apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Are the doors closets? I had this problem too, but it was an old door from our apartment's railroad days, so I could just cover it up--I leaned an enormous standing mirror against the door, and it's gone. My sense is that these are functional doors, though. You might consider panel curtains on little tracks over the two doors that aren't the apartment's main door.

I have this issue in one of my hallways and it leaves guests confused to which door is the guest bathroom. I put a very tasteful "open" sign on it.

Maybe the exit door could be painted a bold color like a peacock blue, red, or even black. What's the outside of the door look like? Maybe if you carry that inside, the exit door will pop more. You could even use the same shade to highlight the landing strip, sort of tying them together.

Depending on how deep the closets are (and how necessary they are to your storage needs), you could remove the door of one of them and create a little alcove for a landing strip.

The ceiling fixture would definitely be a good start. I'd get something a bit "flatter", perhaps a squared-off shape?

For the doors, I'd go with the previous suggestion of maybe covering them with a mirror (or mirrors). It would make the hall look bigger, maybe creating more reflected light? If not two mirrors, maybe a large, mounted print or a painted canvas on one of them, just to break it up a bit.

I like the idea of painting the exit door a bold color. You could also get large letters to hang reading EXIT, CLOSET, or whatever. Could be nice in a pop artish sort of way, how I picture it.

You could get a cute "Way Out" London Underground sign for the main door!

http://www.madeinbritainltd.com/streetsigns.html

I wouldn't put a sign on the door - but I would paint it Bright Red.

(Tho it's fairly obvious to me which door is the exit: It's the one with the deadbolt lock and the peephole)

If you can paint, use color to code the doors -- let's say the trim stays white, and the walls are X color: keep the main door white. Paint the other two doors, including trim, in the contrasting X color used on the walls. Your call whether you extend the white baseline across the bottoms of the doors (giving visual sense of connecting trim from one side to the other); I would in this case, since the doors will be seen mostly from an angle so the eye won't see quite as strongly the way the trim/door stand proud from the wall.

That's assuming both additional doors are operable and are/should remain accessible. I get the idea of, say, covering both with wall-hangings or curtains of some type -- and have seen that done -- but I personally found it annoying as all get out, dealing with it on a regular basis. Pulling back a curtain (worse when the door is outswing) and navigating in/out of closet or bathroom requires two hands and if you're dealing with winter coats, sometimes that takes two hands on its own. I always ended up having short battles with the curtains every time I wanted to get the doors open.

If painting is not an option, then try lightweight but relatively large pictures: like museum prints mounted on foamcore, which will give the image some heft without weight. Tack at all four corners (so the poster doesn't go fwap-fwap-fwap with each open/close of the door and give the impression of falling down at any moment from the force of swinging on the door's back).

Then turn the exits into a household joke or mnemonic: "No, no, in this place, you can only exit via Van Gogh. Bosch is the gateway to hell, err, the bathroom." Of course, I'm also the kind of person who'd get a print of Warhol's Judy Garland and stick it on the closet door and wait to see if anyone gets it.

I actually like the 3 doors...a sort of funhouse look. The mirrors would reinforce this feeling. I think the "don't remember which door" may have been hyperbole, but perhaps point out to your friends that only one door has a deadbolt. Very seldom does anyone have deadbolts on the entryway closets. As for the lighting, recessed lighting would be the best plan with such a low ceiling but that would depend on budget and if this is a rental (my guess is yes).

I recommend picking a wall color that's a shade or two darker than the existing wall color and painting everything in the alcove this color except the exit door and trim around the exit door. (Including doors on left and right, trim, ceiling, and small sections of wall space around exit door.) This will direct your focus directly to the exit door. I'd also put some type of ornament on the exit door, like a wreath, small painting, or other decorative element to draw your eye to the exit.

For the light fixture, I'd change it to something white or very light. Focus should be on exit door.

Finally, the rug itself almost leads you first to the doors on the left and right because of it's dimension. I recommend rotating the rug so that you enter the narrow end and walk along the longer end to the narrow end on the other side. Rug should lead you to the exit. You might also get a new rug with a stripes that run along the left and right longer sides to again draw you to the exit door.

Don't over think, or overdesign, the situation... which may only make matters worse.

If the other doors are closets, paint them a gloss version of you wall color, leaving only the main exit/entyr door a gloss white, then call it a day, with the *possibility* of putting a floor-length mirror on one of the closte doors to further diminish its "doorness."

Possibly also replace the larger runner with a smaller "interior welcome mat" to further emphasize the main point of exit.

Look at LampsPlus or shades of light for low-profile ceiling fixtures.

One other thought... perhaps paint the interior of the main door whatever color it is on the hallway/exterior side... yet another visual cue as to which is which.

But if the exterior is too dark, knock the interior-side color down by about 50%... and don't forget the trim around it.

How about painting the doors different colors? Or getting a stencil and painting the word EXIT on the appropriate door, and CLOSET or whatever on the other doors.

Or you can purchase a pre-made EXIT sign and hang it.

what do the other two doors go to? Can you remove them? Replace them with louver doors or a curtain? Or leave them open, with shelving (I'm guessing at least one of them is a closet. could you paint the apartment door a color?

If you're allowed to paint, it'd be fun to paint each door a different color, to feature the doors rather than hide them. It would make the front door easier to distinguish, and would make a fun entranceway. A flat door mat inside the front door would also feature it as the entrance.

paint the entire space around the moldings, then paint the exit door black (not the molding) - leave all moldings white

Go to Lowe's/Home Depot/Ace Hardware and get a set of large and elaborate doorware that complements your hall lamp, including a kickplate. Get the same brand as your current knob and lock, so you will be able to keep the same outer hardware, and just change the inner set.

I'm assuming one of those doors is a coat closet. What if you took the door off of that and custom built an entry station. There could be a row of hooks along the side wall of it for coats, keys. Depending on the depth of the space, you could build a little upholstered bench for putting your shoes on. You could hang a mirror above that, which would be handy and brighten the space up....Make sure to install a good light above. You could install a ledge shelf on the other side wall for dropping off mail, keys, etc.

I would paint the "main" door some nice bright color. And turn the rug so the stripes lead to the door, not sideways. It will help to redirect attentions from the side doors.

I agree with patrick (the other one) and would paint either the entire interior doors the same color as the walls (but keeping the trim white) or just the inner rectangles the color of the walls. Getting a half-circle rug for the front door would also help clarify which door is the front door since it would connote a direction that a rectangle rug can't. If you have enough space, there are Flor tiles that create circles with 4 pie shapes - could use the other 2 for under your upcoming landing strip for shoes. And then, if there is still confusion for the two interior doors (esp. if one is a bathroom) a little boy/girl sign might work!

I agree with patrick (the other one) and would paint either the entire interior doors the same color as the walls (but keeping the trim white) or just the inner rectangles the color of the walls.

Getting a half-circle rug for the front door would also help clarify which door is the front door since it would connote a direction that a rectangle rug can't. If you have enough space, there are Flor tiles that create circles with 4 pie shapes - could use the other 2 for under your upcoming landing strip for shoes.

And then, if there is still confusion for the two interior doors (esp. if one is a bathroom) a little boy/girl sign might work! Or hanging a fancy umbrella on the outside of the closet door would give a hint as to its use.

I like the idea of taking the door off of the closet, eliminate some of the confusion. Also, painting the other doors a wall color, or painting the front door a bold/different color.
With the landing strip itself, you might want something that is slightly more narrow than that existing mirror; there are a lot of switches on the wall that make things cluttered and complicated.
Replacing the light fixture with a rectangle or square will definitely help that little space out a lot.

I love the entry station idea. So much fun!

I would paint the door that goes outside a bold color and leave the other two alone. The exit door will really stand out!

what about taking inspiration from the TV show Friends and hanging a bright picture frame around the peephole of entry door?

I vote for taking the door of the coat closet (which we are all assuming is one of them) and making it into a landing-space. Hooks are more convenient than hangers any day, and you could paint it a sweet color to make it pop against all that white! You could even paint the exit door a color that goes well with your new landing-space and have yourself an entry in the next AT colors!

One of the things contributing to the confusion is the substantial molding around all three openings. So, if you own, perhaps take the lintels off the secondary doors, or consider scaling them back relative to the main entry.

Paint the exit door a bright color.

we seem to have the same essential layout! my exit door is easier to find, but i envy you your wall space - i have maybe ten inches to the side of one of the four doorways and another seventeen between two others. i just moved in, but my landing space is going to be a HUGE challenge.

i have that same light fixture, but in my living room. i hate it, so i just got this to replace it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Modern-Contemporary-Retro-Ceiling-Lighting-Lamp-02_W0QQitemZ380075542077QQihZ025QQcategoryZ29510QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

it seemed to have roughly the same dimensions and lie flush against the ceiling, so hopefully it will look as stunning in my space as it does in my friend keyse's. (it arrives friday; cross your fingers!)

Hi all,
Thank you for all of your suggestions. Here are some answers to some of the questions posed: I own it, so I can paint. One door is a multi-purpose coat closet/pantry/recycling center (to the left when walking into the unit), and just behind the other door are a stackable washer and dryer. The washer/dryer takes up the whole closet. I've been trying to figure out how implement the suggestion of making the coat closet a landing space. I think that would be great, but I don't know where I'd put the pantry shelves that are on the back of the door and where I'd put the recycling. Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Lindy

Lindy--

Since you own, DEFINITELY install an inset/recessed light to replace the overhead light.

I have a similar situation in a tight bathroom. We used rolling reed shades in a natural, very light-colored reed to cover the door to the stacking washer and dryer. Works great and gives the space some texture. I think it works better than a door for doing laundry!