I think a sheer that is that long and narrow is going to be problematic even if it is heavily weighted at the bottom , which very few manufacturers seem to do anymore.

I see it getting caught in the door or at least very dirty at the hem. Taking down 20' sheers to clean them is going to be a pain.

The original sheers on the sliders at my parents' house had metal weights in the bottom hem so they did not get sucked by the air currents and caught in the door or screen. The newer ones are not weighted and you have to be careful not to get them stuck. A client of mine has gotten hers caught in the screen door several times and now they need to be repaired.

I would treat the sidelights with a sheer stretched against the glass on a rod top and bottom. Simple and easy to take care of.

I am trying to picture the end result of the idea and I don't think it will look good. If you are looking for drama on the walls I would just do some wall art.

Blinds or stretched fabric on the sidelights would look better on them than 20 foot drapes soaring to the ceiling on both sides of the door.

all right. I won't do it. I guess I have my own doubts or I wouldn't have posted, right?

btw, I did mean that the panels would fill about 3.5 feet on each side, not just skinny so as to cover the little sidelights.

I guess I'll just go with the paint. bor-ing....

You know how your foyer looks, and I don't, but are you absolutely sure it needs anything on the wall? You say it is only 10 feet wide. I think we sometimes feel that we have to decorate every available piece of wall, rather than leaving some spaces clear to give relief and emphasis to the rest. Your foyer is probably already impressive, 2 stories and at least 20 feet tall, without too much embellishment of the walls. Just a thought.

Does your space look something like this? Most foyers don't need anything, or much of anything, relying on the architectural elements to be the focus.

I tried to log on last night to post some rather poor photos of my foyer, but GW wasn't having any of it. Here are some pictures I took a few weeks ago. I was playing with oversized paint chips and playing with my camera settings. So, the photos are not pictures to show the space,so just keep that in mind.

Odd shot of the crazy wall:
{{!gwi}}

From the front door looking towards the dining room and the hall to the kitchen:

{{!gwi}}

Looking up the stairs from the front door:

{{!gwi}}

From the dining room (not going with that paint color--looks to much like Barney the Dinosaur's skin--it is BM Dior Gray)

{{!gwi}}

I would put a shutter on the upper window and call it done.

Unless you use it for something,I would take the outlet out and cover it with a blank plate and paint it the wall color. Right now your eye goes right to it. It's too close to the window sill to cover with a larger picture or other element between the door and window.

The sidelights I would probably treat with tightly stretched sheers.

Your foyer is lovely as it is, IMO. There is plenty of interest and drama.

Personally, I would not add any window treatments. I think your room looks really lovely. However, I do see three things about the window area that look a little off to me. 1. Why is that a double hung window rather than a picture window? It doesn't look like that window can be opened without a ladder. Because of this, I'd consider replacing the window with a picture window which would provide more architectural interest and not look so much like a bedroom window. 2. Why is there an electrical outlet below the window? Again, I can't imagine it being used without a ladder. Maybe for Christmas lights? In any case, would it be possible to paint the outlet the same color as your wall so that it blends in more? 3. The trim is only on the bottom of the window, providing an odd sill that again looks to only be reachable by ladder. I would replace that sill with trim around the window to match the trim around your front door. This would also give a little weight to the architectural detail of the window. These are, of course, just suggestions. I think your room looks really lovely as is and it's clear you have a flair for decorating. I wish I had a lovely front entry with a dramatic staircase like you do.

Excellent ideas above!

Yes -- to adding plantation shutters to the window if the sun is a problem.

Yes -- most emphatically -- cover up the electrical outlet with some kind of artwork or simply paint it over to make it disappear!

Well, we do use the outlet for Christmas light. I am planning on painting it the color of the wall (cover and outlet both so it just "goes away"). The window is a double hung because from the outside it looks like the other windows on the 2nd floor. The house is called a "Victorian Farmhouse", so the windows across the front all look the same, you aren't supposed to think it has a 2 story foyer from the outside. Perhaps when we do replace it someday, we will choose a different style for there.

Now you see why I'm interested in adding the faux window below it...too much wall space between the window and the door. This option will cost nothing, so I can try it out to see since I have that antique window in my family room hiding the hideous fireplace insert....I do like the idea of adding trim to the window, but none of the other windows in the house have this, but I guess it would match the door.

There is just too much wall space in this foyer. I really want to add wood wainscott to the stairs and hall areas. But I have to take my dh into consideration...I think his bp is high enough!

I'm also considering having some of our travel photos (upcoming European cruise) printed in b/w on canvas for the foyer--really large ones. This might help eat up some of the wall space. My dh keeps telling me to "just do a David Bromstad painting technique on canvas"--yeah right.

thanks for the ideas.

You could get those child proof plastic things that go in the plug and paint it all out since you only use them occasionally.

I think you have decorated the foyer nicely, but I do think the window is kind of a design liability. If it wasn't you wouldn't have to problem solve what to do with it.