Plans for an Entry Hall Makeover

You may or may not recall that earlier this year I started offering long-distance decorating consultations to readers who are faced with a decorating dilemma and need a fresh pair of eyes, or a second opinion. It’s been an incredible six months since and I had the best time meeting (on Zoom) and working with some  wonderful clients across the country and today I’d like to take you to Georgia and share with you a glimpse into one of my most recent projects for a sweet client in Atlanta. She and her husband recently purchased a beautiful Tudor Revival style home and she needed help figuring out her entry hall. My client has excellent taste and loves decorating but the room was somewhat of a puzzle and she reached out for my help. Here’s the inspiration she sent me: 

At approximately 14’ x19’ the entry hall needs to multi-task and work well with the lifestyle of a young family. This is the first room guests see upon entering and it is also where my clients and their five-year-old daughter like to hang out after dinner, read and play music so the room needs to be hardworking and comfortable, and double as a functional entryway and a cozy family room. 

With two exterior doors, three interior doorways, two windows and a fireplace, the space felt like a puzzle that needed to be figured out in way that was harmonious with the architecture of the house and suited for a young family. There are so many great details in this space that are worth highlighting and my client’s sense of the appropriate resulted in a great furniture layout to build upon. What we did is zhush things up a bit and look for pieces that better fit the scale of the room and the family’s need for comfort. We developed plans that my clients can implement over time, at their own pace, without sacrificing style, or fatiguing the budget. 

One of my first suggestions for the space was to bring in a gateleg table (vintage or reproduction antique) and have a large pendant lantern hung and centered above it. This would create a focal area in the center of the room, in the manner of old English country houses which my client loves, and establish the space as a chic entryway. I was inspired by this room in Carlos Sanchez Norfolk home and I thought the setup would look great in a Tudor style home in Atlanta.  A large vase filled with greenery and blooms, and an assortment of books and carefully edited items will keep things fresh throughout the seasons. 

The plans include multiple options for seating: suggestions for ample sofas and wingback chairs, layered rugs and baskets for toys and firewood. We left a few holes in the plan – opportunities to hunt for those one of a kind pieces that you can’t really plan for but that somehow come your way and make a room look collected. Depending on my clients, we can either choose matching side tables or find vintage pieces that have the same height and visual weight but don’t necessarily match. We’ll see.  Anyway, to turn this space into a comfortable entry way, we looked at some lovely upholstered benches that could fit right under the window sills. It’s wonderful to have a little place to sit down and be comfortable while putting on (or taking off) your shoes. We also looked at some beautiful hall trees that combine the functions of a well-planned entryway into chic, compact pieces. 

As for the color scheme, dusty blues, raspberry pinks and chocolate browns with plenty of warmth and patina from a few well chosen vintage pieces, lead the way. The finishes are a mix of antiqued brass (my absolute favorite) and wrought iron/bronze, just to give the room that feeling of transience, as if it came together organically and over time rather than decorated to match. There are so many other elements in the plans and we are still on the hunt for those perfect side tables, but I could not be more excited to see what my client decides to do with this beautiful puzzle of a room. 

Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into a recent project! Wishing you all a lovely day!

P.S: Some of you may have noticed that my website was down for the last 24h. If you are having trouble reading the blog from certain devices, you can remedy the problem by clearing your browser’s cache data. My apologies for the inconvenience & thanks for stopping by!