First Impressions - Day 2

First Impressions. 

They are awesome when you make a good one, but it's such a bummer when you miss a chance to show who you really are the first time around.

And while we may think that first impressions are reserved for two people meeting face to face, the reality is that a first impression is also obtained the first time someone walks up to your front door.

 Have you ever stopped to think 

what kind of an impression your front door makes?

Yep, you read that right. I promise I'm not completely off my rocker when I say that your front door can make a first impression too.

It really doesn't matter if you have a glorious entry with stone stairs and columns, a glistening chandelier, and a door tall enough for Goliath to walk through without stooping. Or maybe your entrance is a door with a peephole and a welcome mat in the hallway of an apartment building. It doesn't matter how grand or humble it may be, your front door and entryway can make a good impression. 

Maybe "impression" is a bad word for it. It seems as though it somehow implies that you have to impress the other person. And that's exactly the opposite of what I want you to create! It's not about dazzling the other person with how awesome a decorator you are. 

I think First Welcome might be a better word. 

A good First Welcome - 

lets your visitors know that through those doors 

awaits a warm, safe place. 

A sanctuary away from the storm.

Perhaps all you need to do is something as simple as sweeping off the stoop, putting out a bunch or fresh - or artificial - flowers, a welcome sign, and a colorful mat to wipe those muddy boots off. 

The tendency is to put off this sprucing up if your door needs a fresh coat of paint, new hardware and kick plate that is not all banged up, the light fixture is not perfect, etc. etc.

But the truth of the matter is that if we keep waiting for perfection, that day will never come. Why not make the most of your door/entryway today and take the opportunity to create a warm welcome?

See those holes in the door? From a door knocker we need to hang up again. Imperfect? Yes. But all it took to make it inviting was a touch of fall color on a handmade wreath... and a sign on the door warning "Please do not ring the doorbell, knock softly. Baby sleeping. Anyone who wakes the baby will not be allowed to leave till they change a diaper!"

Fall is the perfect time to spruce things up. Now that the long summer days are fading, you and your loved ones will be heading though that door to get to the warm indoors.

 Here's a few ideas to get you started:
~ Go to your local craft store and buy {or have made} a vinyl "Welcome," or house numbers. They really are very inexpensive and easy to apply/remove.

~ Buy an inexpensive pre-decorated wreath. Or better yet, get creative and make your own! {By the way, Less than Perfect Life of Bliss has a great idea using velcro - yep you read that right - to hang her wreaths. This is great for anyone that doesn't want to harm the front of the door or has a glass pane in the middle} 

~ Dust off an old planter you have sitting around, head to your local nursery and purchase a few colorful end of season annuals that are on the discount table. Or maybe a big bushy mum in fiery reds and oranges. Plant them in your newly dusted planter, add a bird/figurine of some sort or sign from your collection {or the dollar store, or thrift store} and voila! Instant charm.

~ Maybe you hate the light fixture but a new one isn't in the budget. I bet a can of spray paint is! One, maybe two coats of Rustoleum in a hammered finish and you have new-to-you lighting.

First Impression Welcome

What are you going to do 

to make your door and entryway more inviting?

This post is Day 2 in a series of 31 Ways To Jump Into Fall.
Check out the other days here.
Read other blogger's 31 Days here. 

All photos take by yours truly unless otherwise noted.