Tips for Making Your Home's Entryway More Inviting

First impressions matter, and if you want your home to welcome guests with a warm embrace, focus on your entryway. With a few updates outside and attention to detail on the inside, you can create an inviting entryway that will put your guests at ease the moment they see your home.

Outside updates

A pop of color will stand out on your block and offer an attention-getting detail your guests cannot miss. You can easily add a bold, bright, or moody color to your entryway with a painting refresh on your front door. For a more dramatic change, you can install a new door, like a Dutch door, advise Jessica Bennett and Caitlin Sole, writers for BHG.com.

You can hint at your home’s style and your welcoming spirit with a preview on your front porch. “To really welcome your visitors, use some decoration around the front door,” suggests Jason Ball, writer for Houzz.com. “A simple bench or some type of greenery like flowers is a small statement on how you feel about your home and your visitors.”

When guests are visiting after the sun goes down, be sure to provide ample lighting to guide your guests to your door. According to Bennett and Sole, low-voltage lights can accent pathways and motion-sensing lights at your front door are a smart security investment for you and your guests.

Inside transformation

Upon entering your home, your guests need a spot to drop their stuff. Provide them a solution like a coat rack or bench they can tuck their shoes under, advises Ball. This will help them feel comfortable as soon as they come into your home.

Visual interest is another way to highlight your style. Whether you opt for a collage of family photos, one simple picture, or bold artwork, ParachuteHome.com stresses whatever you choose should be a reflection of your design taste.

You can transform your inside entryway by borrowing from your outside aesthetic, especially if Mother Nature is one of your favorite co-designers. “Plants are the hardest-working home décor pieces,” according to ParachuteHome.com. “If your entryway doesn’t get a lot of natural light, choose plants that love shade, such as Boston Ivy (yes, you can grow it indoors), Begonias, Anemones, Salvias, and Dahlias.”

Your entryway should be a place of welcome for your guests and a guiding point as well. “Use the architecture of the home as the route markers,” Ball notes. Décor items, too, are key to helping your guests find their way. An entrance runner can direct your guests where to go, he adds.

If your entryway is on the smaller side, you can expand the feel of space with a mirror. A mirror can add a bold touch of style as well as a functional element for both your guests and family members.

“Everyone wants to take one final look before they’re out the door,” according to ParachuteHome.com. “Mirrors are also décor magicians that make small, dark spaces appear brighter and more expansive. Even a small mirror in a beautiful frame can immediately elevate your entryway and become its focal point.”

A few tweaks can transform your entryway from a bland, boring space to a point of pride and welcome to your guests.