Welcome guests to your home
While not every home or apartment has the luxury of an entrance hall, you still want guests to feel welcome when entering your home. All it takes is a few personal touches here and there to spice up and make guests feel welcome.
The first and most obvious place to make guests feel welcome is at the front door. If your home doesn't have an entrance hall, this is where you can make a difference. This image, taken from the Internet, not only says welcome it also reflects the personality of the homeowner. It says fresh and inviting with its pink door, and the silvery grey cactii pick up and enhance the lightness of the setting.
Dressing up an entrance and making it feel welcoming is easily done with a couple of large planters and a selection of container plants. Plastic pots are fairly inexpensive and can be made to look like vintage copper and aged bronze with a coat or two of Rust-Oleum Universal Metallics. Rust-Oleum Universal spray paint sticks to plastic, but do make sure that the pots are clean and dry before you spray.
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Mirrors, small or large, can do so much to enhance and visually enlarge a small entrance. You don't necessarily have to fork out for a mirror that costs a month's salary - look for mirrors that will work well in the space where they will be placed. In keeping with the principles of Feng Shui, a mirror should never be placed facing the door. Chi or energy enters through the door into a home and a mirror is thought to push good energy away.
In the August '12 issue of Easy DIY magazine you will find step-by-step instructions on how to make a large picture frame, either to frame art or as a mirror frame. What's nice about this frame is that you can make a large frame for very little cost, which means you have more money left over to buy a large cut mirror.
Obviously, it stands to reason that the smaller the space you have to work with, the less you can do. But that's not quite true. Even small details can make a big impact - no matter what size the space.
One element that you see in most entrance halls is a console table. The idea of having a console table in an entrance allows you a place to create a vignette, or build up a feature. A slim console table allows you to be creative - without taking up too much space.
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As the first impression when people arrive, your entrance is the first room they see and it makes sense that this is one room you need to get right. Your entrance hall should be warm and inviting, well lit and clutter free.
Having just replaced my solid wood front door with one that has glass panels, I cannot emphasis enough on the importance of light in a small entrance hall. What was previously a dark space is now light and bright. You can see a pic of what the entrance looked like when I made my fractal mirror - and that was taken with the front door open! Now I have added a bold red to compliment my collection of African masks - taken with the front door closed.
BELOW: This entrance hall that has plenty of natural light streaming through windows and the panelled door and, combined with white painted trim, neutrals walls, white furniture and light flooring, this small space appears larger than it actually is.
bearhillinteriors.com
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A coloured wall, work of art, or even wallpaper, are just a few of the ways to add interest to an entrance hall. You will find a gorgeous selection of Fired Earth wallpapers at your local Builders Warehouse. Priced from around R99 per roll, these wallpapers have a vinyl finish, which makes them ideal for an entrance.
The design of an entrance should blend with the style of your home. Don't try to over-complicate things by trying to decorate the entrance in an extravagant or classical style if you home is a country cottage or urban townhouse. Keep it personal or styled to fit in with your home.
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