Entrances can define your style
Entrances can define your style
FOR guests visiting your home, the entrance area makes one of the biggest impressions as it is literally your home's first opportunity to show off. Try out some of these ideas to help you put your home's best foot forward when greeting guests
Mats
Specially made, ultra absorbent mats trap water and dirt keeping your floors and carpets clean. Consider ones made from recycled materials for an eco-friendly approach.
A traditional welcome mat can be placed outside your front door, or consider putting one inside your foyer area as a space for people to wipe or perhaps remove muddy shoes. Leaning a wet umbrella against a wall with the end pointed onto such a mat avoids getting water everywhere in your foyer space.
Welcome mats come in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit any space. There are also a wide range of novelty and other types of mats which can add a seasonal or fun element to your entrance.
Table or foyer dressers
Rather than being a space where clutter accumulates, some basic planning and clever use of furniture can make this area harmonious and hospitable.
A table or dresser is a good idea, offering space for a serving tray of welcoming drinks or displaying a vase of flowers. However, tables in entrances often become a dumping ground for all sundry items, and unless you provide space for things to be stored away, can become a "clutter table" where keys, accessories, toys, and the like end up being left to pile up.
Try assigning drawers in a dresser to specific items to avoid the temptation to leave all sorts of stuff in there. If it has two drawers, make one for keys and remote controllers, and the other for paperwork. Be ruthless about the use of these drawers. Having a waste paper bin next to or under the table is a good idea to give you space to throw away unwanted junk mail before it finds its way into your home.
A large wicker basket can also be a handy addition to this area as a space for children to leave toys, sports equipment or umbrellas.
Some entrance way dressers incorporate a mirror and hooks to hang jackets and scarves. Mirrors are great additions to small foyers as they give the illusion of space.
A vase of flowers in front of the mirror will prevent people dumping things there, and brings the scent and beauty of the outdoors inside your home.
Tables don't have to be large, slim line tables can be found which fit into small spaces or use a bookshelf as a foyer table, the shelves offer space to display trinkets and store magazines or books.
Baskets and trays can also be placed on the shelves to store mail or keys. As with foyer dressers and tables and drawers, ruthless diligence is needed to keep the area from becoming a dumpsite.
Consider re purposing bookcase lower shelves to store shoes.
It creates a neat mud-room type area even if you don't have space for an actual cloak-room or foyer. Closet.
Coat racks and umbrella holders
Somewhere for guests and family to hang their coats is especially useful in an entrance if you want to avoid them leaving items of clothing all over entertainment areas in your home. If you don't have space for a coat rack, consider a wall-mounted coat rack, or try mounting some coat hooks on to the back of your front door. Consider using a large urn or interesting ceramic standing vase as an umbrella holder. Use your imagination and see items in home decor and gardening suppliers for more than just their original stated purposes.
A large terracotta planter can be the perfect umbrella holder, complete with a drip tray to catch the drips from the wet umbrella and a pair of oversized boots can also serve as a storage space for walking sticks and umbrellas.
