3 Overdone Entryway Trends You Should Stop Trying, According to Home Stagers

It takes just seconds for someone to form a first impression of you. And if they’re coming into your home, that means they’re also forming an impression of how you live. So it makes sense, then, that you’d want to put your best foot forward with your entryway’s design.

“You should immediately feel interested when you walk into a space,” says Amy Monroe, a home stager who co-owns Milwaukee-based Becoming Home with her daughter, Katie Knitter. “Your foyer or entryway should set the tone for the rest of the living space. It immediately says to someone, ‘I’m entering someplace interesting.’”

If you want to up the visual intrigue for your guests, Monroe and Knitter suggest giving up on a few outdated entryway trends.

Monroe and Knitter say that the common wisdom when working with a small entryway or foyer is to use equally small decorations and items. But you actually want to do the opposite. Choose a larger rug, like a 3-by-5 foot model, to make the tiny room look larger.

“People tend to use 2-by-3 foot entry mats, enough to stamp your feet off when you walk in,” Monroe said. “It just minimizes the look of the space.”

You’ll also want to opt for a larger console, chest, dresser, or other piece of furniture that has drawers and cabinets to stash entryway clutter like dog leases and mittens. Monroe suggests going for 20-by-20 inch throw pillows for a bench, and to avoid outdated skinny candlestick lamps. Instead, choose a larger table lamp that has some heft and will provide nice, soft lighting to the room. And if the space is too small for decorations at all? Pick a single large-impact mirror for the wall.

In the not-so-distant past, safari and country-home aesthetics were all the rage. Think big statues of giraffes and elephants (Monroe has even seen them peeking out windows at the front of houses), steamer trunks, wrought iron, hokey signage, wooden benches, cabinets, walls with stenciling or heart cutouts, bowls of potpourri, faux flowers, plants, and topiaries. It’s time to put those things in storage and pick something more minimalist and modern.

People are drawn to color, but for a cohesive entryway, you’ll want to stick with one. Monroe says that from the foyer, it’s more pleasing to the eye to see one shade of paint.

“A lot of times, people tend to block color,” she said. “So the front hallway is one color and we turn our head and look into the living room and it’s another color, and then I look upstairs and it’s another color. Everywhere the eye hits, from the time you open the door, should have the same color.”

Monroe and Knitter suggest painting with a neutral gray tone. And their two most outdated paint trends, for the record? Pink and Tuscan Red.