Fabulous Foyers

My niece and I communicate by Face Timing when she has become bored or she wants something! So on a recent Face Time session I noticed that her room was beyond disarray and looked alarmingly junky. I told her that it looked as if she had stood in the center of the room and thrown things at random. She informed me that she liked it that way and that “she” was one of those messy organized people. I replied by letting her know that the term messy and organized were opposing ideologies. “If you are truly organized your room will look organized,” I said but at this young age she is not convinced. In the world of decorating the home does reflect the homeowner’s style and taste so it is important to represent who you are from the foyer to the bedrooms. Let’s take a peek at some foyers that introduce their homeowners with aplomb, somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Iris Foyer
The first foyer is an Iris foyer and enters the home on an angle. I like to work with the angle by placing a 5×8 rug in the space and filling it! This rug is a fun and colorful rug which expresses the homeowner’s personalities. They wanted a colorful, bright and beachy feeling. We placed a thin table on the wall behind the door so that the table would not interfere with the door. This table offers closed storage and acts as a visual ground to the mirror above it. We placed a small lamp on the table and a shock of greenery that utilized the homeowners favorite color coral. We hung a large coastal picture on the wall just after the doorway to the guest bedrooms. I am always careful when hanging on this wall because it conceals a pocket door.

• Gardenia Foyer
This foyer tells us that the homeowner likes bold color and dramatic pop!
The foyer table is large and provided lots of storage. We hung a large and very colorful painting above the table and it makes a great entry statement. This look is best when accessories are kept to a minimum, so we placed a large orchid on the table and two candle holders. We hung a large starburst mirror across from the entry table to fill that wall but not compete with the bold painting.
Finally, the homeowner custom designed the black and white newspaper print rug in a boxy diagonal pattern that provides artistic whimsy but remains visually uncompetitive with its other foyer counterparts.

• Lantana Foyer
This Lantana Foyer has a coat closet and therefore a short foyer wall. We placed a small table at the entrance wall and hung a coordinating mirror above the table.
I like to have a lamp on the table in the foyer so that it can be placed on a timer. It is good to have the light on when no one is at home at night. We placed a ceramic pot by the lamp and finished the table with an orchid mounted in white rocks for an elegant touch. The homeowner had a rug that she liked and we used it since it coordinated well with everything else.

• Williamsburg Foyer
This homeowner likes a rich and traditional look. We added wainscoting to the foyer for a touch of rich traditional luxury. Since storage is always an issue no matter what the size of your house, we bought a long and tall sideboard to use in the space. This sideboard is about sixteen inches deep so it fit nicely. The side board was taller than the wainscoting so for a custom look we jogged the wainscoting up and around the sideboard. This technique creates a custom look in the space. We hung a large mirror above the sideboard to catch light coming through the windows of the foyer. We added a lamp on one side and made the space personal by adding a few family photos. We finished the sideboard with an arrangement of sticks and wild orchids. The opposite wall of the foyer needed art so we hung a large black and white drawing of Florida! A 5×8 rug in the foyer filled the space nicely.

P.S. –Attention, club presidents! I give free decorating programs! It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today or call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.