). The benefit of the gel stain is that it doesn't have to soak in (the can says you can use it on metal?!) but it also doesn't look as translucent as regular stain. I wanted the color to be really dark, though, so it worked out well. The can said to allow it to dry for 24 hours, but I swear it took a week to feel completely cured and not gummy.

Hi Katie, this is beautiful! I have a question on the stairs.. when you pulled off the carpet, did you just stain and paint the wood below it? I know you mentioned something had to be replaced. Absolutely beautiful.. love the tiles and yellow door!

Absolutely gorgeous. You did a wonderful job! The tile really makes it and the yellow door adds nice warmth, reminds me a bit of a hobbit door :D

Best. Title. Ever.

Love the Yellow!

Why does everyone say foyer wrong? It's foy-ay, not foy-er. Be-foy-ay? Not a good pun.

good investment to replace the carpet treads w/ wood & tile the floors w/something classic (bath tiles originally were small b/c the many groutlines helped prevent slipping when wet, also good for coming in from the rain). the muntins belong in this look, tho'

Nice job.. love the new floors

@thekatpack,

It's regional. It's a French word adopted by English speakers and in some areas the pronounciation has changed. Neither pronounciation is incorrect. The dictionary lists both pronounciations.

Also see:
Baton Rouge

Well done. Well done, indeed.

Seems lke I'm in the minority but I much prefer the oak to the white paint and dark wood. At least it seemed more uniform than stark white and dark walnut. The dark handrail/ white spindle combination looks weird as if it couldn't decide what it wanted to be. If you're going to paint then paint it all.

I love this look and the yellow is inspired. The dark handrail and white balusters is a classic look and if you ever lived in a house with a painted white handrail you'd know why. The dark floor just grounds it all and looks terrific.

But I agree, the MUNTINS belong back in the big window.

Mullion/muntin: A mullion is a heavy vertical or horizontal member between adjoining window units. Muntins are the narrow strips of wood that divide the individual panes of glass in a traditional sash. In the case of so-called "simulated divided lites," grilles resembling muntins are either sandwiched between double glass panes or else installed over the outer surface of the glass to give a divided look.

http://www.sfgate.com/homeandgarden/article/Telling-your-mullions-from-your-muntins-3282852.php#ixzz2CrWY2Zfm

I love the transformation and your colour choices for the door (inside and out) and the stairs and railing. Love the tile pattern too. The space looks crisp and modern. I do like that you've removed the muntins from the top window (I'm not fond of these fake partitions, myself, and have removed them from my previous house). It simplifies the space and makes it look more modern which I have a soft spot for. I'm guessing that the side window wood partition pieces weren't removable ... having one full glass piece would have made both windows look more cohesive. Great job and good for you for repositioning one railing to suit you toddler.

You said,
"I wonder if, 15 years from now, 2012 decor will look crazy dated to the design enthusiasts of 2027..."

Yes, yes, absolutely yes. Can you honestly say that half of what passes for current design isn't already terribly cliche?

I actually prefer muntins OUT of the large window.

Beautifully done.

Wow! This looks fantastic!