Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Kody and I have been looking into buying a house for the last two years. We have been approved for a mortgage for one year. We have spent many Sunday afternoons going on "house drives" and many hours surfing the internet for the perfect house. Why haven't we purchased one yet?

A. We are too scared.
B. We can't agree on which house to buy.
C. Our current residence is great. It's cheap, we like it, it's close to Kody's job, the TRAX station, my parents, etc.

So until we conquer our fears, agree on a house, and find one that makes more sense to live in than where we are now, our housing search has been suspended indefinitely.

Meanwhile, we have decided to make some improvements to our apartment. When we first moved in a year and a half ago, the place was pretty scary. Let's just say that the previous occupant hadn't taken care of it properly. We have brought it up to a much higher level of cleanliness during our time here. Our landlords told us we could paint if we would like, but to make sure that the walls are all neutral colors. Instantly, my first reaction was "That's BOOOO-RING!!!" but since viewing hundreds of paint samples from the free catalogues at the Home Depot, I have realized that neutral colors can be kind of fun.
We have decided to improve one room or area of the apartment every month. And for this month we have chosen..............................

The Entryway.......

Here are some pictures of what it looks like now. It's a little dull, right? We are hoping to have it looking fabulous by the end of the week. Basically we can make any adjustments we want except for replacing the carpet (which would be wonderful) and removing or adding walls...







We will post pictures of the finished result in about a week. Feel free to leave us any suggestions on how to spruce up!!