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    Welcome Home

    Welcome home: 7 ways to give your entryway a fresh new look

    Brenna Malmberg, Houzz
    Jan 31, 2017 | 11:42 am
    Houzz entryway
    Stairs help transition from outside to inside your home.
    Photo courtesy of Wade Weissmann Architecture, Houzz

    Your entryway welcomes you home and gives your guests a taste of what’s to come. Does your entry need a refresh? Take a look at these seven areas for ideas and inspiration.

    1. Step onto a new doormat. People walk all over this entry feature. While it adds style to your entry as people pass through the door, it also gathers debris. Give it a shake after the holiday season or consider finding a new one to welcome your guests.

    Prepare Your Entry for Any Forecast

    2. Hang a different mailbox. With so much communication happening digitally, it’s easy to forget about the physical inbox outside our front door. This mailbox keeps the mail routine simple, but you also can find mailboxes with house numbers and lights. If you continually forget to pick up your mail, maybe a change of mailbox could offer a reminder.

    3. Add a unique door knocker. A door knocker, while low tech, does the job and more. It alerts home dwellers to the arrival of guests and adds a touch of personality to the front door.

    See the Difference New Front Doors Can Make

    4. Shine a new light on it. All the details are lost if guests can’t see them. Overhead lights on the porch in the photo above light the steps and front door and frame two bright red chairs.

    Brighten Your Porch With These Outdoor Lighting Options

    5. Give your coat a spot. If you lack a formal coat closet, coats can end up scattered throughout the home. Take a look at your entry and consider adding a spot just for coats. A dedicated spot also makes it easy to grab your coat as you dash out the door, helping you stay on time and warm.

    6. Find stairs that work for your home. Stairs help us transition from outside to inside our home. The right steps can make the move seamless. So before you take any steps with your stairs, consider the materials, balance, and style that help tell your home story, and stay within your price range.

    7. Prepare your entry for all kinds of weather. As the seasons change, add and subtract storage options. When it gets cold outside, pull out a basket for mittens. When it starts to pour, make sure your umbrella holder is ready to handle the moisture.

    Houzz shares tips for sprucing up your entryway, including a new door mat.

    Houzz entryway
    Photo courtesy of Solid Renovations, Houzz
    Houzz shares tips for sprucing up your entryway, including a new door mat.
    houzz
    news/home-design

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    Hidden gems, affordable finds, more top Houston design news from 2025

    Emily Cotton
    Dec 26, 2025 | 4:30 pm
    Houzz top kitchen remodel trends in 2025
    Photo by Joshua Caldwell / PureHaven Homes, Clayton Vance Architecture
    Houzz documented the latest kitchen design trends.

    Editor’s Note: As 2025 draws to a close, it’s time to look back at which Home and Design topics Houston readers flocked to the most. Not surprisingly, articles that offered affordable finds proved popular, with the closure of a warehouse devoted to vintage home supplies taking the top spot. Other popular stories showcased local experts in thrifting, a Houston family who received a new home on national TV, and pro tips for reducing clutter.

    With sustainable living more popular than ever, we expect readers will continue to be interested in where to find thrifted and affordable items. Here are the 10 most read home and design articles of the year.

    Houzz top kitchen remodel trends in 2025
    Photo by Joshua Caldwell / PureHaven Homes, Clayton Vance Architecture

    Houzz documented the latest kitchen design trends.

    1. Houston warehouse full of historic home supplies holds massive closing sale. Historic Houston’s salvage warehouse announced in January that its rented First Ward warehouse space had been sold to developers (gentrification, we know thee). A series of warehouse sales ensued, and owner Lynn Edmunson promised to find a home for future pop-ups.

    2. These are Houzz's top kitchen remodel trends for 2025. According to interior design platform Houzz, homeowners are shifting what they want in a kitchen. The data shows a sharp decline in searches for Rustic and Farmhouse styles, while Traditional kitchens made a nice rebound. Also popular in the search bar was the ever popular “sustainable.”

    3. Houston's massive antiques mall is full of hidden treasures. The Antique Gallery in Spring offers 85,000 square feet of vintage and antique finds sold through over 240 vendors. The classic Main Street theme is anchored by Pam’s Cafe and coffee shop, a counter-service eatery that offers shoppers the opportunity to take a break and try Pam’s delicious and revolving menu items.

    4. Houston designers shop this River Oaks store for eclectic accessories. Will Hunt Lewis’ expertly-curated vintage, antique, and new accessories boutique shines as the culmination of a career spent buying and merchandising for Jonathan Adler, One Kings Lane, and Kravet — plus his own floral design and events business in Mississippi. Lewis’ keen eye and excellent taste have made him indispensable to top Houston designers.

    5. Houston family dishes on life after Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The Elrod family’s devastating house fire left them grieving a beloved grandmother as well as the family cat. This resilient family was nominated by their local community to be the recipients of a brand new Taylor Morrison home — as did all of the family’s for this year’s revival season, which was led by The Home Edit’s Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin.

    6. Houston organizational expert shares 8 tips for reducing clutter. Carroll Cartwright of Neatly & Co shared tips for getting organized in the new year. The one-time corporate hotshot turned sought-after organizer spent 2025 going viral for an over-the-top walk-in pantry and has since seen Neatly & Co become personal organizer to Kourtney Kardashian.

    7. Hidden gem Houston store offers timeless antiques at affordable prices. Frustrated by the lack of authentic antique Greek and Turkish decor to buy locally for their own home, Melis and Umit Aktura turned a personal project into a thriving import business that attracts designers and the public by the literal truckload. The Spring Valley store sells imported decorative goods from Greece, Turkey, Indonesia, and India — all 100-years-old or more.

    8. This Houston furniture store sells big name brands at deep discounts. For 35 years, everyone from college kids to design pros have shopped showroom-condition secondhand furniture at this longtime Houston staple. Proprietor Sherri Enroth, colloquially known as “Sofa Sherri,” tells CultureMap that Gen Z’s passion for thrifting has given the store new life.

    9. Houston's 'Patron Saint of Thrifting' is always hunting for fresh finds. Meet the Lady behind Houston’s popular Resale & Thrift Guides, successful weekly YouTube series, and thriving group antiquing trips. Lady Mary Beth has taken a career in corporate gift buying and used her expertise to turn her passion project into a real success.

    10. 6 Houston experts dish on their Round Top Antique Show favorites. Six stylish Houstonians shared their top picks for the fall season of the quarterly antiques fair. From Lily Barfield of The Marlene Inn, to restaurateurs like Latuli’s Allison Knight and Truth BBQ’s Abbie Byrom-Botello, readers learned some of the best places to pick up stylish home decor at the sprawling shopping extravaganza.

    hot-headlineshome-designmost popular storiesshoppingdecorantiquesround top
    news/home-design

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