Hi, Good to see some ideas going on this style of house. They are tricky to work with. I love the idea Lavender posted (Bob Vila). I can't open the pinterest link posted by rocky bird, can others open it? We are in the throws of building an addition on our split-foyer. We did add a little bit to the foyer, wish it could have been more. However, our foyer after the build is complete will only be a guest entrance. Our family will enter via the garage man door and into a generous sized mudroom. All family coats, shoes, knapsacks etc. will be in this basement mudroom. I don't even plan to give the kids a key to the front door, so they are forced to enter via the garage to the mudroom LOL. Here are my thoughts on split entry foyers for what is worth from a person who has ripped hers apart and is rebuilding it. 1) Avoid having family enter through front door and having their stuff dropped in that tiny foyer. Try for another family entrance (maybe through garage to basement level? or a side or back door) 2)Consider an extra wide staircase going up (ours is 4 and a half feet) and a narrower one going down (ours is 42 inches here). This way the larger staircase invites company to go up. Also with the wide staircase a person can sit on the stairs, and put shoes on, while another can pass by. 3)Consider putting an extra tall door (8 foot) for those foyers that typically are a floor and a half in height (12 feet). It fits the space better and lets extra light in if you have a transom above or glass in the door. In our case, the door draws more attention to itself as the garage protrudes and partially conceals the front door. 4)Consider beefing up and beautifying the exterior steps. Our new steps are concrete stringers, and soon to be installed stone risers/threads. The landing is also stone resting on a concrete platform 5)Put a forgiving flooring material on the interior steps so you can walk on it with boots, etc and it becomes an extensions of your foyer space in a way that a carpet can not. We will have hard wood steps. 6)Open up the wall between the living room and staircase wall. Also, endeavor to have the top of the stairs going down open to a railing. This way there is an illusion of more space I would love to hear your ideas on how to use trim to bring down the height of the ceilings in these tiny, tall ceiling spaces. I keep thinking something creative like chair rail or something might make the wall heights more in keeping with the tiny space. In other words, anything that makes the interior foyer space look less like an elevator shaft would be good. Best of luck all split-foyer owners. Carol

Yes that's what I mean. It's exasperating! They waltz right past the bathroom and wash their grubby hands and then flick the water all over. Gah. I have been working on that issue for years and they aren't clueing in. Yesterday dh backed me up when again there they were at the sink and I said THAT MEANS YOU TOO. His jaw dropped, lol. My sink, MY SINK for food prep people. Get outta my space with those dirty hands! I think your long counter is in a perfect spot. It's close enough to be useful but it's not IN the kitchen per se. Thumbs up to that! Mine is more in the back entry and it's not as convenient. You certainly can put a utility sink in the garage - but I don't know about winter time if there would be a span of weather that you couldn't use it - here that would be the case unless there is a way to insulate it. Definitely would want it on an inside wall at the least. I think you need to evaluate what exactly you plan to use that W/D for and if you will be doing a lot of soaking or if that stuff would go upstairs to the other W/D and how frequently you'll be using this one. I have a utility sink by my W/D - had to fight for it as our bath is near and hubby thought it wasteful but when you have someone sick in the night or stains that need extra soaking it's 100% worth it to me. That is my humble opinion. That one time one of them had the flu in my mind made it worth the extra cost. I don't want that soaking in my sink - and they aren't deep enough anyway.

If you haven't started the actual build yet, I have to agree with Summit. Trust me when I say building is hard enough when you start off on a positive note because even then it can go downhill. (Ask me how I know.) If you're starting out with bad feelings and a not so great floor plan now, and they're nickel and dime'g you already, how do you think you'll be feeling when you're at the finish line?

Hey! How did your project evolve? Hopefully you found a good solution and were able to toss out the less useful opinions. I know it's an old thread but it's still relevant and useful... We live on a working farm in a snowy climate with livestock too, no in-laws, thank goodness. We have an attached garage but it's filled with firewood, a chest, freezer, garbage/recycle bins, and our milk stand. When we are REALLY dirty we use that door and can hang boots in the garage to dry, coming into the kitchen in socks and not much else. :) We also have a 'basement mudroom' which is mostly just a lot of hooks for our coveralls rain coats, rainpants- stuff we want handy-ish- and a throw rug. Our front door also faces north and there's never been a good way to park and get to the front door nor just walk to the door. (It needs work). In ten years nobody has ever come to that door, except a lazy letter carrier. We could go a month, easily, without ever opening the front door.. The main/back door has a simple and small entry of about 6x5 and to the left of the entry is a framed doorway (no door) to our busy mudroom. We are a family of 5. It's fairly well organized with lots of shelving and baskets, but also not really tidy. It works. Most people that come over for the first time oogle over the mudroom and say they wish they had one. I love it too! It was a top 3 priority in our house hunting and anyone that says a mudroom is inappropriate for guests to witness lives a very different life than me and my friends. I painted it a really dark blue-green so it would visually disappear as you come in and it hides (some) muck. It totally works. Absolutely 100% a working farm should have a mudroom right by the most used door. Still curious what you did.