apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Why not find a traditional "Noren" and hang that in the doorway?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noren

What about attaching a bookcase to a rolling door track or farm door track.

How about a screen that has shutters?
http://www.pier1.com/TopMenu/Products/tabid/260/Default.aspx?task=viewproduct&id=161&urlname=plantation-shutter-screen

could you do a pocket door?

Whatever you do please, don't do beads...not a fan.

Not sure why the basement door opening in that direction hinders your ability to put a door there. A wall there would definitely make it the most unobtrusive.

Just thinking a little outside the box ... what about working with what you've got by simplifying and enhancing the view -- addressing the parts of the kitchen, etc. that bother you when you look through the doorway? Could something be done to make the open doorway really attractive and appealing to you, a plus rather than a minus?

Painting the back of the stairs (vertical part) a dark color, like the left wall color would help them blend in better rather than draw attention to them. Having the white paint makes them stand out.

I find myself focused on all your refrigerator art. A good solution may be not to cover the doorway since you use it a lot, but rather make a wall behind it to block the visual path. From what I see, you can put a wall on the island/bar next to your basement stairs. Then paint this wall and add art for visual interest (instead of visual havoc). This should not change the traffic flow or congestion like a door or curtain since that structure is there already. Just make the backside of that island taller.

Remove the bookcase on the right of the picture and add interesting art or form to draw the attention towards that direction.

I think no door or cover would be necessary if you scaled back on the visual clutter surrounding the passageway and on the refrigerator. plain jane might be right about rethinking the white baseboards on the stairs.

Your banister is beautiful. I would think about adding complimentary molding around the doorway to make it look more like part of the original architecture - to me it looks like a passageway added more recently. Then perhaps replace the stuff to the left of the door with a console table and lamp or something pretty. Do you need a landing strip? Seems like a good place for one. Scoot the bookcase more to the right to make the space feel less cramped. And clear off or at least streamline the refrigerator door.

I think if it were a beautiful doorway surrounded by beautiful things it would be a lovely view from the front door.

you can get a Noren at pearl mart in NYC.
Thanks Bepsf - I never actually knew what they were called, but that was what I was going to suggest!

I also don't understand why you can't put a door there...just have it open towards the living room, not the kitchen. But, eitherway, I agree with others here that a door is not necessary. I mean do you really want to open (and close!) a door to the main passageway to your house 20 times a day?
Any non-solid attempts to hide it would just draw more attention to it.
Just reduce the visual clutter around the doorway as Szig said and paint the stairs another color. And get rid of the art on the fridge. If you put interesting art on the right side of the living room and streamline the other areas, the eye will be drawn to the right side of the room.

Putting some moulding around the doorway would make it a nice "frame" and take up some of the tips about making the refrigerator less prominent in the background.

Not sure I understand why hanging a door is not an option--just have the door swing into the entry foyer, instead of into the kitchen. That way it won't hit the basement door, or swing into anyone's face unexpectedly as they come up the basement stairs (assume this was your concern). Hinge it on the left (left as seen in the photograph) for best traffic flow.

Ikea has the answer :)

We used the Kvartal system to cover our awkward laundry room door and it's perfect for your situation....and comes in many colors and patterns

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/range/10374/13289/

Don't waste your money on beads...you'll hate it. I did.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/erskine_cure/2457189587/in/set-72157604835149621/

It is MY questions, so thanks to everyone for suggestions. It's too narrow for a door and we DO USE it 100 times a day. We did clean up around a bit. And I try to keep the fresh-cut flowers on that counter... But one more reason for covering it is that it's bad as per Fengshui to see the back door straight from the entrance. Thanks, plain jane, I will seriously consider building a wall above the counter (if I find a way to go around the curvy molding on the ceiling).
PS: there's no space to the right of the bookcase, as theres's another opening -much wider though- that goes to the dining area. But I'll try to lighten it up. Thanks again, everyone

Not sure if I'm helping but I'm thinking of a swinging kitchen door - the old fashioned kind. It can be propped open either direction for everyday use and closed when company comes.
on top of that they are very charming.

I think Clairepetrol is speaking of Pearl River (http://www.pearlriver.com/v2/index.html) - a great place to waste four or five hours.

I also suggest noren curtains. They don't cover the entire doorway, and they split down the middle so it's easy to pass through them. Also, there's a lot of different designs to choose from. I got mine off Ebay.

http://picasaweb.google.com/strawberrytorte/UntitledAlbum/photo#5205551093453724514

an actual door

Yep, swinging door. It would hang "closed" as a default. Narrow is okay, you don't want a stock door anyways as you'll want a small window to cut down on crashes.

Along the lines of clancy's excellent comment, what I immediately noticed was the lack of molding around the kitchen door. I have a kitchen with no door that you can see into from the front room and the dining room, but it's framed with matching molding and painted a nice contrasting color. Why not frame the door with molding to match either the stairs or the bannister, and then update the kitchen so that the glimpse is pleasurable?

That said, I also concur with baltimorerowhouse- I don't see why hanging a door would interfere with the basement door. Just hang the kitchen door so it opens out towards the bookcase on the right. Should be fine! But if you do it, you'd have to add molding, otherwise it will look tacky.

I'd not go with the noren as suggested by other commenters as I think they look rather tacky in western homes unless the rest of the decor is designed to suit them. I personally also do not care for how they don't reach the floor. I say that as someone who uses them to cover a closet that the door was removed from but I only use them because I can layer two of them to cover it entirely (it's a Japanese futon closet with a shelf in the middle) and the design is atypical (it's not a print). Most designs are pretty cheesy.

Though I think a door would look good, I'd probably not go that route either if there was a lot of traffic between the rooms as opening and closing it would get tiresome (and leaving it open might be annoying). I'd go for a long, plain, light-colored curtain hung a bit high over the top of the door. You could keep it pushed aside when you were using the home as usual and draw it when you have guests.

First, I would empty out the stuff in the foyer, no matter what you decide to do; definitely move the bookcase out. Next, I'd install molding around the doorway and attach louvered French doors that open into the foyer (either in wood to match your banister, or white to offset your stairs. You can close them when company visits, but keep them open during your daily routine.

I have never understood the fascination with refrigerator "art." It always looks unkempt and cluttered to me.

Your hallway is almost a mirror image of mine:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/polkadot/2372358684/ (photo taken from just inside front door)
I think a door could work for you. We have a door entering the kitchen that opens into the foyer...immediately behind that door is a door to the right that goes down to the basement, and a door to the left that enters the dining room. I keep the doors to the kitchen and dining room open all the time, except if people are coming over and the kitchen looks messy. The basement door stays closed because the stairs are right there.

Standing where the photo was taken, there are french doors on the left that open into the living room.

I know my foyer isn't the best example of an uncluttered space, but just wanted you to see that a door could work for you. We are getting rid of all the hooks on the walls and having cubbies installed to hold/hide all the kid stuff (we have 4 children under the age of 9, so there is a LOT of kid stuff).

Have you thought of a light drapery or a linen sheer? Madura in NYC (madurahome.com) has helped me with this before. I did a white linen sheer on my door to cover up the space behind it. However, the airflow doesn't stop and I can use a fun tieback to move it out of the way or just push it to the side.

I'd like to comment on a way to soften the look of the stairs. Paint the stair risers and the flat molding attached to the wall (which are currently painted white) the same color as your existing walls. We did this and the stairs seem to float and it quieted down the look of the stairs quite a bit.