Our Favorite Before-and-After Foyer Makeovers

Ready for a master class in first impressions? Find top-of-class inspo for your entryway from designers who specialize in creating warm welcomes.

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By: Lauren Oster

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Put Your Home’s Best Foot Forward

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.

See More Photos: 20 Designer Entryway Ideas to Steal

From: Bria Hammel Interiors

Before: Overwrought Iron

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.

From: Etch Design Group

After: Fresh Angles

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.

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From: Etch Design Group

Before: Stalled in Neutral

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.

From: Amy Carman Design

After: The Light Changes

What a difference a bit of contrast makes! Bright white paint highlights the staircase and antiques, a pair of massive mirrors double down on natural light and a graphic checkerboard pattern makes the new stone floor a showstopper. Pops of blue in chinoiserie on and beside the dresser, in turn, serve as luxurious accents.

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From: Amy Carman Design

Before: Out of Season

A wee triptych is no match for a buttery expanse of wall, the sconces flanking it are similarly lost, and the stairs’ wrought iron and woodwork fall flat against unremarkable beige carpet.

From: Bailey Austin Design

After: Eternally Tasteful

Feather-grey paint distinguishes new, luxurious wainscoting, and new sconces echo the balustrades and pop with white shades. The original entry table is now an effortless match for the freshened-up white walls, while a new iron chandelier echoes the rest of the room’s original ironwork.

See More Photos: Entryway Envy: 30 Vibrant Foyers We Love

From: Bailey Austin Design

Before: Blank Stair

There’s plenty of potential in the space just beyond this family home’s front door, but it’s going to waste. Functionality and personality are musts.

From: Kimberly Horton

After: Bright Ideas

The new, contemporary front door with sidelights lets dazzling sunbeams spill across the hardwood floor. The space now doubles as a mudroom with a crisp, black six-locker cabinet and more than enough room for a growing brood’s endless array of accessories.

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From: Kimberly Horton

Before: Dated Luxury

Decorative touches like the inlaid compass rose on the ground floor, traditional chandelier and patterned carpet on the stairs of this California home were on-trend decades ago — but their time has come and gone.

From: THREE SALT DESIGN Co.

After: Less Luxe, More Livable

Post-renovation, the decorative flourishes in this foyer are decidedly 21st-century. Three massive abstract canvases guide the eye up a staircase that’s now accented with high-gloss black paint on the skirtboard and initial steps, while interior archways create handsome transitions between spaces; new flooring with the look of sun-bleached driftwood offers a far breezier take on seaside style.

See More Photos: 20 Designer Entryway Ideas to Steal

From: THREE SALT DESIGN Co.

Before: Fogged In

Would you have guessed that this is the interior of a lake house? It’s a gracious space, to be sure, but its shoreside character is utterly invisible.

From: Kristina Crestin

After: Sighting the Shore

New, streamlined handrails, banisters and balustrades give the staircase a nautical feel — and an LED light in the glass ball on the newel post is triggered to glow at dusk! Crisp white shiplap on the walls and an angular wrought-iron pendant extend the theme, while an abstract, evocative canvas in beach-glass shades that extend to tabletop accessories feminize all those right angles. At last, this contemporary retreat reflects its waterside setting.

learn more: Coastal Design Style 101

From: Kristina Crestin

Before: Artistic License

The impulse to display this colorful canvas on a console table is an interesting one, but it isn’t quite working as is; its style doesn’t complement the piece beneath it, and the other, unfurnished walls feel imbalanced.

From: WAKE + LOOM

After: New Perspective

The massive, monochromatic piece that’s now on the opposite wall echoes the original canvas’s scale, but its placement and angles feel far more natural above a contemporary black bench. A blockier and more modern console table now stands beneath a circular mirror, and every piece in this foyer feels like an introduction to the sleek arrangements in the living room that’s visible beyond it.

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From: WAKE + LOOM

Before: Mix and Mismatch

This diminutive glass chandelier can’t hold its own in the massive space surrounding it, and its ultrafeminine silhouette is lost against the forgettable stairwell and white walls.

From: Susan Jamieson

After: Thoughtful Combo

A diamond-patterned stair runner, high-gloss black handrail and bold striped wallpaper infuse the stairwell with the character it was lacking, while a bold chevron pattern makes the refinished floor unforgettable. Speaking of unforgettable, a new contemporary pendant makes a proper statement in the center of the foyer, while a tulip table, shapely sculpture and colorful canvas add back the femininity that too-small glass chandelier was trying to spearhead all by itself.

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From: Susan Jamieson

Before: Old-World Holdover

This Miami home’s soaring two-story foyer has undeniable traditional appeal, but an historic look can feel oppressive — and it was high time for the space to reflect its inhabitants’ contemporary interests.

From: Choeff Levy Fischman

After: Timeless Glamour

With white oak treads, white stucco risers and shapely modern ironwork, the updated staircase’s elegance now feels timeless and sculptural. A pared-back new pendant replaces the old chandelier’s curlicues, and bright white walls are crisp and classic against the window’s black frame.

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From: Choeff Levy Fischman

Before: What's the Fuss?

Too-busy patterns and passementerie on this built-in bench and pillows plus green carpet and muddy, dated red wallpaper add up to a time capsule rather than a functional foyer.

From: Claire Paquin

After: Calm and Collected

Freshened with warm white paint, the foyer’s crown molding, paneling and balustrades reflect light and feel elegant rather than outdated. New botanical wallpaper extends the paint’s tone against a sophisticated metallic background; on the new-and-improved bench seat, just one pattern holds court with solid green silk. A darker floor stain complements the stairs’ woodwork and carries into the living room’s trim; lovely, no?

learn more: Traditional Design Style 101

From: Claire Paquin

Before: Out of Office

Made gloomy via too-neutral furnishings and sunlight-gobbling frosted windows, this foyer needs to be rezoned as residential space.

From: Louis Balodemas

After: Midcentury Marvel

A cherry bomb of a red front door opens to a bold striped mat and gleaming new floors, while properly-transparent windows splash sun through the room and reveal detail on the staircase (which was lovely all along, if only you could see it). A warm wooden credenza topped with a playful ceramic horse and lacquered yellow tray complete the now-lively space.

learn more: Midcentury Modern Style 101

From: Louis Balodemas

Before: Period Drama

Dated decor, heavy fabrics and even heavier metalwork are smothering this cottage’s elemental charm.

From: Michael Abraham

After: Rustic Elegance

The sculptural front door now opens into a contemporary, minimalistic take on French country style: a white settee with turned wooden legs is strewn with tapestry pillows, modern sconces flank a gorgeous mirror, and a spectacular drum shade boasts an oxidized interior. The windows are now unadorned, and they’re utterly lovely.

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From: Michael Abraham

Before: Geometry Problems

Curvaceous railing and rosettes clash with paneling on the foyer’s rear wall, and the multicolored rectangular pattern on the stairs’ runner is unpleasantly asymmetrical. Is the floor pink? It seems like the floor is pink. This space is in dire need of a cohesive look.

From: Braun + Adams

After: Back to Basics

Freed of their muffling carpet, the repainted stairs are now dazzling white with handsome refinished risers and simplified ironwork. A textural black dresser contrasts beautifully with the white paneling and picks up the wrought iron’s tone, while hardwood flooring carries from the entryway straight through to the living room. A casual arrangement atop the dresser adds color, texture and a pop of personality.

See More Photos: Masterful Makeover: 1 Foyer, 3 Fab Ways to Decorate

From: Braun + Adams

Before: Beigewatch

This southern California home’s hodgepodge of earth tones add up to an interior that feels … unnatural, somehow. Where’s the coastal charm?

From: THREE SALT DESIGN Co.

After: Beach Rescue

A chic wire railing system topped with tawny wood flanks now-black stairs, and pale wood backs a stylish charcoal-topped storage bench. A paler gray wall with a picture light and artwork add in the personality the space so sorely needed, while a trio of textural gray pillows and a wooden tray complete the transformation.

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From: THREE SALT DESIGN Co.

Before: Out of Focus

This family’s foyer is delightfully lively, but it could use a good editor.

After: Even Better

Creamy white paint unifies the rooms on the first floor, while brighter white trim now highlights the foyer’s beautiful molding and paneling. A pale, distressed rug and rustic console table add a bit of touchability, and houseplants with deep green foliage offer texture and contrast. The lesson here? Comparatively inexpensive changes can make a world of difference.

Our Favorite Before-and-After Foyer Makeovers

Related To:

Shop This Look

Put Your Home’s Best Foot Forward

Before: Overwrought Iron

After: Fresh Angles

Before: Stalled in Neutral

After: The Light Changes

Before: Out of Season

After: Eternally Tasteful

Before: Blank Stair

After: Bright Ideas

Before: Dated Luxury

After: Less Luxe, More Livable

Before: Fogged In

After: Sighting the Shore

Before: Artistic License

After: New Perspective

Before: Mix and Mismatch

After: Thoughtful Combo

Before: Old-World Holdover

After: Timeless Glamour

Before: What's the Fuss?

After: Calm and Collected

Before: Out of Office

After: Midcentury Marvel

Before: Period Drama

After: Rustic Elegance

Before: Geometry Problems

After: Back to Basics

Before: Beigewatch

After: Beach Rescue

Before: Out of Focus

After: Even Better

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