How to Decorate the Foyer for an Inviting First Impression
The foyer is the very first room guests see when they arrive. Whether you're receiving visitors and whisking them away to the sophisticated soirée in your backyard or formally welcoming them into your home for an intimate dinner party, it's important that the first space they see is inviting. With a few simple additions and upgrades, you can elevate your foyer by finding furniture and décor that reflect your personal style and space.
What is a Foyer?
The foyer, also known as the entryway, is the space you step into when entering a home through the front door. It can be as simple as a landing with a coat rack and key hook in a smaller space, like an apartment, or a grand, separate room in a house that's dressed to impress.
The 3 Reasons We Decorate the Foyer
In our family, we know the secret to hosting is that every little detail adds up to the big picture of any event — and that includes our foyer:
1. Designing a Beautiful Foyer Sets the Tone for Your Gathering
Since your entryway is likely the first area of your home that guests see when they visit, it needs to be welcoming and decorated in a way that fits your unique style and taste. Because of the sheer number of gatherings we host, we like to ensure our foyers are beautifully decorated to welcome our loved ones in {usually with a glass of wine}. Taking the time to ready your foyer shows your guests, right off the bat, how much you appreciate them coming over.
2. Decorating the Foyer Shows Off Your Home Décor Style
Switching out your foyer décor can help convey your sense of style. Whether you prefer a sleek, minimalist aesthetic or love to use maximalist colors and patterns, understanding that your foyer is the perfect starting point for showcasing your décor personality is a must. Every detail matters, from the furniture to the candlestick holders and beyond.
3. Optimize Space and Direct Traffic Flow with an Organized Entryway
The foyer is a pathway into the rest of your home, so every item in it must have its purpose. From a shoe and umbrella rack to keep the floor nice and tidy, to storage shelves and benches that offer many ways to increase the functionality of the space, the way you set up and decorate your foyer helps keep the entrance to your home organized and prevents clutter from traveling into the rest of the house with your guests.
When Should You Redecorate Your Foyer?
Since the foyer is your guest's first impression of your home, you should feel inspired to decorate and redecorate whenever you please. Doing so can change the entire look and feel of the room and set the tone for the gathering to come. We take the opportunity to spruce up our foyer décor whenever possible, at times like:
- Celebrating special occasions
- Switching up styles seasonally
- Hosting baby showers or bridal showers
- Redecorating for holidays
3 Tips for Creating a Functional and Stylish Foyer
Before you pull out your favorite decorative dinner plates and plate stands or hang your latest family photos, you'll need to create a beautiful and livable space. For a big impact, focus on:
- Color scheme
- Furniture
- Lighting
Tip 1: Pick a Color Scheme
The first step in designing any room in the house should always be setting a color palette. Colors are the best starting point for showing off your personal style, whether you prefer timeless whites and blacks or vibrant, almost-clashing colors. The hues you choose will influence every piece of décor, from the rugs to the trinket dish and more, so we recommend finding colors you love before choosing decorations.
In general, lighter colors, such as white, cream, or pastels, will make the area appear more open and spacious. Darker hues, such as navy blue, brown, or maroon, tend to give a more closed and cozier feel. There is no one right answer when it comes to choosing colors, but keeping this rule in mind is a helpful place to start.
Tip 2: Find Helpful Furniture
Once your color palette is chosen, it's time to select furniture. The items you choose depend entirely on the size and space of your foyer. Is there room for a thin entryway table to sit against the wall? Maybe just a key hook and coat rack in the corner? These pieces should be chosen early in the process so you know how much storage you will have for guests’ shoes and coats.
Consider Which Entryway Furniture is Best for Your Space:
- Console tables: for smaller foyer spaces, these thin console tables open up the floor space.
- Sideboard or chests: if you have a slightly larger room, a sideboard or chest offers great hidden storage.
- Standing coat rack: a classic coat rack fits best in a corner, making it perfect for tucking out of sight on either side of the door.
- Wall coat rack: this sturdy coat rack alternative can be installed directly onto the wall, offering more hooks to accommodate your guests’ belongings and keep items off the floor.
- Bench: many people place a bench in the foyer so guests have a place to sit as they put on their shoes. In fact, many benches have built-in shoe storage underneath.
Tip 3: Play with Lighting
Lamp lighting is one easy way to transform the space for nighttime gatherings and show off your style. Leave a small table lamp or wall sconces lit at night if you want a cozy and intimate feel. To make your space look grander, personalize the room with an eclectic hanging chandelier to illuminate the whole space.
When decorating, don't discount the importance of natural lighting. Whether you have a large skylight or small sidelights next to the front door, the sun can help brighten up the space during the day. If your foyer lacks natural light, increase it by strategically adding mirrors opposite of the primary window to amplify and bounce the rays around the room.
Pro tip: add a seasonally appropriate candle to add ambiance and enhance the visit with a multi-sensory experience {such as our favorite NEST New York candles}.
5 Ways to Decorate the Foyer with Our Favorite Products
After you have designed the base of your entryway, it's time to personalize the space with home décor you love. From hanging matching dish sets on the wall to carefully choosing a vase to match the season, every detail counts. Find inspiration with our five favorite ways to decorate a foyer:
- Gallery wall
- Trinket dishes
- Serving bowls
- Vase with fresh-cut flowers
- Ornaments
1. Curate a Gallery Wall
While there will always be a time and place for hanging one prominent painting on the wall, the foyer is your guest's first glimpse at your personal style—so why not show off all your favorite wall art at once? Wall art is a way to express yourself and hone in on the overall aesthetic of the room.
Between weddings, new babies, family reunions, and holiday cards, our family has plenty of photos we love. Our collection of picture frames offers a personal yet stylish way to show off our cherished memories in the foyer, whether we're using the timeless white ruffle round frame or the colorful Iris Blue pip rectangle frame. Browse through different patterns, shapes, and styles to find a picture frame that aligns with your desired look. When we want to refresh the space, we simply switch out which photos are on display.
Take a page out of our family's book by adding decorative plates to the gallery wall design. With a wide variety of dish set patterns, colors, and collections to choose from, hanging dinner plates and serving platters on the wall adds a three-dimensional layer that's uniquely you. If and when you need to use them for an event, you can easily take them down, give them a wash, and set the table for any gathering.
How to Hang Plates on the Wall with Plate Stands
The foyer is a perfect place to show off decorative plates so that your guests can see and admire them as soon as they enter your home. While we love using plate stands to prop dinner plates and serveware up on a table surface, they are also our go-to option for securing dinnerware onto the wall. Simply choose a spot on the wall, screw the plate stand in securely, and place your desired dish on the rubber hook.
Pro tip: Match plate-hanging hardware to other hardware in your home. For instance, if your dining room chandelier is brass, match your plate hangers' hardware for a cohesive look.
2. Use Trinket Dishes for Keys
To keep your entryway organized and clutter-free, we recommend setting down a trinket dish to catch all of your last-minute bits and bobs. Keys, wallet, garage door opener, you name it—a small bowl can help corral those important items you need before you leave the house. While it may seem like a small item, the trinket dish you choose can make all the difference in the design of your foyer.
Our Favorite Seasonal Trinket Dish Designs
For everyday use, we usually opt to set out a Signature White Skinny Ruffle Tray or a Fundamental Wood 9in Ruffle Bowl as a stylish catch-all. But, depending on the season and occasion, we like to switch it up. We offer lots of different trinket dishes and trays for you to choose from:
- Summer: our blue and white Oyster Trinket Bowl brings the ocean to your entryway, making your home feel like a summer getaway wherever you are.
- Spring: an orange tray or a lemon trinket bowl adds a pop of vibrant color to your table and welcomes in the spring weather.
- Autumn: our Feathered Turkey Platter on your entryway table reminds every guest to be thankful during the Thanksgiving season.
- Winter: ‘tis the season for some holiday cheer, and a Christmas in the Village Tray starts the festivities at the door.
3. Use Versatile Serving Bowls
Our assorted bowls are a beautiful and versatile option for adding a pop of style and dimension to your entryway. Pot a stunning plant in a deep serving bowl and bring nature inside.
Layer a few bowls from the same collection to add layers while matching styles. Use a bowl to store spare gloves and hats for grab-and-go dressing in the winter. Or simply use one as decoration—the options are endless.
4. Feature Fresh Flowers with a Vase
Adding flowers to your foyer is a simple yet effective way to decorate. Try setting out our Signature White Ruffle Vase with your favorite seasonal blooms to add natural colors and foliage into the space.
5. Ornaments for Year-Round Celebration
Our ornaments aren't just for seasonal fun—they can be set for guests to admire all year long. When we're welcoming a new baby into the family or hosting a pre-wedding event, we love to celebrate with a carefully chosen ornament in the foyer to set the tone for the coming event. Just place an ornament stand on the console table and hang the chosen bauble.
Switch Your Foyer Décor Each Season
Switching out your foyer décor doesn't have to be a hassle. Simply changing the arrangement of furniture or swapping out one decorative dish for another is all it takes. When you're in need of a seasonal refresh, try:
- Swapping out plants and flowers in your vase to match the season.
- Changing the trinket dish or bowl to a seasonally themed trinket dish or bowl
- Filling a bowl with extra ornaments during the holiday season.
Don't Forget to Keep the Foyer Clean
Before your guests arrive, it's important to spruce up the area before the doorbell rings,
especially if visitors are expected to remove their shoes when entering your home. Sweep the floor to clear the room of pet hair, dust, and any other crumbs. Then, dust off each surface of the entryway furniture to improve the overall look of the space. Finally, clear the coat rack and tidy up the shoes to make room for your guest's possessions.
It doesn't matter if you have a grand entrance or a few square feet: taking the time to decorate your foyer makes a world of difference in the look and feel of your home. Every detail can be curated just how you like it, from trinket dishes and plate stands to entryway tables and coat racks. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to invite your guests into a welcoming space that sets the tone for your gathering.
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