- Finish the inside walls in stone or wood. Add in a wooden, barrel-vaulted ceiling. Either use a heavy, black iron chandelier or put in wall sconces. Add in a niche to display a suit of armor. Or hang crossed swords on the wall or a shield with the family coat-of-arms. Instead of pictures, hang a tapestry. While straw on the floor would be historically accurate, a nice rug would also work. Use stained glass or mullioned windows.
- For a larger, more open entry, add a statue in the center or a pedestal table with a smaller figurine. The overhead chandelier should shine favorably on the centerpiece. Do the floor in marble or tile with a rosette for underneath the statue and underneath the chandelier. The walls should be a soft white to eggshell to add brightness without distracting from the art hanging on the wall. If possible, do not hang paintings or watercolors where direct sunlight will hit them or their colors will fade. Metal art wall hangings would lend a more modern look to your museum entry. If you have room for a side table, you can add additional displays--flower arrangements, statuary, etc. Or if there is room for a glass cabinet, perhaps a corner cabinet, you can add in additional collectibles.
- Consider turning your entryway into an interior garden conservatory. For an extreme makeover, the entry could become a glassed-in greenroom with dirt floors and a stone-paved walkway. Or simply add potted plants and hanging plants. However, if the front entry does not receive adequate sunlight, the plants may need to be taken out to the porch for sun on a regular basis. So choose house plants that thrive on the amount of available sunlight for your entry. To really bring out the green, consider painting the walls a pale green, perhaps celery. If you use flowering plants, consider a color to complement the blooms.
previous post