In the series, “We love...”

Making an entrance!

The entrance hall is one of my favourite “impact” rooms to design. It's the first “inside impression” your visitors have of your home, and should be used to “set the scene” for what's to come: the rest of your home!

There are two ways to treat your entrance space: by making it stand out as a statement in it's own right, or by letting it flow in the same decorative style of the neighbouring room. Both work, it just depends how you like to welcome your guests: with trumpets, or violins, with hard rock, or soft soul...

Lets look at compact spaces today: how do we make them functional, and still look great, when you're short on space?

Depending on the home, sometimes we can "steal" some floor space from a neighbouring room,  freeing the actual entrance area. But if we are forced to work with the space we have, we have make sure it's functional...

Rule no 1: Make it washable! whatever your decorative scheme. It's a high traffic area and gets “tough love” with boots, umbrellas and all the accessories of winter. And the smaller the space, the harder it has to work!

Rule no 2: Make it gorgeous! When you're working with a compact space, you have one big advantage: you can make the most of more expensive treatments for your surfaces, without breaking the bank.

Rule no 3: Choose a colour scheme...and go for it.

Neutrals keep the space calm, but will need washing down/re-decorating more regularly to keep it looking elegant. This look is great when you couple it with wicker baskets, and natural wooden shelving. (Think country house boot room and you can't go far wrong)

But if you're more “rock” than “soul”, then pick a pattern, or a colour that pops! Have some fun and co-ordinate, or contrast your storage to suit your desired effect.  Take a look at wallpapers as well as strong paint colours: or both, and keep wood covered. Glossy finishes work really well on woodwork when the scheme is “loud”.

Logic would tell us to always include a colour from the neighbouring room to help the visual “flow” of the spaces, but you know what, the entrance hall is one of those places where, even if you throw out the rule book with the logic, it can still work! But, if you're designing to sell, “err on the side of caution” if you're doing your own designing, and keep your decorative schemes similar. Because as any composer will tell you, making unrelated notes sound “easy on the ear” is a learned art...

But whatever your style, make sure that you have a place planned for everything. That way you wont be battling your ways past excess “things” as you open the door. Even the smallest entrance hall can be kitted out cleverly... Take a leaf out of our Tip-sharing week's “hints and tips” and look up! Simple, open shelves, fixed over your door frames can hold decorative boxes and baskets that separate hats from gloves, and scarves from the “mongrel mix of bits and pieces” that always seems to find it's way into the bottom of our cupboards. Add a strong, solid shelf at bench height, tuck a non-slip step underneath (if it's got built-in storage, all the better!) and your entrance will stay clutter, and stress free.

For smaller hands, fix some hooks at a more reachable height to encourage tidiness, and slip another basket under the bench (next to the step) for everyday gloves and scarves. Adding wheels to floor crates and baskets, makes them easier to push-in and pull-out, and leaves a healthy gap to let the air circulate.

Last but not least, add mirror for hat and hair adjustments before you brave the world, because it's not only your entrance that should be making a great impression!

PS. Check back in tomorrow, for tips on making the best out of bigger entrances.