Your entrance or front door to your home is the first thing people look at when they walk by, drive past or come to visit your home. Making a statement with the entrance of your home can really increase the threshold of your home and set the tone for the rest of your home. A bold and well-decorated entrance will leave a lasting impression on your guests and passers-by. So let’s take a look at some ways you can upgrade your home entrance to create the most impact.
Go for a minimalist look
One of the first things you will notice when you look at home entrances in home decor magazines or online is that their entrances are not cluttered with furniture, pots, plants or furnishings. You need to choose some important elements and let these be the only furnishing items for your home entrance, these can be in the form of some simple plantings, a bench, a chandelier or other larger objects that are immediately noticeable and can stand alone without hassle around them. Get rid of additional furnishings, plantings and storage boxes.
Make sure that your main furnishings are in good condition and that your door, door frame, walls and floor around the home entrance are well painted (if needed) and maintained. A dark door on a lighter wall or a light door on a dark wall work well together.
Get some large plantings
Planters have long been a traditional home decor element, often placed on either side of the door. Get two large plantings and create a symmetrical entrance with a planter on each side of the door or go with three or four plantings in different heights and shades to create an equally effective asymmetrical entrance.
Try to choose plantings that are made of a colored cement or concrete mixture so that they have low maintenance and you do not have to worry about repainting in one or two years.
You do not need to fill your entire planter with sand or potted plants. Fill the lower half of your planter with packaging polystyrene or build a false bottom in your planter. You will then use less soil and they will be much lighter, so you can move them around if you need to clean under them or change entrances at regular intervals.
Add outdoor lights to your path to the entrance of your home
Use outdoor lighting for your home entrance
Light is always an effective way to create an attractive garden in the evening and at night. Choose some subtle lights along the way to your home entrance or along a perimeter wall to gently illuminate the outside of your home.
Be sure to choose low-energy LED lighting so that you do not spend a fortune on your electricity bill as these lamps will be lit for long periods in the evenings. A simple timer can also be a useful addition to turn them on and off every night, or go with a smart lighting system like the Philips Hue system to automatically turn on and off the lights with timers and location-based settings for when you arrive or go from home.
Make your own eye-catching house number
Your house number is the perfect object to turn into a work of art for the entrance of your home. You can do this by having a local sign manufacturer laser cut a stainless steel sign for you or your dirty hands and make your own house number like this original from A Beautiful Mess.
Think of some outdoor seating for your home entrance
If you have a larger front door or porch, consider putting in a bench or outdoor sofa to make your home look more comfortable and inviting. This is really only suitable if you have a larger area that does not look messy.
Choose an accent color
If you are a person who likes a little color, choose an accent color for an immediately eye-catching entrance. Choose a light color such as red, yellow or green for maximum effect and then use it to paint either a set of plantings or your bench or your front door – one or two objects that are likely to stand out in contrast to the neutral background.
Do you have any tips or tricks for upgrading your home entrance? Let us know in the comments field below, we’d love to hear from you.
