Front Entry Way Design Tips

The Front Entry Way to your home sets the overall impression and tone for you and your visitors when they arrive.

What do you want to convey? 
Warmth, coziness, an expansive, luxurious feel, cute, contemporary ?? - - what personality do you have and how is it reflected in your home? 
It starts at your front porch and doorway.

Qualities you might want to look for in a front entry way include - -

• A front porch area to stand undercover when you unlock your door,
• A coat closet (especially in a colder weather climate),
• A place to put muddy boots or shoes - either inside or outside the door (again, depends on your climate).  If I leave my wet gardening shoes outside the door in Florida they will mold!  But in northern California, shoes left in the garage or outside will be too cold to put your feet into in the winter.

How much space is available after you step inside the front door
and what is the floor covered with? 

Since this can be a high traffic area you probably do not want carpet in this area, but tile, wood or laminate that can be covered with a throw rug. 
If a large number of people arrive at the same time they may spill over onto your carpeted area. 
Be ready for the carpet surrounding this area to show wear and dirt quickly. 
In one home we enlarged the tiled entry area and replaced the carpet in a pathway all the way thru the living room and into the kitchen. 
(see the Comfort Features and Floor Plans pages for more tips on floor coverings and traffic flow.)

What will the door mat outside your front door look like?  How big does it need to be?  Is this in your new home budget?

We have double front doors on our current house and found it difficult to find a door mat wide enough to look good in front of the doors. 

Do you want to have room for potted plants or greenery around your entry way?

What about door decorations?  Is there a way to attach a wreath or other décor to the front door?  That just in not possible with some metal doors or front doors with glass inserts.

I had some beautiful front door decorations - but when you buy a home with double front doors you need two of everything!  Again - a budget issue!

Many of the recommendations for home décor from Feng Shui design ideas impact this area of your home.  Feng Shui advocates using your front door and entryway, and not always entering your home thru a side door or garage.  Creating an inviting feel starts at the street in the various Feng Shui diciplines.  To learn more about these ideas see:

Feng Shui 4 Real Estate
Feng Shui Institute International

This home from our Calera, Alabama

is a good example of a home with a covered front porch area to stand out of the weather and it has space for plants and a sitting area.
Many neighborhoods are being designed to encourage people to sit on their front porches and get to know their neighbors.