HOW TO KEEP A COMPANY READY FOYER
When your doorbell rings are you excited to answer the door or are you frantically running around clearing a path to get to the door? No matter what time or day our foyers should be company ready! And really, once you have it in tip-top order it is easy to keep it that way. Let’s get busy and create a foyer ready for company in just a few simple steps…
Let’s work on our foyer!
FANCY UP YOUR FRONT DOOR
I love having a seasonal wreath on my front door. It’s like having a welcome ready for anyone how shows up there. Make a wreath or buy one or dust off one you already have and hang it on the front door. A welcoming front door is the first step in a company ready foyer!
Also, have the outside area around the door swept and the doormat in good condition! And does your doorbell ring? We went two years with a broken doorbell and a note taped over it saying “sorry, broken doorbell, knock loud”. Not good form… but real life, right? Now we have a Ring doorbell and LOVE it! You can see what we have HERE.
ELIMINATE CLUTTER
Your foyer is not a landing place. Keeping clutter at a minimum will have this area of your home be one of the easiest rooms to maintain. Just a quick dusting and vacuuming and it should be good to go.
Talk over with your no clutter policy with your family. No clutter from no one!
I have a very ample foyer that sits between my living room and dining room and is the path to the stair. So keeping it clutter free is so important!
I also keep all paths to other room and the stairs free of extra furniture!
ROOM IN THE COAT CLOSET
If you have a coat closet, make sure there is room for people to hang their coats. This is the one closet that your guests will see and use, so make sure you don’t cringe when it is opened. Have a few nice hangers for them to use, as well.
This closet is not for stashing junk! Keep it junk free!
Try adding hooks in the foyer for people to hang their coats or leave their purses and other items on.
Besides the vertical hooks I have a boot tray by my front door to collect the shoes of guest and family that opt to go shoeless.
DOORMAT
Many of us have a doormat on the outside of our front doors and they do keep a lot of dirt and shoe debris from being tracked into our homes. But how about putting a rug or mat right on the inside of our front door.
Choose something pretty and stylish that adds to your home and can be a second surface for catching any remaining “gunk” on shoes. And make sure you can wash it!
I switch up what I have right inside my door. For summer I’m using this pretty oilcloth that I found at a local store.
HORIZONTAL
It’s nice to have some sort of table in a foyer. Somewhere your guests can leave their keys. You can even use a long shelf or a bench.
A lamp on a table gives a foyer some nice ambiance. We have ours on a dimmer. Oh, I love dimmers! You can see my favorites HERE.
MIRROR
Most of us appreciate a mirror in the entryway of a home. It gives us a chance to check and make sure everything about us is in place and ready to meet a guest!
I keep a tube of my favorite red lipstick in the left foyer buffet drawer to quickly put lipstick on before I open the door to guests.
FRESH FLOWERS
This is not a must have, but I do love welcoming my guest with an arrangement of fresh flowers. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just a bouquet from the garden or tulips from the grocery store or a bunch of aromatic herbs will do the trick! You could also opt for a potted plant if you have a green thumb. And you can always fall back on realistic faux!
The other day I asked Bobby to pick flowers from the cutting garden (yes, he IS amazing) and he brought in these beauties! Bless his darling heart he thought the bolted dill were flowers. But doesn’t their spiky/fluffy heads look so pretty?
A PLACE TO SIT
If you can, put a small chair or bench or someplace to sit in your foyer. It’s a nice thing for your guests.
One of the extra dining room chairs fit perfectly by the foyer buffet. I actually used it to put on my shoes and then took them off again for this photo shoot!
If you can keep one room absolutely company ready your foyer should be it. Good news, right?
GET THE LOOK…
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Are you inspired? Okay, get going and create a company ready foyer! Do you have tips to help us with our foyers? Please share…
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Great tips for a welcoming foyer!
Your foyer is dreamy to me, spacious, airy, beautifully decorated. Mine, however is dark and narrow. There is structurally no way to enlarge it, without losing precious coat closet space. My decor is minimal, including a narrow oak table with seasonal items and a boxwood wreath on the wall above, that changes with the seasons. Guests must squeeze to take off shoes or boots in winter. The hallway opens into a living area with a wall of windows and fireplace overlooking a small lake, which somehow compensates for the tight entry. Difficult to make the entry a taste of what is to come, but I try.
My foyer is not as large as yours but I have found a17 inch deep cabinet with 2 drawers and two shelves .Doesn’t take up much space but gives me a place for my candles,pillow covers in the drawers and some unused seasonal decor items on the shelves. Also gives guests a place to leave keys ect.Not big enough for a lamp but do have a large battery operated candle for lightibg. Above this I have an antique 3 shelf piece that can be decorated for the season. Right now for summer it has a North Carolina made blue pottery collection. We are fortunate to have a coat closet but I need to make some room for company coats . Love the idea of a shoe tray.
Beautiful foyer,so light and airy.My front door opens into a big room so there is no foyer.I try to give it some separation with a piece of furniture similar to yours.I would love to build a pony wall for some division, but that hasn’t happened yet ! Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Doreen, one idea is a folding screen. There are a lot of beautiful, folding screens available, that would give the impression of a separate foyer.
You are SO right about keeping a foyer company ready! I have always read that the foyer sets the stage for a home and introduces who we are to our guests. I like mine to be somewhat dramatic, but warm and welcoming, too. Your tips provided ways to do just that. BTW, I love, love, love the black and white shoes!!!
I always get inspiration by checking out your foyer!! Did I spot painted books as risers for your flowers? They turned out great! I never thought to stash lipstick by the door!! How smart!! I have to do that. I’d taken down some hooks I had and gave them to charity before realizing that I really did use them. But I purchased three heavy duty hooks and hubby used a sud and two anchors so that guests truly can put a purse on the hook as well as a coat on another. Even in my small home I’ve carved out an entry and I like having that place for a welcoming area to our home.
I like how you have a fun rug. I have always kept rugs both inside and outside the door. It seems to help keep out excess debris. I think your entry rug is fun!
Have a nice day.
PS. I really like the flower arrangement!!! Thank your Bobby I like the doll too. I think it adds a lot to your bouquet too!!
Hi, Yvonne: I love your foyer so much, especially the black accents! My door opens to a small opening that has room to accomodate a small square plant stand type table, which I have a lamp and seasonal arrangements on, and then into the hallway to the living room. To the left are the french doors which open to my dining room. The staircase is in the middle. I have wanted to put a small chair there somewhere, but it would go against your rule of keeping all entryways clear. If I did put a chair there, it would have to be placed in front of the closed french doors. However, most guests are not here for dining (only on holidays). I could remove the chair on those occasions. What do you think? Thanks for your comments.
Blessings,
❤Beth
Yvonne- where did you get that wall coat hanger? It’s so unique and I’d love to have one for those days when there’s no need to hang a fast visitor’s coat – a place like that is perfect.
Please advise, thank you.
I found the vertical wall hanger at Pottery Barn a few years ago but they have not carried it in about as year. Sorry!
Love those cute ‘little’ shoes in front of the chair! 😉 Thanks for sharing that you ALSO have times of procrastination. Doorbells can often be neglected… I, for one, am relieved to hear that some things get neglected at StoneGable, too! 😉 Hugs!
Your story reminds me of a doormat I saw in a home goods store. ” Doorbell busted, yell ding dong”. We had a broken doorbell for a year, welcome to the club. I love how you actually show us how to decorate. Personally , I think you are the Queen of the bloggers. Love your home!!!! Everything is gorgeous and homey at the same time.
LOL! Suzanne what a funny doormat! Thanks for the lovely compliment!
Hello! May I ask where I can buy the foyer table you have in the article about keeping your foyer clean and decluttered and you even put a Chair in the corner by the stairs!
Thank you so much!
Debbie
This console is so so old. When we moved from StoneGable to Tanglewood we gave it to our Son and Daughter-In-Law. It is no longer in stock. So sorry.