The Warm Up

The foyer is the first thing people see when they enter your home. Conversely, the foyer is the last thing that people see when leaving your home so we want visitors to receive a great impression both coming and going. Today the word foyer means the entry way to a home, but it comes to us from the French and it was a place for actors to wait when they were not on stage. They would warm up in the foyer or get focused for the task at hand. So then foyers are the warm up of the home. They are the introduction to what waits within and as we move through the home the play unfolds. In the world of decorating, the entrance of a home should excite you so that you want to see what lies beyond. Let’s take a look at the foyer of a Begonia model that promises good things to come somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• Focal wall
The Begonia model foyer is long and has one really big wall! This wall is the natural focal wall of the foyer because it is the largest wall. This wall is also a great opportunity to place a large buffet for extra storage. I encourage homeowners to purchase closed storage buffets so that the space can look clean and uncluttered. The buffet can be long and fill the wall of the foyer as long as it is not too deep.

• Buffet
The homeowners chose a buffet that has four doors and provides lots of storage. The buffet is a bit exotic with hand carved doors. It has a curated look as if they picked it up in their travels or it was passed down to them. The finish looks a bit distressed to enhance the aged look and it would be hard to damage the finish because the distress finish is so forgiving. This piece will hold up to keys being deposited on top by visitors and a scratch could only enhance the well-worn look.

• Large mirror or art
Once the buffet is in place it needs something above it. The homeowners chose a large mirror with a thick chunky frame that we hung vertically! This draws the eye upward working with the verticality of the space and makes the foyer look larger and more visually impressive. Tip: You cannot have a mirror that is too big. A mirror does nothing more than reflect light so it cannot reflect too much light. I encourage clients to buy big mirrors always.

• The small wall of the Begonia foyer
In this Begonia foyer we hung a large canvas of multi colored abstract horses.
The large canvas is reflected in the mirror and creates a two for one visual. The abstract canvas in the space uses a myriad of colors and from the myriad of colors the homeowner decided to highlight hot pink. If you remember from last week, there was a big arrangement of hot pink Phalaenopsis orchids in the center of the dining room table.

• Accessories
The buffet would need substantial accessories since the mirror was so tall and the canvas was large. The homeowner took the opportunity to fill an antique crock with willow sticks and pinecones. The willow is tall and textural and the pine cones add a touch of woodsy whimsy to buffet. Three pictures of the grandkids nestled in by the antique crock greet all those who pass through the foyer. A tall glazed and dripped blue lamp that is 33 inches tall stands high on the foyer again working with the line of the mirror and drawing the eye upward. Finally, a bursting pop of hot pink Phalaenopsis orchids fills the space between the lamp and a book stack with an old camera resting and on display. The hot pop of pink pulls color from the canvas and the foyer rug as well.

• Rug
I do like a rug in the foyer because it looks great and it is very practical to have one. In Florida, there will be many rainy afternoons and should a visitor stop by it is nice to have something to wipe their feet. The homeowner chose a rug that is pretty and practical! The foyer rug is a little less than 5×8 feet. The original 5×8 foot was just a hint too big for the entry way but the homeowners loved the rug so much they had it cut down and rebound to fit the space. The pops of pink look pulled together and offer the promise of more to come within the home.

• Molding
The doorway looks spectacular with molding around the top arch. The original trim molding around the door was removed and replaced with larger molding. The top of the door is connected visually to the arch with a crown molding ledge.

• Flat head extension cords and door stops
In an entryway that has the door opening toward a chest or table, we place a door stop on the hinge and that keeps the door from banging into the chest. In the Begonia or Gardenia there is no chance of the door hitting a table but if you have an Iris or sometimes a Lantana consider a door stop. Also, I like to have a three foot flathead extension cord plugged into the wall behind the buffet and the lamp plugged into the cord. The flathead of the extension cord will allow us to push the buffet as flat to wall as we can get it, without worrying about breaking the cord.

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