Expert Advice: Make an entrance grand

If you are lucky enough to have a foyer in your home, properly appointing it should be a priority in your decorating scheme. Since this area is the point of entry, it will be the first time your guests have a chance to experience your style. • In this photograph, you see an elegant console table used under a mirror, with a "table-scape" made up of three significant pieces: one for height and color and two offering weight and texture. The traditional feel of these pieces is a very appropriate contrast to the more modern architecture of the stone, glass and polished concrete entry, and the tall legs of the furniture piece give it an airy feel that a solid-to-the-floor piece would not have. This vignette offers just enough softness to the room, and the area rug finishes and warms the space. • Notice that a smaller table, or a mirror and decorative accents that were out of scale, would have felt much less appropriate here. If your entry is smaller, consider a console that attaches to the wall, or if it is more of a hallway, a significant piece of art might be all you need to make your "opening statement." • And if you don't have a cloak closet, having something like a coat rack or pegs where guests can leave a hat, coat and umbrella can immediately help to put them at ease and make them feel more at home. • In and out of the home, you only get one chance to make your first impression. Make it count.

Scott Scherschel and Chip Vogel are designers with Interior Spaces Inc. If you have a design question for Interior Spaces, email your question with a picture to info@intspacesinc.com. A solution to your question could be used in a future article.