How to Brighten up a Foyer

Your foyer gives your guests their first glimpse of your decorating style. A bright foyer exudes warmth in addition to showing off a bit of a room's personality. To brighten your own foyer, use several decorating tricks together to make the most impact. These elements range from the way you introduce the light sources into the space to some decorating techniques that fool the eye into believing it sees more light than is actually in the room. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Paint the walls with a bright color. If you prefer daring styles, choose colors such as hot pink or aquamarine. For a more traditional look, opt for a bright neutral such as eggshell white or beige with just a hint of color in it. Cool colors such as light blue or yellow also accomplish this goal.

2

Lay down a light tile on the floor. Create some visual contrast by choosing a light-colored tile like white. Then find a tile that matches your wall color and create a colored tile inlay in the floor.

3

Create a wall focal point that brings out the light in the foyer. Hang a mirror gallery, selecting mirrors of different shapes and sizes to make an asymmetrical arrangement on the wall. Place candle sconces with candles in colors like white or spring greens; the candles' light will reflect in the mirrors, making the area look brighter.

4

Paint the stairs with a two-tone color scheme. For example, paint the fronts of the stairs black and the tops of the stairs white. The light stairs will stand out, make it easier to see the individual stairs when the foyer isn't lit and make this area brighter overall.

5

Brighten an under-the-stair area in your foyer by placing a see-through glass table under the stairs. Place table lamps on the table. Place low-lying lamps on the floor under the table; they'll add light to the floor area and emphasize decorative items on the table. Decorate the table with bright-colored objects such as a colorful pottery set.

6

Decorate with reflective objects. Place a silver metallic ball on an entryway shelf, hang your keys on a reflective metal key hook or stow your umbrellas away in a mirrored umbrella stand.

7

Position a floor lamp in a dark corner to keep the foyer's brightness from getting sucked into the corner.

8

Hang light-colored shades and curtains on any windows on or near the door.