About Foyers
Your foyer can be a little piece of decorating heaven. Why not be artistic and original? You won't be making a lifetime commitment to a style of decor, you'll just be having a decorating moment, a mere pause in the path through your home.Take a decorating risk, and give in to that daring streak you know you have. Do it with sweeping drama, cool elegance or warm, welcoming rusticity. Does this Spark an idea?
Effects
Bring a touch of Tuscany to your foyer with an Italian wall mural. Use stone tile on the floor, iron sconces on the wall, an old bench by the doorway. Trompe l'oeil (fool the eye) murals are dramatic and realistic in the foyer. You can actually create the illusion of stepping onto a veranda overlooking a valley, or a crowded street in France or a lush garden. If you use a mural in your foyer, you may want to play down furniture and accessories to maximize impact upon entering your home.
Features
Feature wild wallpaper in the foyer. That exotic jungle-themed wall covering that would drive you crazy in the living room can be wonderful when contained in the foyer. Complete the look with animal prints like cheetah, zebra and leopard on picture mats, on a cloth or tasseled runner on a round table, or an old piece of furniture painted with a mix of prints. Anything related to the jungle or wild animals will become a conversation piece in the foyer.
Considerations
Consider intense saturated color in the foyer. Maybe rich purple, riotous red, bright coral or lime green would be way too much in a big room, but it makes the foyer come alive. Use a vibrant color, then hand paint wide vertical stripes in a contrasting color. It's certainly not traditional, but when you use a clever juxtaposition such as a very traditional hall table with a warm wood finish, and add two matching brass lamps spilling pools of light, you have created decorating magic.
Misconceptions
Don't make the mistake of thinking because the foyer is small and dark, it should be painted all white. You'll only create a greyish looking visual tunnel that draws the eye to the end, with nothing to attract it along the way. Instead use points of interest, and make this sliver of space a delight to the eye. Yes, the foyer may in fact be too dark. And it will still be dark even with light paint. So, emphasize the darkness, play it up. Use rich chocolate brown paint with white baseboard trim, a white hall table with a glowing lamp and a handsome mirror.
Benefits
You thought that mismatched but interesting piece of furniture was a detriment. Make it a positive, by giving it a showcase in the foyer. You know Aunt Mabel's yellow table with the ornate legs and the marble top? Place it in the foyer under a piece of simple, tailored art with candlesticks. It stuck out like a sore thumb in the living room, but in the foyer it holds its own. No Aunt Mabel table? Find a quirky decorating treasure like a tall-backed bishop's chair, or a clunky bench, and design the foyer around it.
Function
You can make your foyer functional and still keep it decorative. A handsome combination hall tree and bench provides storage, hanging space and a place to sit to take boots off. The furniture becomes the focal point of the foyer, and is particularly effective in a foyer with one side opening to another room. The piece would be too massive in a narrow, enclosed foyer.
Warning
Foyer furniture is almost certain to become a catch-all unless you're vigilant. Hats can't go on the table, mail can't land on the bench, and school books can't wind up on the floor or soon your dramatic entry will become a mud room. That's not the first thing you want to see when you come home or have guests visiting.
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