how to choose decor for a functional entryway

An entryway is the introduction to a house. And as all first impressions are, it is important. The entryway is a perfect place to highlight your home, and who you are. You want it to invite you in to get to know the house better. You want it to give a taste of the style of the house and its theme. You want it to be welcoming, both comfortable and functional for any guest. One element to help with this is the entryway table.

Before we delve in, I do want to appreciate the fact that not all entryways will have space for an entryway table and in some entryways another functional piece of furniture may suit the place better if there is limited space. Regardless, while this post focuses on the entryway table, the principles can be, with a little creativity, applied elsewhere in an entryway or can help you think through how to best use your space. I also want to note that while I will demonstrate with pieces from my own home, the style I have curated certainly won’t fit everyone’s home. My goal rather is to help you take these principles and apply them with decor of your own style. That being said, let’s begin.

Selecting a table. The entryway table you have, is part of the decor. It’s style will speak to the general style of the house in addition to any decor you place on it. Looking for a modern feel? Consider metal with simple lines. For a more classic design, look for more rounded and intricate table. For a farmhouse feel, consider a simple wood table. In addition to matching the style you are looking for, consider the function and location. An entryway table is perfect for catching keys, or mail. Depending on your setup, maybe you will need to hold bulky items like bags or gloves on it. Use these to help guide what you choose. If your table needs to be highly functional, consider a table with multiple shelves or drawers or opt for a larger, deeper table. Finally, when choosing a table make sure to measure your space. You want to choose a table that will not hinder flow of people through the entryway. People should easily be able to move around it and have good access to any closets or hooks in your entryway.

Our entryway table is metal to help elevate the modern aspect of the modern Victorian style of the house. However, in a nod to the classic elements of design, the legs chosen, are rounded and more ornate than a simple rectangular leg. The table is narrow to fit against the wall while not blocking the doorway to the lounge or closet.

Functional Table Decor. The next aspect of styling involves choosing decor to help you achieve your functional needs for a space. Common functional needs would be a place to put mail, or keys, but depending on your home you may need to use this space to also collect hats, gloves or shoes . In choosing your table, you thought through these functional needs. Now finalize how you will handle these things with decor. When selecting decor think through:

1. Maintaining ease of use : if you uses the function daily like picking up keys, you want a piece of decor like a tray that will fit in an easy to reach location such as on a top shelf or primary drawer
2. How “hidden” you want your fictional space to be: for example do you want an open tray for keys, or a closed box or drawer
3. Matching decor style: again your goal with this area is to help convey the larger style of your home. For a classic design you might opt for a decorative silver tray but if going for a modern style, perhaps a geometric metal tray would fit your style better.

Our entryway table, does not have many functional needs, as we don’t use it as our primary entrance to our home. However, we do use it to go get the mail, and frequently pass through the entryway or have sight into the entryway when it would be valuable to know the time. For that reason, our functional pieces of decor were a clock and an organizer for mail. The clock we positioned on the tabletop to maximize its visibility. We chose a gold color to pair with the majority of the metal we are using throughout the home. The mail organizer we placed on the lower shelf to minimize the view of mail, while still maintaining function through its open design.

Additional Table Decor. Once the functional decor has been decided, the rest of the area can be filled out with additional pieces. Let your creativity shine here! There are a countless options for decor, but here are a few recommendations that will work in most spaces.

1. Vases/plants: vases or plants easily help fill space and serve as a great way to seasonally update your space and bring pops of color into your entryway. There are so many kinds and styles of vases, it is easy to find something to match your style and color palette.
2. Books: Books can fill a space easily and can convey either style through their appearance, or key interests of individuals in the home
3. Candles/Lamps: Similar to vases, there are a wide variety of types of lamps and candles. If you are opting to have plants on your entryway table, a lamp with a grow light can also help you maintain those. It can also be functional if you don’t have great overhead lighting in your entryway to brighten the space.
4. In addition to these things, look for decor that adds a personal touch or items that will point to your style. It could be you love to garden so you focus on plants or maybe you love elephants so you find a decorative elephant for your table – the options are endless, but focus on being true to you and your style.

Given our love for plants, I used vases for most of my decor pieces. I looked for vases in the color palette of our house, focusing on blues and whites which would pair well with most flowers or greenery I would put in them throughout the year. I also added a few old books to highlight the old mixing with new in our house and because, I love books and reading.

Arrangement. Many books have been written on how to aesthetically arrange decor. I won’t dive into too much depth here but I do have a few hints to help you on your way.

1. Don’t be afraid to play with your layout and decor. Yes there are principles for layout, but you need something that you like and enjoy and is functional for you. I frequently will buy extra decor pieces and spend some time arranging before finally selecting my final pieces.
2. Cluster things together. Many times something just standing by itself looks isolated. Cluster things (in groups of usually at least three) to help. cohesiveness of the design. This especially holds true for smaller things. Sometimes a larger vase or box for example don’t need to be paired with things. Make sure you have space between clusters.
3. Vary height. Choose and arrange decor so that not everything is at the same height. If one side of the table has a tall vase, put a short piece on the other side. Within a cluster, choose things of different height placing the tall in back and short in front.
4. Remember functionality. In arranging, maintain the functionality of your space.

For our layout, on one side I chose a tall large vase. This was my primary decor piece. On the other side of the table I made a shorter cluster with the clock and other smaller vases. I used the cluster principle with the books and vases on the shelves, but also had a few freestanding pieces.

Surrounding Decor. To finish your table, you need to consider the surrounding wall space. The same principles for table decor apply here. I personally like to choose the table decor first so I know what space I will have left to fill with pictures on the wall. I think the wall is a perfect place to highlight personal features of the home. Consider having a sign for the name of the home or your family name for example.

We have a defentition of Apricity above our entry table as well as a map that highlights where our home is. Finally to balance the space, we have a framed key that fits our old doors in the house to symbolically highlight the history of the house.

I love how our entry table both fills out the space and highlights our home’s character. It is so cool how such a small area can be impactful and how each morning as I come down the stairs it makes me smile. Thanks for letting me share this with you. I hope this inspires and helps you to craft your own entryway and bring the style of your home to life through it! I can’t wait to see your creativity bloom.