The grid panes on the door creates a prison bar effect. One of the things you could do however requires a bit of investment is to change your front door to a full glass insert. You can get ones with various design and higher opacity for privacy. The natural light coming in will make a world of difference. Last, perhaps consider changing your ceiling fixture to a semi-flush mount. At least a two-bulb fixture or LEDs. Best of luck!

I'd replace the door with one that lets more light in. Then I'd compliment that added natural light with a floor length mirror. It will make the area appear much larger and brighter.

How about flat-mounting a very large poster, covered in a plastic (not glass) to the right wall as you face out? or add a mirror above the height at which packages would bang into it. Adding a bright colored washable rug would liven it up, too.

I would paint the vestibule area a warm, buttery yellow; not too bright, and in a matte finish. Then I would paint the interior of the door a color that works with your interior colors. Add a beautifully framed mirror to the side wall to reflect the light that is coming through the door.

While we are not against changing the door per se, or the fixture, why not start with paint or paper, flat mirror/poster. All these are good suggestions.
How wild do you want to go? What about a wall mural? What colors do you have in the rest of your space?
Look at our marketplace for affordable art ideas.

Call us to turn any of the art into a mural that you can stick to your wall as we did with the fish we used in the travel agency.
Think hard about what you like: color, pattern, etc, assemble pictures then start the transformation.
Regards,
Karen & Joseph
for Decorative Philosophy

Bonjour, i have got an idea with your tiny space, in including a canvas in 16/9 size in hight level, with Paris theme on both side because when friends will be coming they could have the sensation to be at Paris ! I can show you other theme like New York if you prefer !!
Tell me the size of your wall.

You can check out my work at : http://www.photoforwall.com

Consider the insulating value you want to achieve with the door. If you live in a cold climate, and it is important to improve thermal characteristics for comfort and energy savings, a mostly solid insulated door with integral weather stripping is the way to go. The best modern day bang for the buck is fiberglass. Double pane windows would be appropriate.

Due to changing species used, solid wood doors created before 1970 are irreplaceable -- more durable than today's solid wood doors. Since the door is the outer door to a vestibule, it is not be wrong to leave the solid wood door "as is." Weather stripping should be added or replaced.

Assuming you are OK with the thermal characteristics of the existing door, the visual style of the door with paned window is so sweet just "as is," found in American colonial, colonial revival, Dutch colonial, cottage, craftsman, or bungalow style homes. If we knew more about the style of the house and the location of the door (front door or kitchen door), we could make a more informed recommendation.

Consider painting door or ceiling or both. Consider a high tile wainscot on the side walls which will get very hard wear. Ideally, you would look for a single semi-gloss or high gloss door color that looks great on both interior and exterior. Tile up to the height of the top of the first pane of glass would be traditional in a cottage, craftsman, or bungalow style entry and useful to protect the wall.

The vestibule is a transitional space which could reflect traditional cottage porch colors, for instance, simply painting the door a rich red or Irish green. A softer approach would utilize robin's egg blue on the ceiling (traditional for porch ceilings) and then coordinate the door color with your interior color scheme, for instance, sage green for the door. Coral, aqua, and chartreuse all work well for exterior doors. Let your personality as well as the personality of the house be your guides.

A bright blue door would pair well with soft light blue and white Dutch scene tile. A beige door would look great with white tile for a contemporary look, possibly with beige tile stripe below the top band of bullnose tile. Square tile (4" - 6") would be traditional, but rectangular subway style tile would be nicely contemporary.

For front door vestibule, choose non-glossy unglazed tiles. For kitchen door vestibule, glossier tile seems more appropriate. Unglazed or non-skid tile on the floor would be highly appropriate for this location, such as little 1" hexagonal or square tile with border, 8" square tile, or even slate. Pick a tile dimension that exactly fits the width of the wall or floor area without cutting tiles.

I'm seeing a vintage craftsman style door with a brass mail slot, right?
By all means keep that.
A mirror would be good on one wall.
And on the other a grouping of pictures that make you feel good when you see them.
Or maybe a barometer and other weather related items.
With a room that tiny it would be easy to go with a theme.
Horses, dogs, cats, flowers, places you have traveled or want to travel, nature, ships, cowboys, whatever you like.
Have fun with your cute tiny space.

Another idea would be wainscoting, up to about two thirds of the wall, leaving one third free

If the passage were double the width that it is, you could dress it up a little more. Wallpaper, hung pictures, and posters are not going to last long in this very narrow space. Every time someone comes through the door, they are going to rub up against the latch side wall, especially towing groceries and children. Wind, rain, and sleet will blow in, spotting, damaging, and disturbing wallpaper, loose pictures, posters, and hung pictures. Even something head height will get knocked around regularly. If you are going to install a mirror, frame it, to avoid slicing up yourself and your clothing. This is not a space in which to linger. Put your precious family pictures in a more protected area.

Depending on the goal, you could stripe the entry in either a "knock-their-socks-off" color or something more subtle like tone on tone stripes. Even very wide ones might work to make this tiny area special and you wouldn't need to hang anything that would impede ease of entry.

A brighter mat?

A totally different approach would be to leave the vestibule "all white," and replace the window with stained glass. Something equally bright and cheerful, mostly clear glass with geometric pattern and corner accents of red and black. Google Craftsman style stained glass entry doors or similar to get a sense of the style, but update the colors for bright, cheerful, sophisticated, contemporary freshness. For very low cost, you could carve up decorative window film and apply it to your existing glass panes. See: http://www.colorfulimpressions.net/morning-glory-transom-window-film/

Here is an image of the URL above. Thousands of patterns are available.

I would paint it a fun color.

I'm voting for a mural, too! Something about those 'high traffic'/'hard to furnish/decorate places'... a mural hugs it well. I painted this one for solving the very same problem. Lightened the darkest corner in an upscale condo (behind a black entry door), and now it's the highlight of the place. Check out more photos of the "Poppies" mural on my page.