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Architectural products used in this room:




Della crown molding






Plano chair rail molding





Studio panel molding


and

square wall accents (NR30)



Mentio baseboard molding

Featured Articles:

A Grand Home Entrance

home entrance that makes a statement

home entrance ceiling

entrance floors

home entrance lighting

entrance furniture

home entrance door

Entrance Details Make the Difference

Home Entrance a Facelift

 

A Grand Home Entrance

The look and feeling of your grand home entry plays a critical role in setting right tone for the rest of your home. The first impression of your home's interior is established here, and you want it to be favorable. The entryway establishes the social contract with outsiders and clearly communicates the position and status of those owning the home.

If the prospect did not seem excited by the exterior of your property, this is your chance to make up ground quickly. And if the buyer was impressed with the exterior, here's the opportunity to begin cementing a sale, whether your entry consists of a separate room or a small hallway or is simply the first stopping point before walking into an open layout.

The National Association of Home Builders reports that over 74 percent of home buyers want and expect a formal entry hall to be a feature of their next home. When three quarters of your market speaks, it pays to listen.



Home Entrance that makes a Statement

You want your entry to set the right tone immediately. The entry should clearly suggest that your house or condo is in excellent condition, and that your home offers a positive life-style.

Entrance Walls

The dominant visual influence of your entry is likely to be the walls and the items hanging on them.

Wall Colors and Covers

There are two basic rules of color in areas like the entry. First, in small spaces, use light colors to avoid making the area seem even smaller. Second, colors should be neutral so as to avoid causing territorial anxiety. You might consider a monochromatic color scheme. Whites, beiges, and light pastels are the safest. Stronger colors should be limited to accents like prints, flowers, or upholstery. Wallpaper in the entry can be especially tricky since it can overwhelm a room. Neutral colors and small prints might be acceptable, but large prints and strong colors can definitely work against you. Ask advise from the people you trust to determine if your wallpaper is too personal and, if so, strip it and paint the walls, and consider a color - mood associations.

Wall Art

Use pictures, hanging wall panels or wall screens to add color and interest to neutral walls. But if you have very expressive or abstract art that people either love or hate, move it elsewhere. You would do better opting for more reserved paintings and photographs. Always avoid religious wall art since it can cause territorial anxiety.
Home Entrance


Wall Mirrors

Mirrors can be a big help to a small or dark entry. It will enhance the perception of light and size in this all-important area of the home. Of course, the mirror should be spotless and the objects it reflects should be attractive.

Mirror's shape can play a big role in overall ambiance. While choosing mirrors consider the shape of a mirror when deciding where it should be placed in the room. Depending upon the layout of your entryway, you can choose a single framed mirror, a large horizontal mirror above a consul table, or a full-length Pier mirror. Don't place large mirrors directly across from the door, however, because you want prospects to focus on your home, not how they themselves look. Mirrors scale and mirrors placement are very important.
 

Wall Molding

Whether your house or condominium is traditional or contemporary in design, molding can transform a nondescript surface into a focal point. Molding is one of the least expensive ways to set your house apart, increase perceived value, and compensate for design flaws. The look of the molding reinforces the charm of the home and invariably elicits comments like "They just don't build homes like this anymore." Seldom do buyers consider that the marvelous detail work so common in authentic colonial and Georgian homes can be bought by the carload on our website. Molding can make an impressive statement in the entry and in other formal areas of the home. The ideas we will discuss apply not only to formal entry ways but  to any other room in the home. Using moldings you can create a luxury wall decor.

On InvitingHome.com website you can see handsome wood molding and polyurethane molding molding. These are usually much more elaborate than any you could produce on your own and can create a dramatic focal point to any room, especially one as small as the entry. You should carefully consider choosing right molding material while selecting molding for your home entrance. Polyurethane or wood molding products cost between $3 and $19 per foot, depending on how elaborate they are, and can be installed by any handy person. You need a few tools, including a miter box and saw, a tape measure, level, hammer and nails, a drill, and some spackle. If you don't feel you are enough of a handyman to do the job yourself, hire a carpenter.

There are three types of molding that are especially effective in enhancing the look of your walls. They are chair-rail, panel molding for walls and ceiling, and crown molding. If your walls are any color but bright white, consider painting the molding a lighter color to accentuate it. This will also help to make the room appear larger.



Home Entrance Ceiling

The ceiling is not generally thought of as a major selling point, but it can have a real impact on the buyer's perception of your entry. If the ceiling has cosmetic defects or design flaws, you can use a number of inexpensive packaging improvements to correct it.

Paint

Remember, if the ceiling is disproportionately high for the size of the room, a darker color will make it seem lower. The darker color will reflect less light and will also effectively minimize surface defects.

Ceiling Embellishment

There are a range of interesting products available that can transform a conventional ceiling into a focal point of the room. Beautiful ceiling medallions (also known as rosettes), ceiling rims and ceiling domes are one such product. You also can use en elegantly designed panel moldings with decorative corners to create your ceiling design. They are architectural embellishments that were common in old, elegant homes but are rarely seen in today's reproduction colonial homes.

Entrance Floors

When your prospect first steps into your home, the floor that greets him or her should project a feeling of quality and care. If the floor is wood, wax it or give it a new coat of urethane. This will not only make it look better but will also add a smell of newness. If the floor is carpeted, cleaning or vacuuming is a must. With either type of floor, an area rug will add a look of richness; it can also be a great cover-up. Use a thick pad beneath the rug to provide an added feeling of luxury.

If you need a new floor for this small area, consider using a high-quality material like marble or flagstone. You may be able to put down a new floor yourself by, for example, applying a self-stick solid oak parquet designed for the do-it-yourselfer. Installing a more luxurious floor in the entry may well be worthwhile, because it will suggest overall quality. When it comes time to advertise the property and you state, "Features marble entry," you can be sure people will take notice.



Home Entrance Lighting

Home Entrance Lighting

An attractive light fixture, like Empire crystal chandelier, can be the centerpiece of your entryway. It can help set the tone of the home by suggesting quality. Proper lighting of the entryway is also essential in helping to establish the warmth and cheeriness of your house or condominium. There are a lot of styles and types of home entrance lighting. Most popular lighting fixtures are chandeliers, lanterns and sconces.

If you have a ceiling fixture that is clearly not up to the standards of the rest of your entryway, consider replacing it with one that can provide a true focal point. You may find that, depending on the size of your entryway, one general overhead light is sufficient, or it may be that a second accent light is needed. Because the ceiling is likely to cover a small area only, there is probably no room for a second ceiling fixture. On the other hand, the area might accommodate a table lamp or wall sconces.

 

Home Furniture

Entrance Furniture

If the area is large enough, consider providing an attractive furniture grouping. For example, you might place a small side table with a favorite lamp or a pair of candlesticks from the living room. Only you are likely to notice their absence from the larger room; on the other hand, most prospects are sure to notice them in the entryway. While choosing furniture, like chairs, benches or occasional tables, you should focus on scale and proportion. It will determine how many things you will be able to fit in an entrance of your home. The larger the scale of furniture and objects the bolder the look. When decorating an entry way always remember to consider the relationship of your furniture to your home accessories. Massive rustic entry table doesn't want little bitty things on or around it. Along with furniture you might want to consider built-ins for your home entry.

Home Entrance Door

The front door is the first and last part of your home that visitors or potential buyers encounter. For this reason, it should reinforce the positive impression made by your property. Any glass in the door should sparkle, and so should the hardware. Take a moment to consider the hardware because it can offer a telling detail about the quality of your property in general. A reproduction cut-glass, brass, hardwood, or porcelain knob placed on an otherwise conventional hollow-core door can increase the perception of value.

The lock and handle should have the look and feeling of quality and provide reassurance about the property. If you have worn or flimsy hardware, fix or upgrade it. Placing an attractive brass peephole in the door for screening visitors is a good idea, but don't buy the small, inexpensive kind since it will cheapen the look of the door
Door Trim. If the rest of your home features traditional architectural detail and if you have a plain flat door, it's easy to reproduce the look of a raised-panel door. Simply use panel molding molding and affix four or six vertical rectangular panels.

 

 

Entrance Details Make the Difference

The smaller an area is, the more impact small details will have. Your entry way provides an ideal opportunity to "impress for less."

One of the nice touches is to replace the standard plastic or metal switch-plates or outlet covers with more substantial ones. You can choose from brass, porcelain, or wood. This investment will immediately suggest a higher level of detail and value that will enhance the buyer's perception of the room as a whole.

Another nice touch is the addition of a small shelf or counter near the front door.

entrance details

Because the shelf will be small, you might consider making it from an expensive material like marble, or an attractive wood like walnut.

The shelf should look professional, but if you are not good with your hands, the cost of bringing someone in to do such a small job may not be economical. Remember, a job that looks amateur may actually cost you points.

The Coat Closet

When you offer to hang up your prospect's coat, he or she will get a first glimpse of the organization of your home. If your closet is packed with clothing, boxes, or other space robbers, clean it out. Move items down to the basement or up to the attic, but avoid giving the impression of a messy, inadequate closet.

Once you've done this, buy a set of the most attractive hangers you can find. Rather than having a collection of old wire or padded hangers, use a set of quality wood hangers that add a feeling of quality to the closet.

The entry closet should also smell attractive. Replace the odor of shoes, mothballs, and mustiness with smells that sell. read more about home closets and making the most out of closet

 

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Trying to sell your home?

home entrance upgrade

Give Your Home Entrance a Facelift

5 things to do before you start:

1. Consider the Competition

Entry ways vary considerably from home to home, and there is no single right or wrong look. Even if you find your competition has more dramatic or impressive entries than yours, we do not recommend wholesale changes. But knowing what you're up against should give you the incentive to upgrade what you already have. There are a number of inexpensive packaging techniques that will make your entry stand up to or above the competition.

2. Consider the Buyer

As always, understanding your buyer is important when marketing your entry way. By considering the specific needs of different segments of the market, you will strengthen its appeal.

First-Time Buyers
Young first-time buyers, who are just beginning to earn enough to buy certain trappings that higher-income groups already enjoy, want the entryway to speak of their new position in life. Research indicates, for example, that mirrored surfaces are quite popular with this group, as are plush carpeting and expensive-looking light fixtures.

Trade-up Buyers
For the more sophisticated trade-up buyer, the entry should be understated but suggest success. Research conducted by SRI International reveals that to this group art objects and oriental carpets can help project the right message. The entry as a whole is particularly important to the trade-up buyer in terms of the signal it sends to visitors and friends.

Empty Nesters/Trade-down Buyers
Many empty nesters and trade-down buyers moving to smaller homes may be resigned to losing a separate and formal entry. But there are many ways to create a feeling of a separate entry where none exists. Because older buyers are particularly sensitive about security, your entryway should suggest how secure your home is and help satisfy their safety needs. We will cover ways to increase the feeling of security in your entry and to add to the perception of value in the process.

3. Evaluate Your Product

When you bring your friends through the entry way, pause to get their first impressions. Because their reactions are likely to reflect those of prospective buyers, you will want to listen attentively. Ask them what they like the most and least about your entry and what first pops into their minds when they first step into your home. Be particularly sensitive to comments relating to sources of territorial anxiety.

4. Eliminate Territorial Anxiety

Because people are on their guard when first setting foot in a stranger's home, it's particularly important to avoid personal statements that create territorial anxiety in the entry.

Eliminate strong personal color, ethnic, or design statements. For example, if your friends or your own research concludes that the violet-patterned wallpaper gracing your entry may not have general appeal, we would certainly recommend stripping it and painting the wall a neutral shade that complements your furnishings.

Remember, no detail is too small as far as the entry is concerned, because this is where the buyers' impressions of the exterior will either be reinforced or contradicted. A few points scored one way or the other at this stage of the tour will influence the final outcome.

5. Maximize Packaging Appeal

Since the entry way is usually small, each feature of the room can make a significant impact. For this reason, use small details to make big impressions, and we will show you how.

Home Entrance
 

A Grand Home Entrance

 


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