Creating A Beautiful Breezeway Entrance

Creating A Beautiful Breezeway Entrance You’ll Love

Published On

October 26, 2023

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This week, we’re transforming a breezeway that looks almost accidental into a more inviting entrance.

Delane Caldwell’s breezeway to her front door is just a narrow hallway to the backyard, but we’re going to find a way to incorporate it more as a living space.

The Projects

Grinding the concrete smooths out the uneven surfaces of the patchwork slabs. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Refinish the Concrete Slab

The concrete in the breezeway looked like a patchwork of slabs. So, to create a uniform-looking slab, we smooth the concrete surface with a grinder.

Coating the breezeway with concrete epoxy paint creates a uniform color throughout the breezeway. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

After we sweep the dust away and rinse the slab off with a water hose, we paint the new smooth slab with a base coat of white epoxy paint.

After the base coat dries, we pop a chalk layout line on the slab to start our stenciling.

Black epoxy paint makes the stencil pattern stand out. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

This stencil pattern is based on traditional Portuguese Azulejos tile designs. We used black epoxy paint to fill in the tile pattern on the concrete.

Curtains make this space feel more like an outdoor living room than a breezeway. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Hang Curtains

To make the breezeway feel more like a living space, we remove the chain link fence at the end and add curtains.

The fence posts are set in concrete, so to remove them, we’ll need some leverage. After digging up the dirt around the base, we place a concrete block next to the post to act as a fulcrum for our shovel.

Curtains hanging from spray painted galvanized curtain rod in a breezeway — To make the curtain rod wide enough to fill the breezeway, we connected two galvanized pipes together with a tee fitting. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Our curtains are going to hang the curtains from a galvanized threaded rod. We first measure the breezeway to ensure our rod is long enough to span the entire opening.

Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2x Ultra Cover Paint + Primer spray paint, Great Value Distilled White Vinegar and a galvanized metal pipe curtain rod. — Etching the galvanzied pipe with vinegar ensures the spray paint will stick. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Before we install the rod, we paint it black to match the wrought iron. But, before we can paint, we have to etch the rod with vinegar to ensure the spray paint adheres to it.

Breezeway entrance with garden bed filled with green leafy plants and wrought iron gate. — Green leafy plants with varying heighth add depth and breadth to the garden space. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Fill Garden Bed

Our next project is to transform the garden bed inside the breezeway from a dirt pit to a green oasis.

We add a mix of green, leafy plants to fill the once-defunct garden space.

Outdoor wall fountain on the siding of a home's exterior next to green leafy plants — This ready-made wall fountain doesn’t require any plumbing work. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

After our plants are set, we install a water fountain above the garden bed to add some relaxing river sounds.

Then, we fill the bed with assorted plants, topped with a layer of garden rocks.

Kwikset's Halo Touch Wi-Fi Fingerprint Smart Lock — *Kwikset’s Halo Touch Wi-Fi Fingerprint Smart Lock* allows you to simply use your unique fingerprint to lock and unlock your door. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Install Fingerprint Lock

We surprised Delane with a smart lock deadbolt to not only dress up her front door but also make her home a little more secure.

The Kwikset Halo Touch Wi-Fi Fingerprint Smart Lock uses Delane’s unique fingerprint to open and lock her front door. This single-cylinder deadbolt also can be locked or unlocked by using the keypad or key from the outside as well as the turn button from the inside.

The smart lock has built-in Wi-Fi that connects directly to the home Wi-Fi network and smartphone for a secure smart home that does not require a third-party smart home hub, panel or subscription.

We also:

Touched up the paint on ironwork with spray paint
Painted front door and patio door dark teal

Today's Homeowner TV host Danny Lipford and co-host Chelsea Lipford Wolf pose with Delane Caldwell and her father, Tim Caldwell. — Today’s Homeowner TV host Danny Lipford and co-host Chelsea Lipford Wolf pose with Delane Caldwell and her father, Tim Caldwell. (3 Echoes Content Studio)

Post-Production Thoughts

Delane’s breezeway is the main entrance to her home, but before it had a very tired and haphazard feel to it the random collection of different slabs on the floor only left visitors with questions about what the space was supposed to be.

The sad empty planting bed made the house feel a lot older than it actually was, and the chain link fence made it feel more like a cage than a relaxing space.

But now, the whole space is taken on the field of a courtyard in a fancy hotel the consistency of the stencil floor ties everything together from the wrought iron gates to the lush green planting beds.

The door adds a pop of color while the fountain adds a cool visual element and a peaceful soundtrack for the space.

The simple curtain rod and the curtains frame the backyard and somehow make it all feel like a resort.