Hi, Good to see some ideas going on this style of house. They are tricky to work with. I love the idea Lavender posted (Bob Vila). I can't open the pinterest link posted by rocky bird, can others open it? We are in the throws of building an addition on our split-foyer. We did add a little bit to the foyer, wish it could have been more. However, our foyer after the build is complete will only be a guest entrance. Our family will enter via the garage man door and into a generous sized mudroom. All family coats, shoes, knapsacks etc. will be in this basement mudroom. I don't even plan to give the kids a key to the front door, so they are forced to enter via the garage to the mudroom LOL. Here are my thoughts on split entry foyers for what is worth from a person who has ripped hers apart and is rebuilding it. 1) Avoid having family enter through front door and having their stuff dropped in that tiny foyer. Try for another family entrance (maybe through garage to basement level? or a side or back door) 2)Consider an extra wide staircase going up (ours is 4 and a half feet) and a narrower one going down (ours is 42 inches here). This way the larger staircase invites company to go up. Also with the wide staircase a person can sit on the stairs, and put shoes on, while another can pass by. 3)Consider putting an extra tall door (8 foot) for those foyers that typically are a floor and a half in height (12 feet). It fits the space better and lets extra light in if you have a transom above or glass in the door. In our case, the door draws more attention to itself as the garage protrudes and partially conceals the front door. 4)Consider beefing up and beautifying the exterior steps. Our new steps are concrete stringers, and soon to be installed stone risers/threads. The landing is also stone resting on a concrete platform 5)Put a forgiving flooring material on the interior steps so you can walk on it with boots, etc and it becomes an extensions of your foyer space in a way that a carpet can not. We will have hard wood steps. 6)Open up the wall between the living room and staircase wall. Also, endeavor to have the top of the stairs going down open to a railing. This way there is an illusion of more space I would love to hear your ideas on how to use trim to bring down the height of the ceilings in these tiny, tall ceiling spaces. I keep thinking something creative like chair rail or something might make the wall heights more in keeping with the tiny space. In other words, anything that makes the interior foyer space look less like an elevator shaft would be good. Best of luck all split-foyer owners. Carol

Have you tried cornering the two chairs (L-shape)? One on the window side, one on the laundry wall? Give them some space in between. Add some drama in corner like a full plant on an eye catching pedestal. Also need some color, consider interesting picture above the chair on laundry wall. If you have any children's artwork have it custom framed and show it off proudly.

we have the same dilemma in our new house, however we currently have 2 sets of sliding glass doors and due to a lot of use and age they get stuck a lot. what to replace it with is now the question.

majorcat...I feel your pain. I was in the same position (location, price range) plus I too loved the land, school system, etc. My husband & I knew something of construction which helps in terms of ideas & labor costs. I even enjoyed the thought of "remodeling" as a creative challenge. I'm just giving you a friendly warning as I have been there & eventually found the process to be more work than I could bear. Everything is more expensive than you think, takes longer to execute then you think & often opens up a can of worms...plus the mental torment of decisions, decisions & more decisions all while working full time & raising children. Perhaps I was just a person trying to seek perfection as opposed to embracing the quirkiness of it all. But sometimes, it's just better to admit a house has fatal flaws & you have dodged a bullet by purchasing elsewhere. It may help to seek professional assistance in determining how you want the exterior to look so you have a master plan to follow as time & money allows. I ended up moving after 25 years to brand new construction. When I do pass my old house I can't help but think, "those poor slobs, so glad I'm out of there". Post pics as you move along. I think we would all like to see how your ideas come to fruition.