Interior Design
Why Should You Have a Foyer in Your Home?
It seems like foyers are disappearing from the floor plans of newer homes. We know people think they want to use that square footage elsewhere, but we feel strongly that you should have a foyer in your house, even a tiny one. Here’s a little about why, from each of our designers on our interiors team.
May 7, 2019
What happened to the foyer? These small roomless rooms have been nixed from floor plans, yet we here at Board & Vellum feel strongly about the necessity of a foyer. Find out what our team has to say about the benefits of a foyer space, below.
A Place for Transitions from Work to Home
Our homes should be soft landings, places that welcome us with soothing surroundings. Nothing makes an impact on our ability to relax when we return home like our front entrance. There used to be an entire space dedicated to the act of leaving and arriving, called the foyer, but they’ve largely become extinct, but why? Those few moments after the door closes are key. Are we dripping wet from the rain? Carrying groceries? Helping kids kick off their shoes? Even more importantly, our foyers are where we make that all-important psychological switch between being a logical rational person from the office, to an emotional, energetic family member at the end of the workday. The foyer space should help ease that transition.
Even something as simple as some fun, creative tile on the floor, and a small shelf to drop our keys could make a huge difference, but that’s just the beginning. It’s important to remember that this space is also the first introduction to your home a guest might experience, and a first impression is just as important at home as it is out in the world. Is there a clever way to highlight your personality, a piece of art that’s meaningful, an accent wall with a color you love? It doesn’t take a lot, to make that first moment at home a memorable one.
A Place to Greet Your Guests (and You!)
A good entry foyer is like the cover to a book. It’s the first point of one’s experience when coming into a home. It should emanate a warm welcoming feeling, but at the same time be as functional as possible. With some attractive, yet functional, pieces you can create a highly functional foyer: a console table to set your keys and mail down when you come in, a bench to sit on when tying those shoelaces, and a mirror so you can have a last glance when walking out the door. You could add final touches by updating the lighting and laying down a cute area rug to give it just the right amount of pizzazz! And that to me makes the perfect entry foyer!
Entries are a great little space to jazz up, just like a powder room. This is the first space in your home that you’re welcoming your guests into and likely one of the first spaces you’re entering, so it could use some glamour and cozy vibes! One thing we love in an entry to make it feel welcoming is a statement rug. If you have an entry foyer that is defined, a rug is a great way to accessorize it and possibly add some color without being permanent. On the other hand, if you do have an open floor plan and your entry isn’t really defined, introducing a more subdued rug could help define your entry area and it won’t clash with furnishings or upholstery in the adjacent spaces.
A Place for Helpful Storage
Storage, storage, storage! After living in a handful of homes where we walked directly from the outside into a room, with nowhere to hang our coats or put our shoes, we became firm believers in incorporating storage somehow into an entry. Whether it is working a small closet into the entry layout, a built-in wardrobe and shoe rack, or even just a hook on the wall and a chair to keep your shoes under — anything helps! Not only does it give you a place to land and remove your wet soggy coat and dirty shoes at your point of entry without tracking it through your home, it also gives your guests a feeling of welcome and comfort in your home. What says, “Welcome to my home and make yourself comfortable,” to you less than arriving at someone’s home and not knowing where to put your shoes and jacket? So you stand there awkwardly in the entry waiting, and ultimately have your belongings thrown in a corner on the floor with the other shoes you tripped over on your way in? It can be a simple fix!
A Place for Pause
Foyers may seem like an optional space, but these are so important for the overall experience of a home. From a Feng Shui perspective, when transitioning from the outer world to our homes, we tend to give off different energies. The side we show society is often different than the side we cultivate in our homes. We tend to have more of a Yang or outward energy when we go out into society, whereas at home, we are more Yin and contained. It’s a space to relax and restore. An entry space creates an opportunity for these energies to transition, helping us pause when we arrive in our homes.
