Friend needs help with front entryway and curb appeal

11 years ago

My girlfriend has moved into a new home. It is very small and has some architectural problems. Her front entryway is as wide as the livingroom, 6' deep with two windows and a 3" step up into the living room which is small. She has asked me to help her with some of the decorating and room management. I don't know what to do with the entryway. Because of the step up it is impossible to put the sofa or chairs beyond that to use the entryway as part of the living area. Any ideas for what to do for this area. Her coat rack is at the back entryway which is where most people will enter for gatherings so she doesn't want another in the front.

Also any ideas what to do without much money or construction in the front of the house? They are removing the mail box and adding one to the street. Thanks for all your help.

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Comments (5)

W
11 years ago
Build out the beds on either side of the house to camouflage things like the downspouts. Depending on how much yard/garden you want to maintain, you could go even larger than this, http://houzz.com/photos/2067570
The arrangement you have now seems appropriate for the living room. You can use the additional space in the entry for a bar, storage, or a hobby.
http://houzz.com/photos/2227855
http://houzz.com/photos/33539710
http://houzz.com/photos/20833688
designgirl178 thanked W
tooky58
11 years ago
What about a small office and/or book space in the entreway?
designgirl178 thanked tooky58
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er612
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Instead of the cabinet behind the sectional, you could put a counter height table and bar stools to use as an office, dining, or just additional seating.
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Gato Playa
11 years ago
Use it as a wall divider and a reading area.... With a little bar cart? Fun. Make it separate but not and functional.
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libradesigneye
11 years ago
The real solution is to build up the floor three inches but this also affects the bottom of the door - measure how much the bottom of the door is off the floor now before you decide. I would go and look at concrete pavers for exteriors and use them across the existing floor - they make excellent indoor floors for less and are generally 2 7/8" deep (the patio version) or .. .this could be done with 2 x 2 plus plywood plus flooring - she could use vinyl wood plank floor for that depth which is not expensive.

The only kicker is the entry door itself - if the base of the door is lower than the three inches, this is a different challenge - raising the door threshold would be expensive .. exterior siding and new header height and all .that gets tricky. Unless you can remove the threshold, run the pavers right out to the face of the door trim and cut the door base up then add some serious weatherproofing strip . . replace the threshold on top of the new pavers . . grout those across the door in so no air can pass through .. that could work and be fairly inexpensive.
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