How to Style an Entryway to Impress
While first impressions aren’t everything, the threshold of your home is the gateway into your sanctuary, and your first and sometimes only chance to showcase your personal flair and sense of interior style.
The entryway is your view with each hello and goodbye, so it’s important to curate a scene that will bid you farewell and welcome you home in style, warmth, and with a sense of personal proclivity. It may seem easy enough, yet styling a foyer or front room often requires an artful and tactful approach to ensure that your entryway inspo aligns with your available space, desired functionality, and vision.
With these tips, staging a stylish salutation that gives visitors their first taste of your space won’t seem so daunting. Design an entryway to impress, from functional hall trees to credenzas, small-space friendly benches to accent cabinets, or statement sideboards to simple entry consoles. Make your front room your own personal work of art to leave a lasting impression.
Set the Stage
While accent pieces add defining character, wisely choosing the right base can either make or break your entryway display. Opt for a console that is proportional to the space, then choose your accent pieces to ensure that your credenza, bench, or table doesn’t look awkward or overwhelmed.
If you only have a tiny or difficult area to work with, choose a table or statement piece that creates the illusion of a larger space, and top it with minimal décor to maximize tabletop realty. If you’ve got a sprawling space, elect a larger piece to display alongside other accents, like a potted plant or standing lamp to make sure your entryway isn’t underwhelming amidst surrounding empty space.
Define with Depth
Create a grand entrance and add depth to the one-dimensional space with a large mirror hanging above or sitting atop your entryway console. Not only are they an effortless way to stylize your entryway, but they can also open up the room and make it appear larger.
Offer contrast to offset the sharp lines of your entryway console with the curved silhouette of a large, round mirror. Or ditch the entry console altogether and opt for a floor-length mirror to amplify the space and give yourself and guests one last chance for touch ups before heading out the door.
Heed the Rules of Height
Whether your approach to an entryway exhibit teeters on minimalism, or your mantra is “go big or go home,” creating balance between your décor by choosing items of varying height will add dimension and an artful elegance to your display. The art of asymmetry atop console or floor arrangements can lend an heir of class to any interior style, and it’s as simple as choosing two pieces that don’t correspond in height, or even shape.
Pick a tall vase, or set of asymmetrical frames as the focal point of your display. Then choose a shorter piece for the eye to naturally follow next, like a ceramic knot piled on top of a set of novels, or a potted pothos. Tabletop and floor lamps are a great option to add form and functionality to your entryway.
Play with Textures and Textiles
Incorporating a mix of textures and textiles is essential to creating a space that feels both warm and welcoming, as well as styled and put-together. There are endless ways to introduce texture or textiles to the scene, but the best approach is to take account of what you already have and play off of that, adding complementing or contrasting colors and feels.
A ceramic bowl, stoneware lamp, or seagrass-wrapped pitcher full of eucalyptus sprays can invoke a homey space while offering a subtle contrast to the piece they’re displayed on. If your entryway features a bench, make it more stylishly-approachable by adding 2 or 3 throw pillows with varying patterns.
Textures aren’t limited to what’s atop your entry console, either. Display a jute rug, woven runner, or whatever suits your interior style to bring some interesting textiles to the floor.
Embrace an Artful Approach
Adding elements of art is a great way to begin your entryway curation and convey a grand statement right at your front door. Reach for textured materials, like stone and clay with a piece of handmade pottery or an artisan vase to debut as the focal point of your entryway console. Stacks of books are also a stylish tactic to add height to your favorite three-dimensional décor, and they contribute an heir of well-rounded eclecticism to the scene.
However you choose to showcase your lifestyle and interests, an artistic approach will look best if you are intentional with each piece you place atop your console. Allow every element to add dimension, heightened style, or meaning to the entryway display.
Minimize Clutter
Although you’ve decided on a couple pieces to debut at your entryway table, bench, or hall tree, to create the most inviting space, you’ll almost always say more with less.
Start with everything you think you want to include atop your entry display, then one by one, begin taking unnecessary pieces off until you’ve stripped about 50% of its contents. You’ll essentially want to stick with three essentials: the focal point, a piece of contrasting height, and a piece that adds a personal touch or character. These can be anything, from what pillows you choose, to sculptural pieces, or what’s hanging on the wall.
While there is a fine line between artful curation and a cluttered entryway display, you can still embrace the look of effortless maximalism by implementing concepts of height, dimension, and sticking to your personal preferences for interior style. It doesn’t have to look picture-perfect; even carefully-curated chaos can invoke the lived-in appeal of a modern collector.
Feature Functionality
Your entryway doesn’t have to solely showcase elements of interior design to impress guests and give you a warm welcome home. Make it your own and incorporate form with function by providing a place to sit or store your essentials.
If function is your top priority, opt for a console that can double as a bar cart, linen storage, or an entertainment hub. Choose pieces that feature drawers and multiple tiers so you can discreetly house items in an unobtrusive spot. If comfort is key, craft an inviting spot to read, lace up your shoes, or socialize with a hall tree, set of chairs, or entry bench.
Although it can seem overwhelming to style the entryway of your dreams, incorporating some of these design tips will help you craft a cozy respite and an intriguing glimpse into your home.
What’s your ideal entryway? Tag @walkeredisonco on Instagram to show us how you stage your entry space!