Room Design Articles and News

Creating an Appealing and Functional Foyer or Entryway

by Paola McDonald, CIDPaola McDonald, CID:
 
Paola McDonald is a Certified Interior Decorator and owner of Creative Elegance Interiors, LLC. She has been decorating homes for over seven years. In 2006, she decided to turn her passion into a business and to share her talents professionally with others. Since then, she has helped many clients achieve the home of their dreams. She has worked with varying design styles, designing home spaces that reflect her client's own personal styles and tastes. Paola has a list of client references available by request for persons interested in her interior decorating services.

Creating an interesting, attractive and functional foyer or entryway can get people excited about being in your home. A few essentials, such as a console table, a great rug and accent lighting, can help create an organized and attractive entryway.

The entryway is the first space in your home that people see when they enter and it can either set a great tone for what's to come in the rest of your home or make people wonder if they want to keep going. Creating an interesting, attractive, organized and functional foyer or entryway can not only get people excited about being in your home but can also help you and your family be more organized, enter and leave your home with ease and feel pride in the way others will see your home as well.

“Creating an interesting, attractive and functional foyer or entryway can get people excited about being in your home. A few essentials, such as a console table, a great rug and accent lighting, can help create an organized and attractive entryway.”

Image Copyright 2012 - iClipart

There are a few essentials to having an organized and attractive entryway. The first is having a really great console or foyer table. For the most part, every foyer should have a really great table to house some wonderful accessories, a lamp or two, and (if you don't have a mudroom or come in through the garage) a basket or drawers for holding keys, name badges, or other small items. It's also a great place to drop off mail!.

Great lighting is also a key component of a functional and attractive foyer or entryway. Your overhead lighting should really make a statement. Whether you have a two-story foyer or a seven-foot ceiling, there are wonderful light fixture options at your disposal. Make sure that the fixture fits the scale of the space. For example, a two-story foyer should have a large, interesting chandelier or pendant light fixture. If you have a seven-foot ceiling on the other hand, you are better off opting for a very nice flush-mounted fixture. Whatever the ceiling height or size of your foyer, really put thought and invest some money into a really great lighting fixture.

Consider also accent lighting. Lamps or dimmers are a great way to add accent lighting which can help to diffuse some of the overhead lighting if you are trying to set a mood while entertaining. Wall sconces can also be very interesting, and add a lot of style to a space while also providing mood and accent lighting. You don't have to pay an electrician a ton of money to install great walls sconces in your entryway. Many companies now offer fantastic plug in wall sconces in amazing styles and color options.

A great rug can not only help to make your entry space look and feel great, it can also serve to help your guests clean off their shoes a bit before entering your home. When it comes to buying entryway appropriate rugs there are some things to consider:

• Opt for a high end, wool area rug that can really stand up to a lot of traffic, considering that it will have to be professionally cleaned periodically.
• Purchase a rug specifically made for indoor/outdoor use that can easily be cleaned and maintained. Many companies are now making indoor/outdoor rugs in a variety of styles, colors, patterns and textures and at great prices.

Many people need a place to sit down to take off and put on as well as store shoes near their entryway or foyer. There are several creative and stylish ways to handle this. A great looking bench with built in storage is the most obvious and easiest solution if you have the space it. Another option is a thin bench with an open bottom to place baskets or trays underneath to neatly house a small number of shoes or even children's book-bags. You can also consider tucking a really great square storage ottoman or two under your console or foyer table. Casters will make it easy for you to pull them out and tuck them back away when you are finished using them and the storage can serve to house some of your family's shoes.

If your entryway/foyer is the main entrance to your home (meaning you don't have a mudroom or entryway from the garage) you may also consider placing a couple of attractive baskets atop your console table. One basket could serve to drop off keys, phones, and wallets when entering the home. The second can serve as a mail drop. The key to keeping this system organized however, is that the baskets be gone through a couple times a week to make sure that there is always space for the new items to be dropped in. You can also use the drawers of your console table for this purpose if the table has them and if they are large enough to organize these items.

The final touches are what really make entryways and foyers shine. If your space allows, a really dramatic mirror can serve to add style as well as allow you one last peak at yourself before leaving the house. A vase with fresh (or really great faux) flowers can add freshness to the space. Vases, bowls, sculptures and artwork really make the space feel finished and make guests want to see what else you've done with the rest of your home. Really spend a little time adding personal touches to your foyer or entryway to make it feel finished and inviting.

Photo Credit:

Article image is Copyright 2012 - iClipart

Paola McDonald, CID - Paola McDonald is a Certified Interior Decorator and owner of Creative Elegance Interiors, LLC. She has been decorating homes for over seven years. In 2006, she decided to turn her passion into a business and to share her talents professionally with others. Since then, she has helped many clients achieve the home of their dreams. She has worked with varying design styles, designing home spaces that reflect her client's own personal styles and tastes. Paola has a list of client references available by request for persons interested in her interior decorating services.

Website: Creative Elegance Interiors - http://www.creativeeleganceinteriors.com

This room design article was reproduced with permission from EzineArticles and is ©2012 Paola McDonald, CID.

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