Here's the foyer at our last house. I don't have a good pic yet of the new house's 2-story foyer.

That is a beauty.It is very gracious and I love the chandelier.
I think 2 story foyers really add a lot of appeal, but I have been noticing them less in new construction. I think the "new" awareness for energy efficiency or conservation has been having an impact. I love to look at them but I am not sure I would want to own it.

In my old house, my second story foyer window was a bump out with a ledge. The ledge was great for decorating with giant pumpkins, Christmas trees, topiaries, etc. There was an outlet on the ledge for lights. My husband had to drag the big ladder inside to get to the ledge but it was worth it.

"I think 2 story foyers really add a lot of appeal, but I have been noticing them less in new construction. I think the "new" awareness for energy efficiency or conservation has been having an impact. I love to look at them but I am not sure I would want to own it. "

Depends on the climate. Here in Florida high ceilings in general make sense and 2 story foyers can also help energy efficiency. Our 2 story foyer has a remote controlled skylight too to aid passive ventilation.

tracy b

That's a really pretty chandelier. I am really having a difficult time picking a chandelier.

Thanks, jcnewhome. I wish I had it again. I'm not loving the one in the new house so much--doesn't look like it did in the store and catalog and not sure why.

Technically a *traditional centerhall colonial would be pretty unlikely to have a two story foyer: the stairwell might be open, but the entry to the front bedrooms would be at the front of the house ( above the front door ) and any ornamental window above the entry door would be in the upper stair hall.

Unless the hall is large and gracefully proportioned, the two story foyer often ends up as an awkward toaster slot of a space that is hard to decorate with a window that is hard to treat and clean, and corners filled with cobwebs. imo.

Here's mine in the early morning light. We have it on a dimmer. There is a shelf with an outlet above the front door.

Here's ours...

Has anyone ever used trim molding (shadow box molding or panels) to "connect" the big window on your second floor with the door area? I'm thinking of combining the two elements somehow and can't find pix online that show anything like that. I have one of these two story entry foyers and am trying to bring it down to a cozier scale. If you have special trims that you've used or figured out how to do this, I'd love to see pix! Thanks very much.