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Whatever floats your boat. Two story foyers may not be the most useful thing, but they do add value to bigger houses.

I would challange two of your observations. Two story foyers are now the norm in upscale houses.
The cost to convert this area into a room will require alot more then you think; both in terms of money and work.
Call in a few contractors and see what they recommend. You will also need a structural analysis of the situation.
Ron

I think its an okay idea - but only if you're not in a neighborhood of homes with two-story foyers. If you are than it will be rather odd if you ever sell to have people walk into your home and not have the two-stories. Also, seems like a lot of work and $$ to add just an 8x8 room. I also do think it will be odd to have the huge window in an 8x8 room.

Talk to area realtors. I think they will say to leave well enough alone, although I really dislike most of these "towers". Nobody is building these things in my suburb -- haven't for years.

The trend in Richmond, Virginia appears to have shifted away from the two-story foyer. We've gone in several upscale model homes and it's only in the cookie-cutter transitionals that you see a two-story foyer anymore. The 8 X 8 room would just be for a sitting area off the master, so you might be right that it's not worth the effort. I'm also concerned that it will just look awful for some reason after we're done and it's too late to undo. It's a hard thing to visualize, really.

Our neighborhood has some homes with 2 story foyers and some without. Ours does not. There is a small room on the second floor instead, which we plan on making into a walk in closet when we expand the master bath into the current closet. I would ask some realtors their opinion if you plan on moving in the next ten years. If you don't plan on moving any time soon, then do what you'd like.

Ours had a two story foyer in the plans and it was framed that way. I undertook most of the interior finish work and rapidly decided that the foyer was not what we wanted. So I built a balcony over the portion not needed for stairs, kind of "J" shaped. Balusters and railing are not cheap, but we still are very glad for the balcony.

We have similar balcony as bus_driver. Our staircase is on a curve as it moves to the second floor and the railing continues around until it meets the wall of the staircase on the upper level. This allows a lot of light to come in from the second floor window. We call it the loft. It has a small loveseat and desk but we plan to create a reading/ library area there. You cannot see our chandelier from the outside windows like most two story foyers. Our chandelier sits lower down the staircase. I thought about closing in this space and making it either part of the master or part of my DDÂs room which is on the opposite side but I would really miss the light from that window and I donÂt think the staircase would be as attractive.

It could get expensive to add this space so I would definitely get a few contractors in to look at it. It may not be worth the expense.

Neighbors did exactly this to gain a guest room....it does not look bad...the work was well done...but they did hire an architect for the design, due to concerns regarding support.

They did not have a huge foyer window...just a standard size window...as the exterior is very traditional.
However, their foyer was darkened quite a bit, so they replaced the front door with one that is mostly glassÂÂwhich helped.

Also...it does make the space seem smaller...so unless you have a very sizeable foyer, it could look like an afterthought.

I agree that if you have no resale concern, go with what will work best for you.

However, I think the homes that are designed to have a standard height foyer are usually proportioned best for that design...this may or may not be the case with your home.

Last but not leastÂ..I donÂt know how much they paidÂbut they did say it was not cheapÂso, you need to factor that in terms of value for your home and your area.

In my area this work is so common that I've heard of a contractor who specializes in it.

I tried to send a photo to jbjust but could not. The attempt only brought a warning not to try to sell something.I never got to even compose a message nor attach a photo.

Bus_Driver,

Maybe you could email me the photo directly at letsgohokies@yahoo.com.

Thanks.

My husband and I are currently considering the same thing. We actually put a second story addition on our home and since we live along the river, thought a two-story foyer would be great. Unfortunately, the foyer ended up being much bigger than we had planned and it seems to be 1) making it cold downstairs and 2) taking up space that we could've used for another room. (The foyer is 12x10). We are considering whether we should making it into a bedroom, leave it more open and make it a sitting room, or leave it as is. I would love everyone's thoughts on this and to see any photos you might be able to share. As a side note, no other houses in the area have a two story foyer.

I'm considering doing the same thing (in Glen Allen, VA). Most of the homes in my neighborhood have the two-story foyer with enormous chandelier (impossible to change a light bulb in this thing!) I've been daydreaming about converting our small 8 x 10 space into an upstairs laundry area. All five bedrooms are near this area and it would be so nice to not lug laundry up and down the stairs. Can anyone post a picture of their completed foyer conversion? I'd be so interested to see the results and what you think about it.

Jbjust, did you end up doing it? How did it turn out? I realize this thread is 4 years old now.

What sells best is good design whatever the style. It is impossible to say if the alteration would be a wise one without seeing both the existing design and the new one.

Hello, I was thinking of doing the same thing, 11' x 6'
Using two 2x12' on the outer sides and working towards the center with (2) 2x 10, 2x8,2x6, ending with two 2x4 's in the center, then making the ceiling in the front foyer an 11' long Arched entry using copper or something that looks good, wood whatever...
The span though is something Structural to consider, Probly need a builder.
Also the staircase may look odd, with the railing, etc.

Daimon - since this post is 8 years old, they probably figured it out :)

I think two story entrances are passe' and very 1990's. Not green or practical. I was thinking of doing the same thing to a two story entrance home to connect two rooms at the front .

What sells and what is g"going out"only matter if you are selling. Soon...if you are going to spend the next 20 years,you will likely get your money's worth out of changes, and who knows what will be "in" then.

Two story foyers look stunning but are a waste of space and make the house seem cold.

Seems ms odd to put a work out room above the foyer...could be noisy, it's a lot of weight on the new floor. I'd put something in that uses the big window and all the light...a reading nook? Sitting room?

Yes agreed, sitting room, nook or extending a bedroom that is on either side, for extra room or closet storage etc

Can anyone give me a ballpark figure of what it would cost to add an open loft space in place of my two story foyer? About 10 by 12 feet.

I think part of your consideration is this- do you plan to move? Do you have the funds? If you want to be there forever, then I wouldn't care about resale value. Yes, it may need to be sold someday, but if it will already be paid off then it may not matter. It's also dependant on your retirement and plans- is the house an investment, or somewhere you live curtailed to your needs? Sure, it can be both, but if it doesn't need to show a return, then I'd do what I want, enjoy it, and let someone else purchase it for a little undermarket, and deal with changing it later on.

Am contemplating doing this type of project in our house. Our 2-story foyer is just a waste of space and I'm not a fan. I'd like to close it off and have it become the master bedroom's walk in closet. I'd keep the big window but put up a privacy curtain. Our current master closet could then be closed off and re-opened from the bedroom on the other side - allowing my daughter to have a walk-in closet. We'd then tear down the walls of her current closet which would give her more floor space in her room. I don't think we'd lose anything on resale because the new master closet would be twice the size of our current one, AND the added bonus of another bedroom also having a walk-in closet.

Same situation here, Jaynees.

Just got the first estimate- $16,000.

Going to get a few more estimates.

Current master closet is 8‘ x 5.4”

Change your paint color and ceilings first.

Bridget Brothag I would love to see photos if you ever decide to close it off. I am contemplating the same to get an extra bedroom so all my children can have their own room.

I am also contemplating closing off my two-story foyer. I would love to create an additional bedroom so my the kids could each have their own room. The window is quite large though (and low) and would probably have to be scaled down. Maybe I could just create an open bonus room for the kids to hang out in. (Then might not have to run hvac in there). Anyway I would love to see photos of other people's projects! Also any idea of cost to complete this project would be greatly appreciated. 🙂

Did anyone ever complete their projects? Get an estimate for the conversion?