You had me at Hello! 5 Great Tips for the Foyer

Do you ever think about how you want to be greeted when you come home? Not how you are greeted by family member, how you are greeted by your space. Have you ever sat down to think about how you want to FEEL when you open your front door?

The feeling that you get when you or your guests enter your foyer will stay with you energetically through the rest of the house. The foyer has the power to uplift you, calm you, annoy you, inspire you. Instead of recognizing this, the foyer area is often ignored. It becomes a storage bin, a dumping ground for items and a space that is left undecorated.

To create a foyer that will “have you at hello”, here are five tips!

Interior Design : Summer Thornton

DECIDE HOW YOU WANT TO BE GREETED

Do you have a stressful job and want a soothing sanctuary to greet you when you come home? Perhaps you are going through a hard time and want to feel happy and uplifted the second your open the door? Or perhaps super organization gives you calm and strength? Maybe you have a favorite movie or hobby that you want to be reminded of to put a smile on your face when you enter? Write down the feeling you want when your home greets you, then write down what that is.

MAKE A STATEMENT

Your home is YOUR world to create your own special magic. This is the space to make a statement. Let the foyer be your entry to the world of YOU. No designer knew this better than the grand dame of decorating Dorothy Draper who created elaborate and dramatic entryways. Think of how fun it is to walk in to a well designed hotel foyer or a restaurant. You are engulfed in the world of that space. No reason that you shouldn’t do the same with your home. Create a foyer as if your life was a movie and the foyer is the opening scene. This tells the story of you and your guests and invites them in.

Greenbrier Hotel foyer / Design by Dorothy Draper company

CLEAR OUT THE JUNK

You can have the most amazing foyer or entrance area in the world, but if it’s filled with junk it will look like junk. Don’t let the foyer become a landing area for random house stuff, piles of mail, or other house wares. Figure out a home design that allows for coats to be hung neatly and shoes to be stowed away. Make sure that the items you have in the foyer are indeed JUST the items you want to be greeted by. All other junk will only create stagnant energy in the main entrance of your home. This feeling will permeate throughout the house and the energy will stay with you and your guests for the entire stay.

Interior Design: Jill Sorensen Photo: Stephanie Sifwert

THE ANATOMY OF A FOYER

A foyer sometimes is often just a wall that greets you, now is the question…what do you put there? You now know the vibe and feeling you want, you want to make a statement and you have cleared out junk. Now what?

Let me break it down for you with just basic functionality tips. I personally prefer items that make sense and create creature comforts.

If you have space add a DRESSER or a CONSOLE TABLE with at least one drawer for keys, flashlight etc. If you don’t have a favorite piece of art, a MIRROR makes sense since it’s practical to be able to check yourself before heading out. One or two CHAIRS or a BENCH to sit on to put on your shoes. You also want to be met with the right lighting, so you’ll need a LAMP or two on the table. Or perhaps just a great CHANDELIER? A RUG that soaks up and leftover dust on shoes on people who enter.

1. Phinnaeus Oval Back Dining Side Chair – Set of 2

2. Timeless Traditions Ornate Arch Wall Mirror- 24W x 26H in.

3. Gabby Luca Table Lamp

4. Caledonia Woven Console

5. Beach House Maze Rug

Interiors: Carlton Varney for Dorothy Draper

Interiors Greenbrier Hotel Carlton Varney

CREATE YOUR FANTASY

Let go of preconceptions and rules. Do you want to be greeted like your favorite movie interior? Create it. Do you want to be met by stark serenity? Do it. Do you want to be comforted by styles of your childhood home, with a gallery of photos of loved ones? Lay it out. Do you want to go back to a bygone era?

Create your fantasy. Seriously, there is no reason not to.