A New Welcome

One of the best decisions we ever made was to take our family up on their petition for us to move into my husband's grandmother's house in order to keep up the property. It has afforded so many blessings: the ability to focus on my writing instead of working in a job, the chance to be home with my sons full-time, the opportunity to send my sons to very fine schools, and the freedom to give them space and and a beautiful environment in which to grow. Despite our continued fondness for our old friends and stomping ground in DeKalb, Illinois, we do not look back with regret for our move to Indiana.

Nonetheless, living in an older house always brings with it the demands for continued improvements. We have really changed the way the old house looks. When we arrived, puke green carpeting paved the dining room, dark wood paneling covered the walls, and ancient furniture reigned within. Over time we scraped off the unattractive wallpaper in the halls, replaced the carpeting with wood laminate flooring, removed the paneling and put up drywall, remodeled two of the bathrooms, and exchanged old furniture for new.

Now, we have a new entryway. As usual, our efforts to improve things met with resistance when we couldn't find the right size pillar to replace the corner column. In the end, we had to simply stick with the old and provide a fresh coat of paint. Still, the new door looked so stunning that we decided against covering it with a screen door.

Here is what our new entryway looks like now:

Here's a photo from last summer:

Gone are the cat-scratched wicker pieces. The darker colors on the door simply make the entryway pop. Now, all we need are some guests to come walk through the stunning doorway. Hopefully, we will remedy that soon, as I have invited a small church women's group to gather at our house in mid-August for their monthly meeting. I'm not gifted in the realm of hospitality. I don't have a show-case home or decorate with great aplomb. I'm uncomfortable being responsible for serving up food for masses. Yet, I hope that anyone who visits will feel more welcome just by viewing this grand new door.