Every home needs to create an impact as soon as you open the front door, to draw the eye in and make you want to enter. So many homes I see have clutter in the entrance way - wall hooks crammed with coats and jackets, shoes piled up on the floor or stacked on open shelving units, kids toys, bikes, scooters etc., and other general clutter. Some homes have beautiful original features in their entrance halls (cornicing, ceiling rose etc) and even stunning stained glass panels in their front doors. However, apart from these features there is often nothing to back them up, conducive to making you want to step over the threshold to see more. This is particularly important if you are selling your home as buyers make up their minds within five minutes of entering so you need to ensure that prospective buyers is interested and impressed as soon as they walk through the front door.
The minute you open the front door your house should speak volumes about you and be a taster for the rest of the house. If your entrance hall is bland, colourful, dramatic, stylish or sophisticated there’s a good chance the rest of the house is also. I cannot stress enough how important it is to consider your entrance hall as important as any room in the house, in fact it’s more important as it’s the first area you see when entering. You need to decorate it in such a way that says “hey this is my home, step inside and see more”.
A statement stair runner (if you have a staircase in your entrance hall, or a statement runner if there is no staircase, is the perfect way to add a wow factor. I’m passionate about colour and all things vintage and antique so I designed mine from three handmade Peruvian frazadas, the thick colourful blankets made to combat the harsh Peruvian winters. I had it laid to my design. It speaks volumes about me and my love of colour and all things vintage. I’ve added some colourful bags and hats on hooks in the hallway to complement the runner.
Here are some entrance halls that’s I’ve done for clients where I’ve added a stair runner to add impact. All of these runners below are Roger Oates runners.
So, does your entrance hall cut the mustard?! Does it say “ta-dah” or “meh” to guests ? If the latter it’s time to do something to introduce a wow factor, something to make guests want to see more of your home.
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It's so important to create an instant visual impact because people form an opinion of your home within the first 20 seconds of entering. Here's another beautiful stair runner I created.