Entry Lanterns...off-centered or centered w/ off-set front door?
Our front door is not centered in our foyer. The electrical drawing has the two lanterns in this space centered with the front door and the cased opening that will lead into the main spaces of the house. You can see this below.
Yesterday when I was with the gc, he asked if we wanted to keep it that way or center them with the room or if we wanted to do one lantern and change the second to a can since on the other side of the cased opening, there will be cans. But the electrician pointed out the second cannot be changed to a can where they are now because of the joist.
As you can see, the bottom stair railings are open and the little dotted lines to the right of the stairs is showing the small angled section of ceiling for stairs. I'm wondering if once we put a piece of furniture or something to the right of the stairs/left of the double doors, it will look more balanced having the lights centered with the doors? Or maybe that's how they should look anyway?
On the other hand, it seems right to center them in the room. But if we center, then they'll be just "off" yet not hidden from the door and off from the 2/3 glass front door view. Since the door will be mostly glass, the lantern should be viewed in the center of it then, right?
I've asked people and have had both opinions...most leaning toward leaving them where they are.
What would you do here if you were me?
Comments (7)
avesmor
12 years agobabs711
12 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (31)Another vote for keeping the stairs where they are, but enlarging them to take up the whole space between the pillars. Centering the stairs will confuse people about where you front door is. At a quick superficial look, the centered stairs may look a little better. But then on a slightly closer look, it seems bizarre that there isn't a front door visible. And then if someone is actually trying to visit you, they have a 50-50 chance of turning the wrong way. And even if they choose the 'right' way, they may not be confident that the door that they found is the front door as opposed to a side door. So they may feel the need to look on the other side before going back to the front door and knocking....See MoreIs the front door off center? Need opinions in new contruction design
Comments (64)Well...I don't want to get into the "corners are expensive" discussion. It's pretty clear that a few well chosen corners, within reason, which enhance the overall design of a house are certainly worth doing...and as far as expenses of corners, look at many of the builder's houses: they are full of corners, so obviously corners are not cost prohibiitive at all. The cry, "corners are expensive; reduce the number of corners for a better design" is simply an over-rated consumer generalization which really can't pass the test of strong design and construction. As far as what sort of design devices make sense for strong architectural design, eveything depends on the architect's intent for the design. One cannot generalize about design tools. There are probably no universally applicable design tools. For example, design tools one might use for a Colonial Revival design may be far different than those one might use for an International School design. All architects know this. I completely agree that too many and/or inappropriate details will distract from the strength of a design. This is why strong architectural design take both creativity and experience. As far as the OP's posted design, it is simply too vanilla and unappealing for me. All of the posted illustrations help to make the design stronger and more interesting; each has aspects worth further exploration. What we are seeing is the difference between a consumer posting a design, and the designs of creative and experienced professionals. This is a good thread, and I hope it's educational and helpful for the OP....See MoreOff center door in foyer!! Please help!!!
Comments (20)Thanks for your comments! We were originally planning to go w/ option B (no wall)....but the more I look at it, the more I dislike it. The off center door certainly isn't ideal, but I think I can live with it since it'll save us several thousand dollars to not have to expand the left side. We dont have an architect or GC. We are doing almost everything ourselves, which is why we are keeping it simple and not bigger than it needs to be. (My husband's family has designed and built many houses) Much thanks! 😊...See MoreLayout help living room w/3 entrances: front door & 2 large doorways
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lolauren
12 years agogirlville
12 years agobabs711
12 years agoSujafr
12 years ago
babs711Original Author