What Exactly Is A Foyer? Exploring Its Function And Style

Big or small, fancy or simple, every home needs one thing: a place to hang your coat. Whether you call it a foyer, a vestibule, or an entryway, creating a designated space to stow outdoor belongings goes a long way toward making your house feel like a home. It's also just practical — if you don't intentionally create such a space, you're likely to end up with jackets and shoes piled up willy-nilly somewhere in the general vicinity of the door. But you don't have to overthink your foyer, either. House Digest exclusively spoke to design historian Sarah Bilotta to decode the true function of the foyer and how to style it. A foyer and an entryway are not actually the same thing. "A foyer is known by many names, so it's easy to get confused," Bilotta said. "... An entryway is a more general term for the area where guests enter your home, and it can encompass the front door, foyer, and connecting hallways." The foyer itself is that small area by the door where you store coats and shoes. 

Historically, foyers served an important purpose when hosting guests. "It is the first glimpse of your home and, especially in grand European and British houses, was decorated with decor befitting of both welcome visitors and strangers who would wait to be greeted in this space," Bilotta said. Nowadays, your foyer might be more like a tiny square in the front of your apartment that only the delivery guy ever sees. But whether you host often or never, a foyer remains just as important.

A foyer is the in-between zone where you transition from outside to inside and vice versa. This is the place where you try on different coats, take off and put on shoes, check your hair in the mirror, and drop off keys and mail. It's impossible to separate a foyer's style from its purpose. "It needs to be utilitarian, to help you carry out your day-to-day errands, but it also needs to be organized, clean, and attractive," Bilotta exclusively told House Digest.

Older homes sometimes had an entire room as the foyer, while newer and open-floor-plan homes typically don't. However, you can still create a designated foyer with strategic design choices. Since it's often a small space, it has to be "optimized for functionality," Bilotta said. For example, stylish benches or wardrobes can help define the space and also store coats and shoes out of sight. Bilotta also recommends using patterned rugs. "Patterns will hide the everyday use that a foyer rug gets, but also make a grand splash when your guests open the door," she explained. Every foyer also needs a mirror feature, and Bilotta also recommends choosing one with a finish that complements your rug.

The foyer is not only the first impression that guests have of your house; it's also the space that greets you at the end of every long work day or grocery trip. As such, it should set the tone for your home's mood and decor without being overwhelming. Bilotta warns against trying to make your foyer stand out by over-styling with non-functional, impractical items like plants. "A foyer usually doesn't get much sunlight, and the plant will get in the way of the door and take up space you could be using for functional storage," Bilotta told House Digest exclusively.

"Another big mistake is not finding the right balance when decorating the walls in your foyer," she added. "Try standing back and looking at each wall to find a good balance of positive and negative space." Don't worry too much about matching your foyer to the rest of your home's decor, which has a much bigger impact on anyone visiting your home. It also helps to avoid storage items that may look less neat over time. "I tend to prefer storage which conceals mess and clutter," Bilotta said. She recommends installing key racks rather than trays or bowls, and wardrobes over coat racks and trees. This is especially important in smaller foyers that can get easily crowded.