I’d like to introduce you to their beautiful, functional importance.
Create an entrance. Make a warm welcome. Inject beautiful function. The entry is an underappreciated space that sets the tone, the vibe, and the feeling you want to evoke throughout your home. Let’s put thought into designing a beautiful entryway. One that functions well while celebrating its occupant’s personality and welcomes everyone.
A hall may be just a path from one room to another, but it is waiting for some love. Again, the hallway is an underappreciated space. The hall is a place to have fun, be bold, and show your stuff. I mean that quite literally. Showcase your treasures and love of color, and work some function into it.
Both of these spaces are often overlooked and underrated as design spaces. Let’s turn that around and let them both shine. If you need more help before starting these spaces, check out this blog post, “Dreaming of Home: Beginning Thoughts.” If you don’t, let’s begin.
How to create a beautiful function
Follow these steps for creating your space:
- First, clear out unwanted items, clean the space, and understand what organization you need.
- Second, determine what functional furniture pieces you need in the entry. Remember, the entrance is a launching pad for getting out the door in the morning, a place to store outdoor gear, and a landing pad for items when you get home. Do you need a place to sit down and put your shoes on? A storage piece to catch laundry for a hall laundry closet? Can either space serve another purpose?
- Lastly, add decorative items that make it personal, welcoming, and beautiful. Show off your interests and collections. Remember, this is where a person first steps into your home to set the vibe.
Keep an open mind to new ideas for making these spaces both beautiful and functional.
Both the entry and hallway are often left alone because we think of them only for their function. They don’t have to be. It does take a bit of thinking and dreaming about these rooms. Review the steps above, then explore solutions to your functional needs.
- Could you repurpose an item you already have?
- Is there an organizational problem you could search for on Pinterest to see how someone else solved the problem?
- Do you have a collection you’d love to display? Does it have a specific display you’d like planned into the design?
Make a plan to execute and curate your ideas
Now is the time to work on your ideas. Set aside some time and get started. Clean, paint if necessary, then pull the pieces you’ve gathered for the entry and hall. If you need help choosing color, I have a free download to help you coordinate color in your home. Put on some great music to work to and execute your ideas. Start placing furniture, set up the necessary organizational pieces, and add your items of interest.
Stand back and analyze if it is a beautiful function
Then stand back and analyze whether everything is working. Are you still trying to figure it out? Take a photo and look at it. Often, when you do that, something will jump out that needs attention. Maybe you need to take something away or add another piece. Remember, your plan isn’t permanent. If something feels off, you’ll figure it out in a few days or maybe a week. The September Gathering Abundance eBook includes a Checklist Schedule to help you work through this plan if you need further help. Also, remember the season you are in when you’re setting these spaces up. Things will change as fall turns to winter; our beautiful entry and hall will also change their function. So create an entrance, a warm welcome, and show your stuff.
Continue the Dreaming of Home Series
In the next article, Living & Family Rooms: How to Design a Living Room That Lives Up to Its Name, we’ll move from dreaming to defining what home means to you and begin gathering inspiration before making decorating or remodeling decisions.
Continue reading the next blog in the series: → Living & Family Rooms: How to Design a Living Room That Lives Up to Its Name
If you’d like help discovering the colors and style that feel most like home, download my Coordinate Color in 3 Easy Steps guide. It’s a wonderful place to begin gathering ideas before making design decisions. You’ll also join my weekly newsletter for seasonal inspiration, home ideas, and updates as the Dreaming of Home series continues.
Related Reading
- Dreaming of Home: Beginning Thoughts
- August’s ‘Dreaming of Home’ blog installment – Exterior Style
- CCL Book Club read – Marie Kondo’s Kurashi at Home
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. When you purchase through our Bookshop.org bookshelf, we may receive a small commission — at no additional cost to you — while supporting independent bookstores.
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