Polish up the foyer. The place where you greet your guests deserves to be gussied up a bit at party time. Pick and choose between these festive accents that can work for any party, holiday or not: ◦A pair of mini topiaries on the entry table ◦Lit candles with a beautiful fragrance ◦A pretty bowl filled with candy ◦A silver mint julep cup filled with freshly cut roses
Try a dresser. If you have the room, a dresser like this can be a dream for storing things in the hallway, helping to keep everything neat while fitting the scale of the space. In addition to keys, mail and coins, it can hold all that winter gear like gloves and hats, extra dining room linens and fun stuff like playing cards.
Outfit a console table. Again, this serves as a place for keys and mail. I love the light provided by the table lamp, the mirror for checking on lipstick or cowlicks before heading out the door, room for a plant or sculptural objects, and the basket underneath, where you can stash anything from scarves to flip-flops. It’s all tucked nicely and unobtrusively to the side.
Clean up the coatrack. OK, this goes against everything I usually say about functionality, but avoid loading it up with your everyday coats. First impressions, remember? A well-placed hat, umbrella and scarf make a nice vignette here. When you have guests, they’ll admire the look, and you’ll have a place for their coats. Stash your own puffy down coats, polar fleeces and other outerwear in a closet or near the back entry.
Add a welcoming rug. This is an area that gets a lot of traffic, so an inexpensive outdoor rug can be a good choice. A lot of these rugs stand up to dirt and literally can be hosed down. Another detail I love in this hallway is the porcelain umbrella stand full of walking canes. You can substitute walking sticks you find on hikes for the canes. You may already have a cute cylindrical wastepaper basket around that can fill in as an umbrella stand.
2. Does My Lighting Have Layers? A perfectly lit room has three basic layers: overhead lighting, task lighting and accent lighting. This bedroom pulls all those together — the chandelier for overhead, bedside reading lamps as task lighting, and accent lights above the headboard and artwork. Bright idea for layered lighting: Think of the functional and decorative purpose of each light source. For example, in this entryway the wall sconces are a decorative touch, table lamps function as task lighting and a chandelier provides overall light.
If you want your home to feel authentic … Be yourself and don’t worry about the trends. Surround yourself with things you love. Stack up your favorite books. Don’t apologize for the state of your house when friends come over. Be realistic about what level of clutter and cleanliness you feel comfortable with, and make a commitment to keep your home “good enough.”
COME ON IN! CURTAIN
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