I see you like symmetry, so I won't ask if you need both closets :) (if you can get by with just one, I'd keep the one next to the dining room.)

I can't imagine a foyer without a closet, so I'm biased here, but why wouldn't you have a closet?

and finally, what if the closets faced the door instead of the hall? Then you could have, say, a small console table with mirror or art above next to the library, which you could see from the family room. And coming down the stairs, as well as from the dining room table, you could see some lovely artwork instead of a door?

@bpathome - yes, we like symmetry (this is a classic colonial)... :)

To answer your question, we're concerned that the closets will obstruct the sight lines from the foyer into the library and from the foyer into the dining room.

You'll notice that there is actually more room on the wall that connects the library to the foyer than on the wall that connects the dining room to the foyer:

The general contractor thinks that it might be less obtrusive if we were to put only a single closet on the wall connecting the library and the foyer (because there is more room on that wall.

Questions:

1) What do you mean when you say "...what if the closets faced the door instead of the hall?" Where would the closets be positioned in this case? Are you suggesting that we keep the closets where they are currently positioned, but just position the doors to these closets facing each other, rather than facing the stair case and the passage way leading from the foyer into the kitchen?

2) Why you you think it makes better sense to put a single closet on the wall that connects the dining room and the foyer?

Thanks!

1) yes, you got what I meant. I think it would be nicer to look at from within the house, and it creates a classic vestibule-like space.

2) I suppose it doesn't really matter which side, but I was imagining it as creating a little passageway to the dining room, with the stairs as the other side of the passage, for maybe a bit more drama as you enter both the house, and the dining room (which you'd usually be doing from the living spaces, not the front door). I think it looks nice to enter the house and have a glimpse of the dining room than to have it fully in view, and when I'm dining I don't necessarily want to "be shown the door" lol.

If you did one closet as your contractor suggests, would it be longer, placed against the library wall so the door(s) face the dining room?

The entry closets are small, but where would visitor's coats and gear go without the closets?

You have plenty of room in the foyer, so I would put in both closets as drawn.

I like the closets. Yes, you do need them. We had a si,liar layout in our home in LA. bTW, we found that using one if the closets to store the DR table leaves was perfect!

We have similar small closets flanking our front doors. We use them for guest coats. However we also have a larger coat closet in our foyer which we use for our personal coats.

Keep the closets. Might as well have a bit of storage in the foyer. Otherwise it will be an empty, unused 200 sq ft wasted space.

It looks like it would be too crowded if the closet doors faced each other....?

I like the closets okay as drawn. You can always use them to store Christmas lights or whatever if they aren't really needed for coats. And there's one thing that'd make me hesitate to face the closets towards each other: the moment a guest steps into your home, he/she will already have to choose between the passage to your dining room, the stairs, the passage to your breakfast area, and the passage to your library/study. Throwing in two more options (the doors, as opposed to the sides of the closets) may make your foyer seem kind of confusing.