Simple Ways to Make Your Entryway More Welcoming

There’s a big difference between a house and a home. A house is a real estate property that you own or live in, whereas a home is a place full of love, safety and memories that make you feel warm inside. Your home is your own realm, a place where you can get some rest and respite from all the hardships of the world. The inside of your home is not as hostile as the outside world and it’s not as stressful as the office that you work at.

To make this difference come to life and make all of this even more symbolic, you need to find a way to transform your entryway into a portal, through an outstanding design. This will serve two major purposes, first, it will help you start feeling safe as soon as you step in, not after you’re already inside the living room. Second, you’ll make your guests fall in love with the place, as well.

One can never get a second chance to make a positive first impression and your guests may start forming their opinion of your home as soon as they actually walk in. With that in mind and without further ado, here are several simple ways to make your entryway more welcoming.

1. Front door

The first thing that will get in focus when it comes to the issue of your entryway is your front door. Earlier on, we talked about turning your entryway into a portal and your door plays this exact same function to the letter. First of all, you get to pick the color. While red is a popular choice, there are some hues that, in contrast with the rest of your home, may look somewhat obnoxious. Therefore, take the context (in this case the surroundings) into consideration.

There are several door elements that should also be tended to, yet, none of them is as iconic as the door knocker. Even in the era where this element is no longer used for its original purpose, it’s hard to imagine an ornate door without it. Aside from this, hanging a wreath may help your door look more welcoming, which is a great hack to break the intimidating effect of some darker hues in a cost-effective manner. Lastly, you should replace the door handle. This is best done at the same time as the knocker replacement, due to the fact that having them in the same theme might help you out immensely.

2. Pick the right mat

The next thing you need to understand is the difference between the outdoor and indoor is defined by the texture more than by the fact that one is confined within walls and doors. As soon as you step in, there’s rugs and hardwood floors and wicker and smooth walls, while on the outside there’s concrete, and grass and cobblestones and rough façade. One item that may act as a crossover is a mat, seeing as how it virtually represents as both worlds. Therefore, it can act as a stepping stone and help you transcend from one dimension into another.

A welcome mat, is probably the most common type out there, while there are some who invest that extra effort to get something funny or, at very least, witty. We’re talking about the standard “Oh no! Not you again,” the “Definitely not a trap door” or even the “Doorbell broken. Yell Ding Dong.” Nonetheless, there’s no reason why you should restrict yourself to these ideas. By finding a shop specializing in custom door mats, you can print some of your own ideas here.

3. Coat hanger

As soon as they step in, your guests need to feel the change in ambiance and one of the first physical changes that they’ll encounter is the change in temperature and absence of wind. This means that they are likely to look for a way to get their coat off as soon as they enter. Whether you decide to help them do just that or leave them to do it on their own, there needs to be a coat hanger present somewhere near.

Now, there are several directions that you can go in, from hook racks to stand-alone hooks. Outside of this, you should also think about standing coat rack, which, although requires more space is a great visual addition to your entryway. It also allows you to depose of different items on different levels in the same order in which you wear them. For instance, you can put your bag low, your hat high and your coat or jacket in the middle. In this way, you make the process of dressing up, later on, more pragmatic, same as you’ve made the act of undressing.

4. Hallway rug

Your mat is the first step, the threshold is the pause and your hallway rug is meant to pick up where your mat left off. This is why some people like to pick similar hues for the two, while others find an odd level of satisfaction in making as great of a contrast as possible. Nonetheless, when picking the rug, the difference goes far beyond just color and texture, due to the fact that the length and width of the rug also stand to make the difference.

One more thing that a lot of people tends to forget is the pile height, due to the fact that it’s not something that’s impacted by the room. Still, seeing as how we’ve already talked about the feel, this is a feature that can introduce a tactile change, as well. In this way, visitors to your home will not only be able to see, smell and feel the difference in the environment but also notice it under the soles of their feet. While this often gets underestimated it’s actually one of the simplest ways to make them feel cozy and comfortable.

5. The illumination

An additional way in which you can make the difference is the issue of illumination. While you want the difference in visibility to be noticeable, you don’t necessarily want it to be staggering, due to the fact that this will cause discomfort and be quite unpleasant in nature. Therefore, your best bet lies in taking a tad subtler approach.

For instance, during the daytime, you could rely on an entryway mirror to enhance the natural light in the room, at least for a bit. This is particularly important due to the fact that, for practical and obvious reasons, hallways and entryways often lack mirrors. In the evening, on the other hand, your safest bet is to rely on an artificial lighting system. Here, on the other hand, you should probably be careful and go with something a tad dimmer. The last thing you want is to cause your guests to replace pitch black of the outside world with a blinding light.

In conclusion

At the very end, making your entryway more welcoming is a matter of effort more than anything else. Some people look at it as if you’re trying to sell (even market) the idea of the pleasantness of your home to others. In reality, you just need to try looking at your home from an honest standpoint and realize that for others to love your home, you need to start loving it yourself. By working in this direction, you won’t have any trouble in achieving the goal of making your entryway more welcoming in no time.