Front Door Living Room Layout – Sources: Cabinets (color options) // Gray lamp // Sofa (similar as discontinued) // Side table (similar) // Cushions (similar)
Hello friends, Kylee is here! As promised in my last post, I’m here to show you a little more of our entryway space and share how we created an entryway when there wasn’t one!
Front Door Living Room Layout
We just walk straight into our living room when we enter the house, so I really wanted to design a space that is both purposeful and welcoming when guests come into our home.
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While there were many arrangements this living room could have, I knew right away that I wanted to use our couch to differentiate between the rooms. If you place the sofa with its back in the entrance, it gives the feeling that the living room and the entrance are two separate spaces. While some say this “cuts off” the room, I disagree! You can create this difference in several ways depending on the size of your room. Using furniture is a great choice, but something as simple as two rugs, a statement light or a special wall treatment (anyone?!) can add the illusion of separate spaces.
A console table, chest or cabinet is another great way to define an entryway. It offers a place to store your keys, a place to add a mood lamp and is the perfect surface to add some decorative touches. If you don’t want to take up valuable floor space, a narrow bench or wall shelf can help! My back entryway was a very narrow hallway and I used a super flat shoe cabinet (similar to this one) and it worked great!
In my current room, it was important for me to have a piece that serves as storage. Entries can become a clutter magnet, so this closet was a savior! In the cabinet I have a letter basket, dog leashes, scarves, hats and blankets.
Another practical sea entrance – free space for coats, shoes, umbrellas… anything you can bring and take out. I’m lucky enough to have a coat closet, but hooks or a coat rack work just as well! If I didn’t have a closet, I probably would have put a hook rail on the wall. I love this coat rack for a small space (the white/natural color is currently sold out at West Elm, but I found it here!).
Arranging Furniture In An 11 Foot 6 Inch By 11 Foot 6 Inch Section Of A 13 Foot 8 Inches Wide By 18 Foot Long Living Room
My last home had an entryway, but no closet, so we had lots of hooks for people to put their coats on! Mostly it was full of our coats, but we would take some of our things into the bedroom closet when people came in. And this is another tip for you – before your guests come, make sure there are empty hooks or hangers and that your closet/hanging space is not full! It is much more pleasant if there is room for your guests’ things.
Whether you have a dedicated foyer or not, treating the entryway as its own space and decorating it as such is invaluable in creating a space that is welcoming and really sets the tone for your home. Adding a mirror to your entryway not only looks fantastic, it also reflects light (makes your room look bigger!). In addition, having a place for that “last look” before leaving the house or welcoming guests is very practical.
Adding art and plants or flowers provides a welcoming and homely touch and an opportunity to show your home’s personality at the entrance. Don’t be afraid to be tall or bold here!
Thanks for letting me share my tips and input with you today! Feel free to follow me on Instagram HERE (I love sharing behind the scenes of my home, life in Portland, and recipes).
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You can also see all my past Inspired Room posts (including my whole house tour) here. My front door is close to my living room and the area between the door and the living area seems empty. Should I put a console table next to the door? And would it be partially in front of my curtains? Or should I take a smaller table so that the curtains are not covered? Do I place a runner along the walkway next to the living room rug? The room is unbalanced. The living room furniture is all on one side. And the room that is my entrance is empty. Any advice would be appreciated.
Okay before I get into my thoughts, I just want to take a moment to talk about Mary’s amazing style! Wow, I’m taking notes. Your collection of vintage eclectic furniture is so unique. The pattern mix is spot on…organic, geometric, floral, striped…you name it. And your ability to mix colors, which I honestly would never have thought to pair, is a gift.
So the input is what we focus on and I understand your situation. An entrance that leads directly into the living room is a common issue that creates more problems. Living room furniture placement must be pushed to one side of the room to create a passage for the entrance. And that leaves a dead space in the entryway that feels empty… but the arrangement of the empty space prevents passage.
Empty, it doesn’t look empty. A picture on the wall between the door and the curtains would be good for me. But since you said it feels empty, I’ll take you up on it. For the wall right next to the door, a flat entryway table (one with tall legs so your register still works properly) that is a little smaller than the width between the curtains and the door would be perfect. Add two small stacked frames hanging on the wall above, and that wall will look quite full. It will also bridge the gap between your living room furniture and entryway furniture.
Help Me With My Small, Narrow Living Room With 3 Entrances & Windows
Then for the entryway wall where your dresser currently sits, I love the dresser combination! They are narrow enough to leave room for your entrance and passage, but strong enough to take up a wall. Maybe hanging your art on the wall would create more balance between living room and entryway.
You can definitely add a runner to the entryway, but I honestly said you need it.
Now, if you still feel that the room is unbalanced, is there enough space to add one or two small accent chairs in the living room, facing the window in the photo above? This would draw the living room higher, creating a smaller passage, which would be good if it felt too open and empty. If there is room for chairs, consider getting a slightly larger rug that also expands the living room.
With a larger rug and chairs, the space between the living room and the entryway would be reduced, which would hopefully solve the open void you feel.
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All that said, don’t underestimate the power of visual breathing space. I know how tempting it can be to fill every wall and every corner, but empty pockets allow the must-have pieces to shine. What you have now is the perfect balance between full and comfortable, but not too much! You open the door and are now in the living room. My husband and I just bought this home and absolutely love it. It is a beautiful cape built in the 1930s. Lots of charm, but at only 950 square meters it’s quite small. The living room is really small!
I mean, who builds a house where there is no entrance to the hall and you go straight to the living room?
Is there a solution to create that nice entryway feel without building a front entryway? Maybe one day, but right now we don’t have the funds for that project. I just hate not having proper entry into our home.
In answer to your question: Who builds a house without an entrance? Many builders do this.
New Sofa, New Living Room Layout
For what? The only answer I can come up with is because I can. Unless some significant structural problems require load-bearing beams, it is much less expensive to build a house without walls than a house with walls. Perhaps that is the reason why; I am not sure.
And I have to say this especially this week, because recently we have had many very real and very nice people share their homes. You can see these posts here, here and here.
Over the years I have seen several variations of this situation, not infrequently having a proper entrance to the house. They were mostly interior design consultancies, not full-fledged clients.
One thing to consider when buying a new home is this: just because something isn’t there doesn’t mean it stays that way.
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We will go into several variables and viable solutions, but one of the most obvious ways to solve the problem without going into the hallway is to create one.
But let’s start with some relatively inexpensive solutions to create