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With Labour Day long weekend approaching, many of us invite guests over to entertain as a last celebration of summer. As your guests arrive and you open the front door, have you ever stopped to wonder what your guests think of the front entrance of your home? Although it’s unlikely that your guests will be spending a great deal of time in your foyer, it deserves equal treatment when it comes to design efforts. After all, it’s the first part of your home your guests will see! Why not make a lasting first impression?

We don’t often see our entry hallways the way visitors do. To get a fresh perspective, we recommend looking at your foyer with a fresh set of eyes. Open your front door, and stand in the entrance for a few moments. You may also want to take a few photos with your smartphone of different angles to look at later on. Are there any walls that look bare? Does the floor need a rug or runner? Overall, does this look like a welcoming entry to a home? If your perception is that your foyer needs work - don’t worry! You’re not alone. The good news is we have some helpful tips to keep your foyer looking fabulous.

What’s on your Walls?

We love the idea of family photos as artwork. This is a wonderful way to make a house feel like a home, and when placed in an entranceway, they act as a welcome to your guests from the whole family. A gallery wall made of mismatched frame sizes and shapes can be a beautiful way to fill empty space. A nice way to add uniformity here is to have all of the photos printed in grayscale, which allows the mismatched frames to add a layer of visual interest.

Another way to spice up your walls is to add a large, decorative mirror. Not only do mirrors look great, they serve a very specific function. Mirrors create the illusion of space in a room by reflecting light. Having one located near your doorway will drastically improve the perception of your foyer. If you’re working in a smaller corridor, remember to place the mirror on the opposite side that the door swings in order to maximize natural light reflection.

Floor Them

Who says a basic doormat is the end-all, be-all for foyer rugs? While it’s great to have an area for guests to wipe their shoes (necessary for Canadian weather, too!), these rugs tend to err on the side of decor caution. We suggest adding a visually rich patterned rug to your foyer to create an interesting focal point that guides guests further into your home. Area rugs can be great for larger entryways, but if you have a smaller entry, a long carpet runner will look fantastic. Many homeowners are concerned about outside dirt being tracked on a beautiful carpet, so to circumvent this, we recommend keeping a conventional doormat outside your front door. If that isn’t an option, a rubber shoe mat tucked inside your coat closet will do the trick.

Let There Be Light

Lamps or lighting fixtures are another great way to add warmth to this space. We love the idea of a statement chandelier that hangs from a high ceiling. This may not be right for every foyer, so if your ceilings are lower, then it may be best to find a beautiful lighting fixture that mounts flush with the ceiling.

Tables

Lastly, if your entryway is still feeling a bit bare, we recommend adding a nice side table. Whether it’s rectangular or half rounded is up to you, but the table should sit neatly against the wall. There are endless ways to decorate side tables, but our favourites are lamps, floral arrangements and reading material.

Adding one large lamp or two small matching lamps is a great way to add more light to the space, and can also act as great statement pieces. In fact, DIY-ing a lampshade with a pattern of your choice is probably one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to create a beautiful decor piece.

Stacked reading material like old books or magazines adds depth to the table by creating different levels. Top with a small bowl for keys or a framed photo and voila! You have a decor piece that takes up a good deal of space on the table and is completely effortless. A small floral arrangement never hurts, either! We like the look of low mercury glass or metallic vases with short stemmed flowers.

 

A welcoming foyer is an important part of any home, and decorating this area can be as simple as adding a carpet runner or some wall art. Share your entryway makeover with us in the comments or on our Facebook page!

 

from Devonleigh Homes http://ift.tt/2bPU1Ix