entryways

Visitors enter through a Dutch door painted Benjamin Moore Essex Green. Vintage sketches purchased at a Paris flea market line the walls, and a Charlotte Perriand-inspired woven chair balances the vintage pine console.
The foyer’s oak paneling and Chippendale-style stairway suggest a sense of formality that is softened by the floor of hexagonal limestone and marble tiles in subtle earth tones.
Tasked with the two-story mural in the foyer, Curtiss says she jumped on the scaffolding and improvised. “I didn’t even do a sketch,” she admits.
Designer Honey Collins animated the entry hall of this Beacon Hill condominium with chinoiserie panels from Gracie. “It gave that little space a lot of life,” says the designer, who completed the look with a pair of Billy Baldwin slipper chairs covered in salmon mohair from de Le Cuona and an area rug from The Rug Company.
Pooches Hazel (left) and Newton are ready to welcome guests to the foyer, where the white-pine ceilings and Douglas fir timbers set the tone for the house.
In the mudroom, a Sarah Von Dreele wallcovering serves as the backdrop for an orange chairlift by Ski Lift Designs.
A Julie Neill chandelier from Visual Comfort cascades from the entry ceiling. White coral, a nod to the nearby coastline, frames the Made Goods mirror.
The family’s goldendoodle, Pepe, runs through the entryway, past the console table from Interlude Home and the Arteriors Olympia mirror.
Interior designer Damna Ferrara complemented the front hall wallpaper with a vintage bench reupholstered in the ochre colorway of Clarke & Clarke’s Dragonflies fabric.
Blue grasscloth creates drama in the foyer.
Epure black burlap wallcovering by Élitis in the foyer and on the three-story stair hall makes for a dramatic entrance.
“I never thought I’d live in a brick house,” jokes interior designer Michael Booth as he leans in the front doorway of his recently renovated home on Providence’s East Side.
The same wallpaper greets visitors in the entry.
An Urban Electric Co. pendant in the foyer hangs over a Verellen table.
Much of the home’s furniture is custom made, like the console table crafted by Scott James in the foyer; above it hangs a painting by Olivier Suire Verley that the couple found on a visit to Cape Cod.
Boothby introduced a C&C Milano striped wallpaper in a tent-inspired application to transform the entry, which, according to the designer, featured a dark geometric wallpaper when her clients purchased the home.
The millwork in the entry hall is original, but the banister is new, as is the Lewis & Wood wallpaper and Visual Comfort pendant. After scouring countless high-end rug sources, Goodson stumbled upon the kilim at Garnet Hill.
The new mudroom features the same terra-cotta tile seen throughout the first floor. The homeowners had their kids walk on tile samples in their soccer cleats to choose the most durable option, says Manderville.
A Cowtan & Tout Jacobean tapestry covers the storage bench in the entry. The round painting that hangs above is a cheeky reference to an evil eye talisman.
The entry hall rotunda features a site-specific ceramic installation by Bradley Sabin, a Jonathan Browning light fixture, an Ironies table, and a Kyle Bunting hide rug.
A niche in the front entry sets an Anglo-Indian theme with Farrow & Ball India Yellow walls and a red Parsons-style table built by the homeowner.
A niche in the front entry sets an Anglo-Indian theme with Farrow & Ball India Yellow walls and a red Parsons-style table built by the homeowner.
An entrance at the side of the main house leads to a mudroom with a slate tile floor.
The entry is stately, but designer Liz Caan deployed a quiet Swedish pinstripe rather than damask or similarly fancy wallpaper to keep things down-to-earth. A Julie Neill chandelier hangs over a simple raw-wood table.
Gleysteen added a curved soffit and benches just inside the door to create a sense of arrival and surrounded the Palladian window with recessed paneling.
The front entry showcases a rebuilt stairway with oak treads, a mahogany handrail, and a period newel post. The damask Lewis & Wood wallcovering in the hallway set the color palette for the entire house.
Silver and the wife collaborated on the Escher-esque blackened-steel, oak, and glass staircase. Ingo Maurer’s Birdie chandelier illuminates the stairs and the nineteenth-century Nepalese gong Silver brought into the home last year.
From the front door, guests look through the house into the great room and then the courtyard beyond.
In the foyer, a blue Phillip Jeffries wallcovering, console table from The CEH, blue-and-white benches from Highland House, and a navy lantern from Mitzi all work in harmony with the door, which is painted Benjamin Moore Evening Dove.
Benjamin Moore Misty Lilac instantly invigorates guests in the foyer, while a Greek key pattern adds detail to the staircase.
Gleaming black doors make the approach to the dining room feel modern and luxe.
The foyer was treated to a new marble floor and new moldings and ceiling trim in a lighter Regency style.
The glitter gets going in the foyer where designer Michelle Michaels paired custom art by Pauline Curtiss with a bench upholstered in a Romo iridescent velvet and a rug custom woven in an amethyst pattern.
The foyer showcases a polished French buffet from the homeowner’s previous residence and Christian Lacroix lattice wallpaper that dialogues with the original ironwork on the door that leads into the dining room.
The elliptical staircase—which spans seventy-seven vertical feet—required an array of experts and artisans to complete. Ron Mott of Mott Iron Works customized the bronze balustrade. The skirts, risers, stringers, and wood handrail are by Hardwood Design in Exeter, Rhode Island. Clayton Austin of Boston Ornament Company created the stairway’s plasterwork.
The foyer features an eye-catching Patagonia granite flooring. The wallcovering is by Élitis, and Hope’s Windows created the steel-and-glass partition. Rich Corner of BluBlk crafted the handrail.
Designer Erin Gates used fabrics and furniture with modern lines to update the look of the original entry and dining room of this 1934 Wellesley Farms colonial.
Black, in the painted railing and textured wallpaper, adds drama to the foyer, where a vintage glass chandelier sparkles above.
The front hall features airy Pear Tree wallpaper by Kravet, but Ferraro’s favorite element is the antique gilded mirror: “It brings soul to the space.”
Designer Becca Casey honed the color palette by pulling hues from the landscape and leaning into her own favorite shades. For example, the front door is painted in Benjamin Moore Britannia Blue.
Natural materials abound throughout, including in this entry vignette where a Made Goods mirror crafted from woven buri palm hangs over a console table with a whitewashed wood top.
The entry features a Cassoni light fixture and a vintage Milo Baughman bench.
A Cole & Son wallcovering on the foyer’s ceiling coordinates with the aqua-blue wall color. Stained oak, natural maple, and walnut comprise the inlay floor.
French doors, painted the same lush Farrow & Ball Sugar Bag Light as the rest of the foyer, lead to the living room.
Like the rest of the home’s renovation, the entryway/foyer was stripped back to the studs. New custom paneling, painted white to open up the space, replaced the original dark paneling.
In the entry, designer Natalie Lebeau creates a welcoming moment with a Keith Fritz Fine Furniture table.
A convex mirror by RH and a Phillips Collection console greet guests in the entry
The front door’s cheerful orangey-red color sets the tone for the casual interior.
Painted panels trimmed with anigre add warmth and texture to the walls of the foyer and hallway. Anigre also forms the stairway’s graceful railing. A John Pomp light fixture of multiple glass orbs cascades from the high ceiling.
Painting the wood paneling brightened the entry hall. Alice Black bought the bodhisattva statue for a client at the Connecticut Antiques Center in Stamford, but then couldn’t bear to part with it. The Harry Bertoia sculpture in the corner is from her childhood home.
Architect Melanie Smith designed the airy, modern, metal stair railing.
Super-high-gloss paint on walls and ceiling enlarges and brightens the foyer.
An abstract print by mid-twentieth-century artist Jack Justice brightens the foyer and hints at the splashes of color that designer Jill Litner Kaplan spread throughout the living areas.
The entry had been tweaked over the years, so Burke had the original doors recreated based on historical records.
The scheme for the entry started with the stair runner by Prestige Mills, which inspired the color choice for the chest, Benjamin Moore Champion Cobalt. The Urban Electric Company lantern ties the black door to the handrail. “If it were up to me, every room would have some black,” Handler says. “It’s classic and dramatic.” The photograph over the mantel in the lounge is by Fairfield County-based artist Allyson Monson.
Monahan increased light by using large glass panes in the entry foyer. An idiosyncratic collector, she displays finds such as carved pillars originally from a Boston bank beside a wooden horse torso on a metal table.
The chairs flanking the front door came from the now-defunct Antiques on Cambridge Street; Lee Jofa sconces grace the walls.
Four sailors’ valentines decorate the nook by the stairway that leads to the family’s bedrooms.
Designer Tiffany LeBlanc embraced classic details, such as the foyer’s original millwork, even while infusing the home with a modern sensibility.
Fine art, handcraftsmanship, and treasured finds are in evidence throughout this Mystic home. The client fell in love with the antique rosewood wagon wheel from Tucker Robbins and gave it a place of honor in the entryway.
The entryway extends a dramatic welcome with its midcentury bench and a large abstract painting.
The interior architecture was transformed, given dimension and interest with details such as the entry’s box molding that set the stage for a design that blends classicism with unexpected touches like the animal print Stark carpet.
The entry’s bi-directional shiplap and custom newels deliver pared-down detailing that riffs on traditional vernacular.
For the entry, Hirsch designed an indigo velvet settee to nestle under the newly revamped staircase.
An open and airy glass entryway connects the house and the four-bay garage.
The lambrequin (a window treatment style that harks back to the Middle Ages) might have felt old school, had interior designer Honey Collins not chosen an upbeat Katie Ridder fabric. Add a bright door, a Jim Thompson wallpaper, and an antique credenza Collins nabbed in Atlanta at Parc Monceau, and this is an entry everyone wants to come home to.
The lambrequin (a window treatment style that harks back to the Middle Ages) might have felt old school, had interior designer Honey Collins not chosen an upbeat Katie Ridder fabric. Add a bright door, a Jim Thompson wallpaper, and an antique credenza Collins nabbed in Atlanta at Parc Monceau, and this is an entry everyone wants to come home to.
The front hall sports traditional touches such as the mahogany newel post, one of the few original details that survived the home’s years of neglect.
The dining room’s custom mural by Scott Waterman is based on a four-season study of the surrounding area.
The greenhouse courtyard entrance is the only place where the original historic brickwork remains visible.
The front parlor features painted furniture and other pieces with patina and charm.
The architect nixed the dated spiral stairs that led to the roof deck and extended the handsome central staircase from the foyer on up.
In a circulation area near the entry, porcelain tiles mimic the look of concrete, adding an industrial-chic vibe.
Light bounces off the high-gloss paint on the entry’s walls.
In the mudroom, created where the old galley kitchen once stood, vivid cement tiles inspired the color scheme.
An antique chest and child’s chair in the foyer provide neutral counterparts to the bright colors beyond.
A stunning John Pomp bronze credenza and hand-blown pendants star in the entryway.
Scallop shell pedestals provide the legs for a narrow dining room side table. The mirror above reflects a painting by Connecticut artist Charlie Miesmer.
Throughout the home, touches like weathered oars and antique water skis conjure the past. “They call Wolfeboro the oldest summer resort in America,” the homeowner says. “We’re trying to keep that idea alive.”
The wife had seen a photo of a blue-painted banister and knew she wanted it replicated for her own home.
Shiplap walls and plenty of rich blue tones, including the royal blue of the banister, nod to the watery location.
The main stairway merges contemporary and traditional elements. The bright orange bench is a momentary departure from the blue tones that dominate the home’s interior.
Shiplap paneling and antique furniture give the foyer a classic Maine cottage feel.
A shell-framed mirror adds a touch of whimsy to the foyer.
The oak paneling, designed by architect Tom Catalano, was painstakingly bleached, wire brushed, stained, and glazed.
As befits this new-meets-old house, a chest in the entry hall was made of antique components.
Above the foyer’s welcoming bench hangs a prized photograph by a favorite artist—Caitlin Stone, the homeowners’ daughter.
Designer Heidi Pribell tucked a sitting area into the inglenook under the stairs.
The door leading from the entry hall into the library features Corinthian capitals, applied pilasters, carved garlands, and neoclassical reeding against a backdrop of raised paneling. The entry ceiling’s reflective paper adds a sense of light.
A grand staircase descends into the front entry hall with a pair of newel posts whose carvings make them appear to twist in opposite directions. The corbels and the stepped overmantel of the fireplace speak to the home’s seventeenth-century influences.
Homeowners Sandi and Chris Wright had different ideas for the foyer, so designer Rachel Reider made them both happy with the red-wine-colored paint for Chris and white marbleized wallpaper for Sandi.
Coral-like wall art and a shimmery rug announce the home’s subtle nautical theme in the foyer. A custom bench is fashioned with an ikat pattern that gets repeated throughout the house.
The entry greets homeowners and guests with a sense of calm.
A grid of lively Brooklyn street scenes greets visitors as they enter.
The entry is a study in black and white contrasts. The wool stair runner looks like sisal but is easier to clean.
Chevron inlays animate a chest in the home’s entry vestibule.
Opposite the desk in the entry, Morris surrounded an antique table of Coughlin’s with chairs she had reupholstered and painted white.
Newly purchased Robert Motherwell prints join the homeowner’s desk and chairs in the entry.
The home’s name, “Out of Bounds,” is laser-cut into the mudroom floor in a welcoming gesture to family and guests.
The gallery is visible from the entry hall, which was painted thundercloud gray and leavened with white trim and a vintage modern console table.
The main staircase echoes the geometric design of the home and incorporates the building blocks used in its construction—wood, metal, and glass. Above twinkles a welcoming crystal chandelier, one of the few truly ornate elements in the home.
Varied ceiling heights help define spaces throughout the home, while artwork provides color and texture. A wood panel buffed to a high gloss mirrors the custom staircase, itself a piece of functional art.
The balance of classic and modern starts in the entry hall, where a contemporary open stair is combined with Murano glass lighting, and black floors play against white paneled walls.
Smoked glass globes hang like a cluster of balloons, injecting a note of fun into the hardworking mudroom.
The foyer’s vivid colors, grasscloth walls, and literary references introduce visual refrains that appear throughout the inn.
The front hallway is punctuated with bold blue ocean hues.
A wood and rattan side table, topped by a 1940s painting, is a classic touch in the contemporary setting.
The owners covered the entry’s original brick wall with meticulously painted and glazed woodwork; light wood and a big mirror make the small space appear larger.
Driftwood accents, sea blues, and local artwork bring the beachfront vibe indoors.
A paper sculpture by Matthew Shlian hangs above a console by Holly Hunt, one of many gilded pieces throughout the home.
The marble floor and wrought-iron banister already in place helped inspire the “Paris apartment” feel of the redesign. Designer Starr Daniels painted the stair steps black and added an animal-print runner for a chic, modern look.
The entrance area features an open stairway supported by the walls and outfitted with glass ­guardrails.
The entry’s tile floor, which continues into the dining room, is original to the house. “It speaks to the home’s character,” says designer Paula Daher. The adjacent living room floors were restained a dark shade as a foil for the room’s creamy-colored woodwork.
A reclaimed nineteenth-century door opens onto the foyer, construction of which required the removal of an old fireplace and the relocation of a staircase.
Original brick walls and wood ceiling beams were preserved throughout the former industrial space. Cold-rolled steel with a black patina finish and reclaimed heart pine comprise the staircase, which has cantilevered elements that make it appear to float.
Interior designer Jenn Sanborn chose to keep the entryway’s existing wallpaper, then introduced vintage pieces both to add a layer of interest and to offer a preview of the home’s casual English country vibe.
An antique hall rack hits a traditional note in the entryway.
White paint transforms the home’s beautiful but somber period woodwork. The beauty of the original mahogany can still be appreciated in the varnished newel post and stair rail, however.
Designer Carolina Tress-Balsbaugh’s lighten-it-up approach is apparent the moment one crosses the threshold.
Russell chose Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Coffee as the trim color for every room, giving the house a pleasing continuity. In the entry, the hue is the ideal partner for the wheat-toned chest.
An unusually wide and long entry was at once “very grand, and a challenge,” says interior designer Kristen Rivoli. The wood trim was painted to make the space more inviting, and a linen-texture wallpaper was installed. Rivoli chose not to fill the space with an entry table, to keep views intact.
A vignette in the foyer foreshadows the home’s refined aesthetic.
Modern steel doors in the foyer and the passageway to the kitchen are, says designer Manuel de Santaren, “a nod to some of the architectural details we saw in Belgium during a shopping trip for furnishings and antiquities.”
Lots of doors and fixed floor-to-ceiling windows blur the lines between indoors and out.
The entry hallway sets the tone for the home with natural touches such as the twig-like door handle.
The wife orchestrated the placement of the engaging cow photos—a nod to the home’s pastoral nature.
In the front entry, bold artwork and grasscloth wallcovering introduces an interior that’s both edgy and traditional.
Reclaimed bullseye windows were used in the entry hall’s transoms.
Brightly patterned fabric by China Seas pops against the neutral surroundings of the main staircase. The J.D. Staron runner is one of Morgan’s favorites. “I just love the simplicity of it, and the way the striped borders give it definition.”
A new foyer was created to establish a true sense of arrival. Navy grasscloth walls let the white furniture, accessories, and high-gloss white trim pop.
A floating circular staircase leads to the second-floor bedrooms and continues to the observatory.
A chevron paper from Candice Olson animates the entry hall; the compass rose was applied to the floor with stain.
The kitchen has a view through the entryway into the dining room; Tony, the couple’s Wheaten Terrier, keeps a watchful eye from his spot in the hall.
Circles and squares are a thematic constant that begins in the entry with a marble-top table on a bronze base, an Urban Electric Baxter Light, and the brass rivets of the Phillip Jeffries grasscloth on the ceiling.
The entry foyer got a shot of drama with a recessed ceiling, the ideal home for a dramatic chandelier.
The prints lining the hall to the central living area are by Pennsylvania artist Emil Lukas.
The reconfigured foyer grew chicer with the addition of a limestone tiled floor, Venetian plastered walls, and a coffered wood ceiling. Smaller in footage, there’s still ample room for a cast-resin-framed mirror, a custom console and small Holly Hunt bench.
Designer Vivian Hedges and decorative painter Robert Laniak created a geometric pattern with burnished gold leaf for the front hallway floor.
The staircase design mimics one Rylee admired in the headmaster’s house at Connecticut’s Hotchkiss School, which she attended.
Rusticity reigns just inside the main entry, where a ship-lapped wall and a hand-painted floor cloth offer a warm welcome.
The broad entry allows a view of the sloping front yard, where gentle terracing helps guide rainwater away from the house.
The entryway is the harbinger of gracious things to come. Melding classic and modern, designer Maureen Griffin Balsbaugh introduced limestone floors, bold black door trim, and contemporary caged lighting to complement the show-stopping architectural details.
Stone pillars along a hallway are just one way the natural world is brought indoors.
The foyer reveals an artful tile inlay as well as a staircase with hand-turned newel posts and balusters.
A Warhol dress that the owner had in her closet is a perfect decorative counterpart to the modern stairs, which are fabricated from bronze, teak, and laminated glass
Contemporary Bocci pendants and an organic teak bench from Andrianna Shamaris create a pleasing vignette in the foyer. The freestanding wall houses a TV on the living room side.
Layers of antiques and flea-market finds fill niches such as this one in the entryway.
The paneled wall underneath the staircase landing encloses a small powder room.
The foyer’€™s curved wall lent itself to the Scenes of North America” wallpaper by Zuber, a paper also found in the White House.
In the foyer, an antique French sideboard that doubles as a bar welcomes visitors. The owners discovered the painting that hangs above it on Martha’s Vineyard.
The entry’s contemporary console and attention-getting art by James Nares provide a lively contrast to the traditional architecture.
A schooner painting by William P. Stubbs gets prominent placement in the entry hall.
The foyer sets the home’s transitional tone with its linear console and double-ring-base lamp, both from ICON Group, and an area rug from Steven King Decorative Carpets.
A bright red door, twig chandelier, and compass rose create a welcoming vibe in the larger main house.
With its mother-of-pearl wall tiles and a hammered-metal console, the entrance foyer sets the eclectic tone of the home’s interior design.
The foyer is enclosed by sliding translucent glass panels that offer privacy, yet still let in plenty of natural light.
In keeping with the husband’s wishes for a dash of the modern, Carter chose an attention-getting painting-Didactic Method of Elenchus, by Edward Lentsch-from the Lanoue Gallery in Boston, for the serene living room. The welcoming club chairs by Rose Tarlow are dressed in a Cowtan & Tout fabric, while the sofa wears a neutral Jane Churchill fabric. An antique desk set cleverly in the bay window provides a sunny work area.
No ordinary foyer, this one includes a Donald De Lue sculpture by the window and antique Foo Dogs atop the mantle.
The adjacent entry hall holds a gilded stool from Rose Tarlow clad in a dreamy Jim Thompson fabric that echoes the striking colors of the art. The candlestick lamps are from Dessin Fournir.
A side entrance opens to a spacious mudroom with plenty of storage options.
The home’s classic architecture serves as a timeless backdrop for a beguiling range of styles and eras, beginning with the entry’s vintage sconce and Oly chest.
Fronting on the Chacón painting, a leather bench and a multicolor rug by Nanimarquina form the centerpieces of the house'€™s main entrance.
The entry, displaying just a few of the objects the homeowner has collected over the years, hints at the easy comfort of the house.
Architectural details, like the coffered ceilings, abound throughout.
Another view of the interior “skylight” in the foyer.
The designers whitewashed the walls above the paneling to bring light into the space. The watercolor on the foyer wall depicts a local scene.
The antique work table came with the house.
Joslin incorporated steel, wood and stained glass in the entryway’s ornamental stairwell, a design repeated in the screening to the dining room beyond.
The foyer’s original woodwork was restored, then updated with a geometric-print stair runner and an antique console given a coat of brilliant automotive paint.
An antique table anchors the entry. The bar table is from Lillian August.
The aesthetically pleasing covered walkway between the house and the garage provides protection from the elements.
After three decades in a traditional colonial house, the owners are happy with the more minimalist decor of their new home.
The foyer was an opportunity to do something dramatic and unexpected and to reflect the energy level throughout the house,” says designer Gerald Pomeroy, who accomplished his aim with an oversize striped banquette, playful wallpaper, a mirrored screen and a circular console table. Strong architectural details balance out the space.
A meet-and-greet area just off the entryway makes for a casual transition into the house.
A hand-crafted lantern from the New England Historical Connection lends stature to the entry.
The home is a symmetrically proportioned center-entry Colonial Revival built in 1928.
The entryway connects the home’€™s two discrete pavilions.
The renovation included raising the ceiling to make room for a dramatic two-story entry.
A mirror from Made Goods hangs above a console from Bungalow 5 in the entry.
In the living room, antique mercury glass lamps sit atop a reproduction desk from HB Home.
Twin David Iatesta sconces frame a Dennis and Leen mirror in the entry. The blue and white porcelain hails from the owner’s ever-growing collection.
Eastman painted the entry mirror with white lacquer to highlight its design.
The simple, organic color scheme plays up the foyer’s original moldings and leaded-glass windows.
In addition to refinishing the original staircase, the couple sanded and stained the foyer’s pine-board floor to awaken its sleeping beauty.
A bright red bench by Bouvé Woodworking and a contemporary painting add zest to the complex textures and colors of the entry. The Venetian plaster walls and ceiling, as well as the tiled walls were designed to resemble concrete and stone.
A vintage hand chair is the first thing to greet visitors to the house. An Angela Adams rug picks up on the blues of the Global Views lamp on a West Elm side table.
A step-down foyer/inglenook features a staircase with balusters of white bronze.
An oyster-shell mirror and faux-crocodile desk add visual interest to the entry way.
The entry presages the home’s beachy vibe with its stunning piece of coral and a painting by Provincetown artist Anne Packard.
A well-equipped mudroom opens to the pool area.
Divided stairs in the entry hall bestow a gracious ambience that befits a medley of family antiques, including a grandfather clock.
The ceiling is high but not atrium-like. "I just really didn’t want it to feel like a McMansion," the wife says.
The foyer sets the home’s genteel tone with an antique demilune, one of the pair the homeowner and designer Julie Nightingale scored at a French flea market, and an antique Swedish daybed from Circa Antiques in Westport.
The designers tamed the double-height foyer, bringing warmth and drama with a Cole & Son wallpaper and oversize antique lantern.
The homeowners’ art collection includes this painting, by the Brazilian artist Vic Muniz, that hangs in the foyer.
The owners’ fanciful console grabbed a parking spot outside the study.
The diamond-shape cutout on the stairway railing, a recurring design theme throughout the house, harkens back to the Craftsman era.
Architect John Battle wanted to create a "human-scale entry that would be relatively understated, comfortable, and welcoming."
Defined by sleek interior architecture and a simple palette of black and white, the foyer sets a sophisticated tone.
The dramatic, open staircase of iron and oak seems to float in its airy, light-filled, glass-enclosed stairwell.