Ask Chantelle
Your Entryway is your
Home's First Impression
Dear Chantelle,
I have a beautiful front door and great sized entryway. I would like this area to be an accommodating welcome for our friends and family when they come over. It is boring, but functional, and does not have personality or colour! I want it to be inviting, warm, (fun?), but not something we will be sick of in a year. I just have not spent the time on making this area look great. I would love a rug that has some colour and can be cleaned easily. People will actually step on it with shoes. Somewhere for guests to sit to put on/take off shoes and/or to set their belongings on would also be good. I have a rug that I bought just because it was about the right size and a bench there that suits the purpose. I don’t love or hate either of them. I have gotten several compliments on the vase behind the door. I don’t mind some constructive criticism—it’s nice to know from an experienced eye what does or does not work and why. Don’t we all want our homes to look like the magazines? If only we all had the time, and money, and somewhere to hide all of our ugly stuff!
Thanks again Chantelle, this sounds fun and is probably the kick in the butt I need to get something done.
Regards, Candace
Hi Candace,
Thanks for asking about your home’s foyer! I can’t express the importance of your home’s entrance. Everyone who we invite in sees it. The public people—aka hockey moms who are dropping off our children—coworkers who we invite over for a cup a tea or a glass of wine, and our favourite people, the best of the best. People who know where everything is and who we don’t mind if they open cabinets and doors until they find what they need.
I believe your space could use the bench
you have, with a mirror above, a vase to the left of it to add personality and fill in that corner, a coat rack in the other corner—
for two reasons: to balance the room and function when guests come in—a
beautiful light, a larger mat, and a shelf for decorative baubles. This is where we
add the colour. If we have good neutral bones, we can change your space with
inexpensive accents for a different feel.
Last but not least, a second shelf for utilitarian items, a metal bowl for keys, a candle in case the power is out and a small vase with wooden matches, if you don’t have little people around.
Contact Chantelle, Funktional Space at
306.227.3008 or visit www.funktionalspace.com