Staging a Foyer

Quick! You have less than a minute to make a really good impression on your potential home buyer when they walk in through the front door. How are you going to make them feel welcome? What can you do to keep them from turning around and walking back out the door?

This is where first impressions do count, so make yours one to remember. You've already cleaned and decluttered these rooms,staging a foyer is the polish that gives a glimpse of the lifestyle that awaits the buyer of this wonderful home.

Keep in mind what today's buyers are looking for: a well-kept home that is spotless, spacious, stylish and up-to-date. You can hit a bulls-eye on each of these targets - just follow along as we tackle each "first impression" room one by one. Continuing below, we start with the foyer. We have organized our tips for staging the living room and dining room on separate pages to make it easy for you to follow along.

The potential home buyer will evaluate a few things when standing in the foyer of a home they are about to tour. Will this room impress my guests? Is there enough room to take off a coat and hang it up? A place to sit and put on shoes and drop a purse? Does the room flow nicely into the other formal (or entertaining) spaces?

This is where you will tell (with your non-verbal staging choices) the prospective home buyer that this is the well maintained, up-to-date, perfect place to raise a family or entertain home that they are looking for.

Staging a foyer is all about creating a welcoming feel and an ambiance that is appropriate to the style and price point of the home.

• That warmth starts with the wall color and we usually choose a light tan such as Benjamin Moore's Baby Fawn OC-15 or Cedar Key OC-16. (This means removing all wallpaper. Use our favorite wallpaper removal method to make quick work of this task found in our Resources pages.)
• These colors are rich enough to provide that warm feeling, dark enough to let mouldings pop, yet still light enough to allow the foyer to look bright.
• Again, we will choose an eggshell finish for the paint for easy cleaning and the sheen.

If the home has white mouldings throughout, then the foyer should have the mouldings and trim painted white as well.

• Semi-gloss white paint is our choice here. If the rest of the house has stained woodwork, then we make sure that the foyer's woodwork matches that in the rest of the home. Remember, the foyer is the preview of what to expect in the rest of the home - so try and keep everything consistent.
• The exception is the front door. If it is a richly stained wood door as in the photo above, then it is all right for this to be different than the other interior doors if they are painted. The front door makes a statement all its own and it has its own rules.

The basic furniture pieces for the front foyer of a home are a table (either round or console) and a chair or bench. Unless the foyer is larger than 12' x 12', you usually will not want to put anything else in the space.

If the foyer is very small or part of the living room in warmer climates, we usually will try and fit in a wall mounted shelf instead of using up the limited floor space for furnishings. This shelf can still say "foyer" to a prospective buyer and does show that the home has a place to drop keys or a purse.

The flooring in the foyer is usually one of the nicest upgrades in the home. Builders will try and put slate, tile, or hardwood in a foyer because it is such an important room for first impressions.

• We always put a throw rug or area rug in a foyer with a hard surfaced floor. It adds warmth and it absorbs sound so that the room does not sound and feel empty.
• For dark floors, choose a light rug to provide contrast. For lighter floors, choose a dark rug.
Rugs in foyers should be the best you can find to make the best first impression. Consider purchasing a new rug to take with you to your next home. A new rug says "well-maintained."
• For traditional style homes, choose a patterned Oriental-type rug. It needn't be authentic - there are many really good copies that will work just as well. For suggestions on sources for these types of rugs, go to our Resources page.
• If you have a more contemporary home, choose a rug that is a graphic or geometric design. Not too wild, just good clean design. Again, choosing a rug pattern that is in keeping with the overall architecture and style of the home is important to reinforce the type of home you are selling. Our Resources has more suggestions for rugs that will work in contemporary rooms.
• Choose the largest rug that will fit in the space leaving at least 9 inches of floor space on all sides of the rug. (Don't use multiple rugs - one large one will do.) You want buyers to still be able to see the condition and type of hard flooring in the foyer - it's what they are buying.

There are usually two types of lighting in a foyer or entryway. The first is general lighting, coming from a chandelier or perhaps sconces. The second is decorative lighting which can be in the form of a table lamp.

• It is important that the chandelier be the right size - many chandeliers or pendants in foyers are just too small. If possible, get a new chandelier that is a current style and finish. (Notice the chandelier in the photo above. The style of the home is gothic, and the wrought iron chandelier is the right size for the foyer and has gothic details.) Our choices can be found in our Resources pages. This the the jewelry of the room, so it should sparkle and have a presence.
• A table lamp will add extra lighting to the room.
• If there is a nearby outlet to plug one in, we recommend a decorative lamp be placed on the foyer table. If there is no outlet nearby that you can reach without a maze of extension cords, then omit it.
• A lamp of 15-18" in height is a good size in a foyer.
• The base of the lamp should be in the same finish as the chandelier. You can also choose a lamp base that coordinates in pattern and color with the rug you've chosen.

Accessories can add texture and interest to a foyer, but we need to be mindful not to reclutter the space when we accessorize.

• If there are large expanses of blank wall in the foyer (and visible stairway), then we will usually select a framed artpiece for the space. Stick to landscapes and abstract art subjects - they are gender neutral and will not offend anyone's taste. Above the console table or shelf are good places for a nice artpiece. Check out our favorite art choices in our Resources pages for good selections.
• Most of the time, we put a plant or vase of fresh flowers on the entryway table. Fresh greenery gives life to a room and you want your foyer to exude warmth, not a do-not-touch, sterile environment. For cut flowers, we choose mums, iris, calla lilies or a local variety that will last at least a week. Choose a single variety of flower in one color. It will be simple and elegant and easy to replace each week. If there isn't room for a table in the foyer, we will sometimes select a nice peace lily and put it in an inexpensive basket and set it on the floor in an out-of-the-way corner.
• If the table is large, you can also opt to place a small dish of wrapped peppermints on it. This is an inexpensive accessory that is also a gesture of hospitality.
• If the foyer has a chair or bench, then it should be left empty. This seating is also handy if you are requiring viewers to wear booties when they are in your home. (TIP: If you have replaced and/or cleaned your carpeting, then booties will reinforce that you are serious about cleanliness and keeping the carpeting in tip-top shape for the new owner. Not a bad reminder to have on the top of viewers' minds.)

After the foyer is completely staged, you can move on to staging the living room or you can move right to staging the dining room for more home staging ideas.

You might also want to return to our main home staging page. from Staging a Foyer.