This post was originally published in June 2018. It has been updated and edited for length and clarity.

This entryway project won the Small Project award at the 2017 Chicago Bungalow Association Driehaus Awards.

A year ago this weekend we broke ground on our entryway renovation. The idea was pretty simple: tile the entryway (a very practical decision for Chicago winters) and add some eye-catching wallpaper to create a small space with big impact. An entryway is a great place to set the mood for the rest of your space, and I wanted ours to fit within the historical context of our bungalow…but with an eclectic twist. When we purchased the bungalow, the entryway had pink ceramic 6×6 tiles, some of which were coming loose. One of my first projects in the house was refinishing the oak floors, which included demo-ing the pink tiles.

For the tile design, I wanted tile that was period appropriate. Hex tile was used heavily in the construction of most Chicago bungalows, primarily for the bathroom floor, so I took my cue from there. I knew I didn’t want to do any flower patterns in the tile, so instead I designed a simple square borders of black hex tiles to contrast nicely with the white field tile.

With demo done, I laid two layers of 1/2″ cement board (glued and screwed) over the original sub floor and then hand-cut the hex tile pattern with a utility knife. This was my first time tiling anything, so I nervous about screwing up, wasting materials, and ending up with a huge mess at the end. Because of this, I took my time and made sure to dry-fit the tiles in the space before gluing down so that the pattern, placement, and size of the design was perfect. Cutting and dry-fitting took about two days but it was worth it! After gluing everything down, I made sure to give the glue its full cure time (if I remember correctly, it was 72 hours). The Friday after Memorial Day weekend, I grouted the tile and then sealed it.

The most difficult part of the project was hanging the wallpaper, as I couldn’t figure out the return. Once I got it hung, I decided to style the space with some shelves I built with the original floorboards we salvaged during demo. At the eleventh hour, I decided to nominate this project for the Small Projects category for the CBA Driehaus Awards… and was shocked when I won!

Here is a quick cost breakdown (prices are approximate, and from 2017)

• Tile, mastic, and grout: $300
• Cement board: $13/3×5 piece ($26 total)
• Tile Sealer: $16
• Quarter round trim: $13
• Tools and fasteners: $20

I’m going to omit the cost of the wallpaper, as this can vary depending on quality and style. That being said, I originally ordered a double roll from Anthropolgie Home for $100 for this project and had plenty left over.

Eventually we added a small black metal threshold to bridge the gap between the tile to the wood, that allows for expansion/contraction of the wood floor. In 2019, I went back and refinished the baseboards and crown molding in this space and removed the wallpaper, repaired the plaster, and re-painted the walls and ceiling.