Tips for Creating A Formal Entry

When a guest enters your home, they generally enter through the front door and land squarely in your foyer. So this is where they develop their first impression of you. You want to make your entryway as welcoming as possible, and it should be clean and clutter free. Having a formal entryway to your home can give it curb appeal from the outside and make it feel more substantial from the inside. As you arrive at your home, everything from the curb to your foyer should be inviting. So think about your walkway, landscaping, your garden ornaments, your front stairs, your front porch, your front door and, finally your foyer and the large iron wall decor or musical wall decor you display on the walls. While your foyer should blend with the style of your home, your entire entryway should welcome a guest into the foyer.

Begin at the Curb
When you turn your attention to the outside, it is important to keep your yard and walkways in good repair. Aside from the basics of sweeping, trimming and grooming, you may also want to add some ornamental plantings to your front yard to give your entryway a little more personality and color. Add low shrubs along walkways and a flower garden in front of the porch. Add a statue or a fountain by in the area by the front door to give a courtyard feeling to your front porch. If your porch is large enough add a seating area off to the side of the front door, and keep the area neat. Add a few bold pops of color to the porch with potted flowers. Use a bright colored throw rug to anchor your seating arrangement. Make sure that your porch is freshly painted and that there is not chipping of peeling paint. Assess your front door, and make sure that it is in good shape and consider repainting it in a rich shade or burgundy, black or a deep wood tone. Update any old light fixtures and replace old doorknobs and doorknockers with new ones.

Blending the Outside with the Inside
Now that you have greeted your guest successfully up to the front door, you want to make a great impression when you open your front door. Make a statement by adding a stunning, crystal chandelier to your foyer to give it a formal aesthetic. If you do not have a fountain outside, you may want to include one in your foyer. Add a mirror to your foyer to continue a formal feeling in the entryway. If you have a lot of wall space in your foyer, you can also hang a picture, painting or group of paintings. To continue a formal look choose dark wood furniture and place a table under your mirror, or you may prefer to use a small dresser with elegantly carved detailing. Add a huge flower arrangement in a cut crystal vase so that it relates to the chandelier and brings the crystal element down into the room as well. By maintaining your entryway and dressing it in formal elegance, you will be extending the warmest to anyone whom you invite to your home.