We have a lot of stair railings in our house. We have the grand staircase in the front entry, a staircase leading up into the bonus room, a staircase in the home gym, and a staircase on the second floor leading up into the attic. Every staircase in our house has black painted balusters, except the front entry and I cannot for the life of me remember why I chose white instead of black. Well, I guess I can remember because I wrote about it. I’m surprised it was even a debate in my head considering my love of black. Apparently I wanted a more “airy” white on white, but the entry has been begging for some drama and so… we painted the balusters black.

Here’s what they looked like white:

White Balusters

And here’s what the black balusters look like…

Black Balusters

Pedestal Table | Vase | Faux Stems | Marble Plate | Art | Chandelier | Sconces

This is just much more me. I love how there’s so much more contrast in this beautiful scene now. The black and the white, really make that warm wood sing and that’s really the shining star in the entryway.

Let’s not forget where the entry started when we moved in.

The Entry Before

We have come so so far.

We used the same Tricorn Black in Semi-gloss that was used on all the other balusters in the house–just a true true black. Here’s a different angle.

Before

After

Shop Our Entry

Sometimes it just takes living in a space and having enough time for your eyes to adjust to know what you want. And sometimes you know what you want all along and you just have to get enough courage to go for it. I think for me it was both.

Painting the entry door black

To go along with the new black balusters, I couldn’t help but paint the front door black as well. The door is such a big architectural element in our home. It has some really cool moldings on it, plus it’s 10 feet tall. Once we added the sconces on either side of the door I knew I really wanted to make it stand out. Everything else in the entry is white, and so I painted it black.

Before

After

Round Rug | Sconces | Chandelier | Ruffle Top | Jeans

Everything about this feels right. I love how the door is complimented by the black balusters, and I can’t believe I didn’t do this from the very beginning!

So to answer your question: no the front entry is not finished. The foundation for the front entry is there but I’m calling this a blank slate. My renovating philosophy is: I love to get everything to a certain level and then level up again. I really want to add a bunch of trim work to the entry. The chair rail was there and it’s fine, but I’d love to do something different. This is just the beginning.

Other Posts About the Front Entry

Our new entry

A fresh look in the entry

New entryway chandelier makes an entrance

Balusters are painted black and white