Our open and welcoming foyer

November 15, 2017

Our old house had a TALL foyer. The space itself was open to our front two rooms, but the ceilings soared. It's what made us fall in love with the house 14 years ago as we toured model homes. Later on when I was working as a decorator I had a client who had a foyer that was the very opposite of ours. The ceilings were lower and then when you walked to the back the rest of the house opened up. I fell in love with it, which surprised me because I loved our two story entry so much. 

Hers just felt so welcoming when you walked in and it always stuck with me. So when we first walked through this house months back, this entry ticked yet another box on my mental list for a future house. I love this space! It's just big enough to feel spacious when you walk in, but also feels welcoming and cozy: 

The only new additions to this space are the lanterns (I've searched forever for lanterns that aren't super expensive, these are lovely and a great price for the size!) and the rug -- I got that at At Home for $40. 

This blue dresser has gone through many transformations (I'll link to all the projects at the bottom of this post!) and it landed in a few spots around the old house before landing in our front room: 

This, like all of our dressers/credenzas, was a find on Craigslist. By the way, you don't have to keep these in the bedrooms. ;) 

Because of the shape of the foyer and the dresser (rectangles), I added a round mirror above (I had it in our old foyer) to break things up a bit. I went simple with the decor on the top: 

I've never had a candle in the entry before and I'm not sure why. It's so cozy!

On the opposite wall I hung three black frames that used to be in our family room:

Don't be afraid to hang a set up and down. Use the whole wall -- it's allowed, I promise. :)

The back wall is a little nook that goes to other spaces and I hung my round hanging pendant sconce. I love that thing and have a fake candle with a timer inside. I wanted something simple on that wall because of the three frames so close by. 

I picked a light similar to these bronze flush mounts that I hung in our old house. It's a classic, simple look and doesn't hang too low: 

And here's the view of those frames from the other direction: 

I love this space -- my favorite time of day in here is evening. I love turning on the lamps -- it just feels so welcoming: 

I feel so spoiled having an entry like this. It's one of my favorite parts of the house! Someday I'll add something to that long wall, no idea what just yet. And I plan to add crown for sure. For now I'm enjoying another "finished" space:

Yay! Another room unpacked and put together. It feels so good!! I hope you enjoyed the tour. 😁 If 
you missed the other finished spaces I've shared so far you can check out the powder room here and the mud room/laundry combo as well. 

Here are some projects from this space that you might find helpful:



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Comments

  1. I am really enjoying watching you share your new Home with us! We moved over the summer, and while our spaces seem very diffeeent, I sill get so much inspiration from you! Also, I’m local so I love when you share where you purchased your finds so I can scout them out too!

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  2. I love the lanterns. Are those a winter addition or will they be year round?

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  3. I love your foyer! The dresser is perfect .... again!

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  4. Love this so much. Loving seeing the new house!

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  5. It’s lovely! We also just moved into a new build. Thank you for sharing your ideas! I noticed you have glass in the door - we do also. We want to find a way to provide privacy but not stop the light coming in. Ideas for that? Thank you!

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    1. I solved this at our last house with contact paper! It works great. :) http://www.thriftydecorchick.com/2013/01/a-private-window.html

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  6. Is your ceiling in the foyer angled? Ours is & I cannot find a flush mount light fixture I love but I love yours!

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  7. I just love your place! And the dresser is great!

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  8. I'm loving your new place just like I loved your old place. Have always loved your beautiful dresser. Wish I had the space for something similar in my entryway.

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  9. You're right! it is SO welcoming! I love the plant. Adds a nice touch!

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  10. Looks gorgeous! I'd love to have a fiddle leaf like that but I am worried my 2 cats will use the planter and dirt as a kitty litter box :-( . I guess your kitty is good. My female probably wouldn't but the boy very likely would. sigh.

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    1. They have nice looking artificial ones now. Young House Love Has blogged about them.

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    2. We have a cat that used to do that occasionally -- I put rocks on the soil (from the dollar store) and they don't like the feel of them. You could try that!

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  11. That looks awesome Sara! Nice to come home to.

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  12. I love it with all the lights on at night too! So. cozy. We are moving from and entry-less ranch to a reno with a small entryway and Im really looking forward to it! The entry has 8' ceilings and is pretty small without feeling cramped, then you go through the doorway into an open concept space with vaulted ceilings and there is this wonderful "Ahhh!" moment of expansion moving into that space and light from the close quarters of the entrance. I read that Frank Lloyd Wright would often employ just that trick in his house designs, so yay whoever designed my house ;-)

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  13. I love the new house and the foyer is lovely. I'm curious about the interior door color you used. I noticed a few posts back that you talked about things you did again in your new house. Your last house had black doors, but in your new one I just see white. I love the look of dark doors. Did they hold up well in your last house?

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    1. I absolutely love black doors but skipped them here because I didn't want to pay the extra for the builder to spray them when I can do it later. But I also wanted to live in the house first and so far I don't miss them. We'll see if I do it eventually! (And yes they held up great!)

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  14. Ahhhhh looking good, Sarah - you are so lucky to have a proper entry, my house is totally lacking that!!

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  15. It looks beautiful and definitely very cozy. One idea... if you paint the vent above the 3 pictures the same as the wall color, it would blend in so much more and help the photos be what stands out!

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    1. It's glossy so regular latex paint isn't going to adhere. If I find a spray paint that matches I may try it someday!

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    2. I've had good luck using spray paint primer and then painting with regular latex -in case it ever starts bugging you ;-)

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    3. You could also get your wall color in a small size of oil based or whatever is on the vent. I've made all our vents match our walls and I love it so much more than having them white.

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  16. Your entryway is beautiful! I'm currently trying to style my entryway and appreciate these photos. It gives me several ideas.
    QUESTION: What size are your black frames with the photos and where did you get them? They look large and I'm trying to find large square frames and haven't had much luck.

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    1. I think they're around 11x14 and I got them at HomeGoods!

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  17. I love your new house and I’m so happy for you. Where did you get those spindle chairs you have in the second picture with your blue chest?

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  18. Beautiful! This is the inspiration photo for our new place :) One question—what paint color is that??

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  19. I love this paint color! What is it?!

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  20. Hello! I see in the comment above you used Agreeable gray for the wall color on your foyer, I was wondering what color white you used for the trim and doors, and also the color of your front door? Also what is the flooring you used? I love this foyer so much! We are finally redoing our older home after 6 years, and love what you have done here!! I am ready to begin! THANK YOU!!

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    1. Thank you! The trim is Pure White by SW and the door is a dark walnut stain. Our floors are engineered hardwoods from Diamond Living, but they were discontinued unfortunately.

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If you have a specific question I will do my best to answer you back here!

You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!