Planning for a small table beside the door is a good idea for most front entrances.
A home's front entrance should impress visitors and add curbside appeal. Even a small home looks elegant and inviting if attention is paid to the front entry space. A porch, windows, doors and landscaping all play a part. However, the entrance should tie all the house architecture together neatly. In other words, the front entrance should be the focal point. Every entrance should have special touches and look inviting to visitors. Time invested in planning this space should add to the home's market value. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Investigate front entrances by driving around many neighborhoods. Collect ideas from books, remodeling magazines and landscape design books, too. Make notes about special front doors, glass panels beside the front doors, plants at front entrances and porches that stand out. Envision which ideas could work for your home.
2. Create a double-door entrance with a porch, if possible. Two front doors make a bold statement and tend to look very elegant. Double doors open to provide more space for furniture deliveries, too. Add glass panels alongside the front door space to bring natural light into the interior. Consider building a porch over the entrance to emphasize the architectural style of the house. Use open beams or cedar shakes on the porch to give the home a high-quality look.
3. Use high-quality building materials and furniture. Add a layer of stone over a concrete porch, for example. Install nice light fixtures overhead on the porch or lanterns beside the door space. Purchase an exterior wrought-iron table to hold packages right beside the front door. Include one or two chairs in a heavy design, so the wind won't move them.
4. Include plants and special touches. Incorporate a topiary plant beside the front door for an upscale look. Use a heavy concrete planter to hold the plant in place. Consider adding hanging baskets of ferns or planters of flowers along the porch perimeter. Add a brass mailbox on the porch wall, brass house numbers and a hummingbird feeder, for example. Plant climbing vines that flower in spring and summer on one end of the porch.
5. Make the yard space accessible for visitors. Build a 5-foot-wide sidewalk from the driveway to the front entrance, for example. Add porch railings to make accessing steps easier. Don't build a formal entrance that is never used, since the entrance should lead into the main living space. Consider building a circular driveway to the front entrance, if this works with the architecture of the house.
Tags: entrance should, beside front, front door, front doors, front entrance, front entrances
