Our Fresh and Welcoming Foyer Makeover
A few weeks (err…months) ago, I set out to turn our huge and very drab foyer into something that felt more welcoming…more fresh…more us. Our front door is obviously where we welcome friends and guests into our home, so I wanted it to be well presented and signal the style and design of the rest of the home. But we also use the front door as our main family entrance, so I wanted to find a way to add functional storage in a way that didn’t scream “drop zone.” Although I had a pretty good plan in place for this space, it still took me a little while to land on just the right balance of function and style. After some wrong turns and lucky finds, DIYs that took way too long, and some simple styling tricks, the foyer has come a loooong way. After moving into and decorating (and re-decorating) 6 homes, I now know better than to say “here’s the final foyer reveal!” So for now, I’ll just say, come on in and take a look at the long-overdue updates I’ve recently made to our foyer!
Just to recap, here is our foyer the day we got the keys to the house last summer. The size of the foyer itself is quite large; but add to it the double-height ceiling, and it feels darn right grand. Unfortunately, it also feels like a dark hole since there are no large windows anywhere near the foyer.
After playing musical furniture around the entire house, we ultimately determined our IKEA Kallax shelves (from our old playroom) were the best candidates to fill up the foyer. Although I originally preferred a more decorative console table, this turned out to be a great solution after all. Not only did the foyer perfectly accommodate these shelves, but the cubbies provided the storage we needed for shoes, backpacks and more. Embarrassingly, once we got the shelves in place and plopped down some random accessories, it sat like this for about 7 months:
*affilate links used
I was originally planning on working on other rooms in the house first. But I was beginning to feel embarrassed welcoming people into our home, so I moved the foyer to the top of my project list. The problem? Beyond adding some more light, color and texture to the space, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I had to start somewhere, so I picked some art I loved and then built a design plan around them. I then (very slowly) started to pull everything together, adjusting my plan and troubleshooting problems (like swapping out a few wrong art prints) as the space started to evolve. The foyer felt mostly done for the last few months; and then just in the last few weeks, some final pieces fell into place that helped the whole space finally feel more complete. Now instead of a barren foyer filled with random items that didn’t really belong, we have a functional, intentional, and stylish foyer to greet us as we walk in the door. Here is the view as you walk in the door now:
And as you step into the foyer, the whole display comes into view.
Although I would rather a crisper, cleaner color on the walls (how pretty would a crisp light blue look!?!), paint and wallpaper were both off the table this time around. The next best option was to fill the wall with bright white frames and colorful art that complimented the wall color. I am smitten with 6 of the 7 prints and love the bright and preppy pop they bring to the bland foyer. I am still not 100% sold on the top, middle print but until I find something better, at least it’s not an empty frame!
(By the way…this big wall remains pristine and hole free…all the frames are hung with Command Strips following the exact process I outlined here.)
GALLERY WALL: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
The blue lampshades were a last-minute, unintentional score from HomeGoods, and I couldn’t love them more. Henry and Greg had actually broke both of the white lampshades previously on these lamps while playing ball in the house (#boys), so I was just waiting to find two new matching shades at a good price. I assumed I’d buy white ones, but when I stumbled upon these huge linen navy shades for $15 each, I figured they were at least worth trying. The whim purchase paid off because the solid dose of navy added some much-needed texture and contrast to the whole space!
Finding the right baskets for the cubbies was a similar experiment. After dragging home (and even ordering and returning) half a dozen options, I snagged 3 of these blue and white woven baskets from Target just to see how they’d look. I thought they’d be too busy, but the texture and pattern turned out to be spot on when paired with the crisp white cubbies. I then ordered another 5 while they were on sale online.
Lesson from both the lamp shades and baskets? Trying things out in your actual space is almost always worth it if you can manage. Neither the shades nor the baskets were my first inclination for this space, but they are two of my favorite additions that made the biggest impact!
All the other accessories (brass boot, red toolbox, boxer bookends, storage boxes) were from my stash. It just required a lot of shuffling around and tempering with white books to make them all work just right.
It’s near impossible to get the entire foyer in a single shot. So if you stand in the center of the foyer and face this wall…
…and then turn around, you will be facing our State Art display and downstairs bathroom. The navy and gold details in the state prints connect to the lamps across the way, helping it all feel very cohesive. I also just wallpapered that powder room with something dramatic in the same color scheme and I can’t wait to show you!
This foyer sits pretty much in the center of our home. Although it’s not 100% “final,” it is so nice to have a pulled together entryway, especially since I walk through and past it about a 100 times a day. When we come down the stairs, this is the view that greets us…
And the view coming out of my office isn’t bad either!
This makeover is another great example that something is better than nothing. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I picked a direction and just started working it one element at at time until it all worked. I’m not sure each and every detail is juuuust right quite yet. I want to swap out that middle print and am still on the lookout for a rug that works (does anyone know if you’re supposed to use a runner or round circle in this kind of foyer?) and won’t get tripped over by kids. Nonetheless, having it orderly, styled, colorful and pulled together has tremendously helped me feel more at home here. Progress, friends. Progress!
I did not receive compensation for this blog post; however Minted did provide most of the art prints seen in this gallery wall. Please remember that I only work with brands and products I fully support and that make sense for my home, my family, and this blog. All opinions are 100% my own!
Megan
12 Comments on “Our Fresh and Welcoming Foyer Makeover”
I love what you did, especially with the brown walls. They don’t look so brown to me. The colors, the texture just looks so fabulous! It’s pretty and functional. Job well done!
Wow! The baskets, lamps, credenza…you nailed it!
You know what? I think it’s probably one of my favourite spaces yet (and i’ve been tagging along for YEARS). Absolutely adore the prints. All of them.
Maybe i would spray paint the feet of the cubbie units a brass/gold to match?
Don’t love the asian furniture with the two barrels there, though. And i’m cluelless about the shape of the rug, but go coral!
Looking foward to the powder room.
Love the navy accents! I just purchased some Kallax shelves (haven’t even received them yet) and now I want to get some of those baskets! It looks great! I also see that I will need to grap some feet for them…. looks way better!
It looks great! You’ve done a fantastic job! *applause*
Hi Megan,
Your doing a great job of putting yourself and family first and that is just as valuable a tip for others as any decorating/craft ones.
I think the foyer is lovely, I like you love colour but sometimes a background of less colour gives a louder voice to the colours.
To be honest a think your preference for a crisp light blue would detract from the impact of what you have now.
Remember also, that you were going to put to one side your prejudice to
certain colours. All colour is of God and has it’s own place and purpose.
Lucy ~ England
So glad I read your blog today. Can’t get over how much your foyer layout matches my son’s. I’ll be passing along your photos. Love Ikea kallax cubbies, and am considering one or two for a wall I have yet to construct in my sewing room.😆 That’s where I will also display my antique brass shoe that is exactly like yours. (Actually have two different brass shoes)..thrift store find…Gotta love it.😄
Hi Megan
Reading you on my phone on my holidays.
What a nice foyer and with so much space with these shelves and the baskets.
You did a great job and all the views on it are nice.
Michèle
It looks SOOOO lovely, I love how it brightens and makes the space feel more fun and inviting. It also screams you! I actually like the top print it adds a bit of balance to the other bold ones. I think if you have the space a circle rug would look AWESOME but if not I would stick with a runner.
I love this look, we don’t have an actual foyer, you walk straight in to our small living room. And we don’t wear shoes in the house so it is an old shoes bench from Ikea. Not very attractive. What do you store in the baskets? Do you keep shoes in there? Love the color scheme we are actually adding navy to our neutral palette.
Hey Andrea!
We have all sorts of things in those baskets. As you move from the front door into the house, we have: reusable grocery bags | extra purses and zipper pouches (for when I don’t want the diaper bag) | diaper changing supplies | shoes – kids | shoes – adults | kiddos school papers | hats | other outdoor stuff (shin guards, reflector running belts, etc).
Hope that helps!
Megan
I absolutely love the cabinets, absolutely love the Navy Shades , great choice!!! Also, the white frames you can spray paint them Navy or Black ! Since your wall is either cream or white the painted frames would absolutely Pop.. the snake plant I would put on one of those stools blue or green ! You did an amazing job !!!