Our Favorite Before-and-After Foyer Makeovers

To French speakers of the 19th century, the foyer (pronounced: foi-yay) was a place where actors waited when they weren’t on stage. These days, foyer means “this is where you land when you first get home and it sets the tone for everything else, so make it count!” (We’re translating loosely, here.) Want to get your entryway ready for its closeup? These A-list transformations prove that with clever styling, you can make a grand entrance anywhere.

These intricate, spiraling rails are a lot of look — and in a space that’s also groaning with a busy traditional rug that doesn’t suit the glazed terracotta tile floor. Add in loads of stained wood and a dark oil painting for a heavy look that's downright dizzying.

An all-enveloping coat of gray paint gives the room the clean start it deserves, while the new wainscoting feels both timeless and trendy. Supersaturated Thibaut 'Honshu' wallpaper in the adjacent dining room breathes life into that space and this one, adding dimensionality that both rooms’ previous incarnations sorely needed, and a small pedestal table with a vivid floral arrangement finishes the entryway all by itself.

The downright gorgeous wood on the stairs, dresser and console table in this foyer feel frumpy paired with dark slate flooring and dingy cream walls.