Taking a few minutes to prepare your entryway for spring is a great way to make sure that you’re able to really fully enjoy all the season has to offer, both inside and outdoors!
I am so beyond thrilled that spring has finally arrived for us this year and it’s in full swing. The flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, and of course the rain is raining and the mud is mudding as well. 🙂 We’re just finishing up with our new mudroom renovation, so I thought this would be a perfect time to talk about a few things that you can do in this area of your home to really fully embrace spring this year. We’re so lucky to have partnered with Schlage to be able to make our new mudroom entry door look its best so I’m definitely inspired to enjoy using our mudroom for all of its intended purposes this year!
Here are some of the things that I like to keep in mind when I’m getting our entryway areas ready for spring!
First Step: Prepare for the Weather
Where we live, spring means rain, wind, and mud… and then when that’s done, we’re out in the garden digging in the dirt. So basically it’s a big mess. Taking the time to do a few simple preparations at the beginning of the season can really make a difference. A few years ago we realized it was time to stop messing with tiny doormats and started putting down these giant doormats near our messiest entryways. These mats are great because they allow space for everyone to wipe their boots when they come in, not just one person and they also give you a place to put your boots down to help keep the mess contained. Boots trays are also a great option and I’m also hoping to add a boot scraper next to our door sometime soon.
I always seem to underestimate our need for umbrellas in this rainy climate and they tend to go mysteriously missing just when we need them the most. This is probably because we’ve never had a place to put them away so they’ve ended up in back seats of cars, in trunks, or in the basement. I added in a simple umbrella stand this spring and now that problem is solved! Just like that! 🙂
Speaking of weather, although things are pretty mild right now, we know that things are going to heat up really soon and people will be running their air conditioners all the time. While we’re focussing on our front doors, now’s a great time to take a look at your weather stripping and see if it could use replacing. Things like that will keep that nice cool air inside in a month or two!
Preparing Your Entryway for Spring: Set up for Gardening
As I said, gardening is a big part of spring here for us. I find I’m most successful with my gardening endeavours when I have all of my tools and gardening necessities ready to go right near the door. That way, I can head out and and get a little done whenever I have a free moment or if the inspiration just happens to strike. 🙂
I like to find a spot that’s easy to get to, but not too in the way to store just a few basics like a trowel, a watering can, some clippers, and some gardening gloves. Just like with the umbrellas, it really helps if I have a dedicated space to keep these things so that it just doesn’t feel right if I don’t put them away when I’m done using them. My trowels always seem to grow legs overnight and I can never seem to find them when I need them if they don’t have a permanent home.
This is also the time of year where we’re just a few weeks away from filling all of our planters with annuals so this is a great time to get them ready properly as well. If you didn’t manage to get to it last fall, definitely clean out all of your pots and planters that you’ll be placing around your door thoroughly before filling them to give your flowers the best chance of being healthy and beautiful.
Preparing Your Entryway for Spring: Set up for Safety and Function
Definitely take a moment to make sure the areas leading up to your entryway are safe and in good condition after winter. A lot of us have quite a few more people over to our homes during the spring and summer months and you don’t want anyone to trip! Take a look at any areas with wooden stairs or decking and make sure everything is level and in good shape. Replace any decking that has rotted or warped. As you can see, we’re going all out in this area this year and replacing the whole thing!
If you have any patio stones or pavers leading up to your door, check them out and make sure they’re still laying flat and level. With the freezing and thawing cycles, it’s possible for there to be quite a bit of heaving under patio stones and this can lead to tripping hazards. We have a lot of patio stone pathways around our house and some areas need to be re-set every few years to keep them really level.
Next up on our to-do list out here this spring: sweeping up all that mulch that’s trying to escape! 🙂
Also take a moment to make sure your entryway areas are well-lit enough as well for anyone coming up to your doorway in the dark. We live out in the country where there are no streetlights so it can get extra dark around our house. Instead of just one porch light above our entryway like we had before, we decided to go with two (one on each side of the door) and it’s really made the whole area so much more welcoming in the dark.
Preparing Your Entryway for Spring: Get Ready for Fun
This is also a great time to get all set up for the fun stuff that comes with spring and summer! It’s a good idea to get out beach and yard toys (and dog toys!) now and inspect their condition so you aren’t rummaging in the basement in a few weeks when the weather is beautiful and you want to get outside. Set up an area for toy storage and you’ll be ready to play at a moment’s notice!
Preparing Your Entryway for Spring: Refresh Your Front Door
One of the simplest, most effective things you can do to make your entryway more welcoming for spring is to give your front door a little attention. Repainting your front door will make it feel fresh and clean and you can even try out a bright new color if you’re feeling adventurous without much of an investment in time or money. We’ve got a brand new door this spring, so I won’t be needing to paint it this year, but I am excited to pretty it up a little bit now that the snow has stopped beating against it! 🙂
We put the door in place in the late fall and just installed the old door hardware at that time until we could find permanent entry door hardware that we loved. It was looking pretty sad, so I was thrilled when this new Century Single Cylinder entry lock set from Schlage arrived!
Here’s how it looked inside with the old hardware.
And after with our new Schlage lock set! The interior part of the lock set we used is the Plymouth Knob option.
Here’s the exterior of the door before.
And after with the Century Single Cylinder Handlset!
What a difference! I love the simple, modern farmhouse look of this lock set. We went with the simple aged bronze Plymouth Knob for the interior, which matches the knobs we’re slowing replacing our old ones with throughout the rest of the house. It’s perfect.
You know how some home improvements just make you feel like “OK, I’m a real grown-up now”? This perfect new lock set was definitely that for me. It just makes me happy every time I send my kids out this door to school every morning. 🙂
Schlage is a name that has been trusted for what seems like forever for being strong, tough, and durable. All things that you want when you’re picking out a lock for your front door! (Or mudroom side door in this case! 🙂 ) Even if you’re not installing a brand new door like we did, and you’d just like to update your current door, installing new door hardware is a quick, affordable, and impactful way to upgrade the look of your door and express your personal style.
Even though we still have quite a bit more work to do outside (like building the entire porch out there) before our entryway is really complete, having the mud room finished now and having this beautiful door leading to it, is pretty thrilling.
If you’d like to find your perfect lock set just like we did, visit the Schlage Style Selector on SchlageCanada.com.
And the final step to preparing your entryway for spring? A beautiful spring wreath of course!
Nothing makes an entryway feel quite as ready to welcome you home as a new wreath does!
For more information on Schlage products, visit the Schlage Canada Website or connect with them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.
Or visit the Schlage “Find a Retailer” page to find Schlage products near you.
How do you like to prepare your home’s entryway for spring?
Thank you so much to Schlage for sponsoring this post!
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Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.