The Front Entryway Design for Our 1940 Colonial Home
Colonial Entryway Ideas
In this post, we reveal our brand-new front entryway at Holly House, plus share all the best colonial entryway ideas to inspire you in your renovations!
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A classic front entryway (or foyer) seems to be a thing of the past with more open-concept design ideas being the trend in recent years. I admit though, I still LOVE an old-fashioned, classic front entryway that many older colonial-style homes made popular in the 1800’s. In this blog post, I summarize our design inspiration and the results that have left us swooning.
Classic Colonial Front Entryway
Whether you refer to it as an entryway or foyer, it’s the first impression of the entire house and has to be good.
To be honest, I didn’t put a ton of thought into the entryway when we first moved in. I figured we’d paint and add some art, etc… But it wasn’t a top-priority space. As we began to tweak other spaces in the house, the entryway kind of came together organically and it’s one of my favorite spaces!
The Before:
Can I be honest? Even when the front entryway was poorly lit, blue, and not decorated, I still totally fell in love with it. It’s not the largest foyer I’ve ever seen but it had a “grand” feeling upon entering the house. Big twisting staircases just don’t get built these days and I knew this entry was one in a million.
That said, there were quite a few issues with the entry that we had to address to make it the entryway of our dreams.
The Entryway Inspiration:
I wanted this space to have character and colonial vibes to the max without being overwhelming or overly busy. Here are the colonial entryway ideas that inspired me:
- Wall Sconces (Single and Double)
- Chandelier (similar, ours is vintage)
- Round wood entry table
- Vase
- Books
- Gold Frames
- Floor Tiles (Carrara and Bardiglio)
- Black and White Art
Adding Natural Light
The biggest issue with this space is that there is (almost) zero natural light. With no windows except a tiny pane on the front door, the closest natural light source is the living room which also doesn’t have the most natural light.
Natural light is key in any entryway, especially in colonial-style homes. Typically colonial homes have large Palladian windows or sidelights flanking the front door to allow more sunlight in. Some homes have skylights from the second floor that let in additional light. Since we did not have any of those options, we had to think through how to get better lighting for this space.
Adding Entryway Lighting
The first thing we did was add 3 sconce lights to the entryway. While I always prefer natural light to artificial, there is nowhere in the entryway for us to add a window and the current front door situation won’t even allow for sidelights to be added to the door.
We discussed a few lighting ideas with my husband voting for recessed lighting. Recessed lighting has lost popularity in recent years and while it may have its place, it’s just not my favorite. If I’m going to pay to add lighting, I’d prefer it be incorporated as a design element.
Ultimately we decided on adding some beautiful brass sconces with a very classic colonial vibe. I think they are a home run! Not only do they add a decorative element even when they are off, but they are the perfect (dimmable) soft light for evenings.
Adding Lighting to Doors and Windows
Down the road, we may consider replacing the front door. I really love the current door with its brass door knocker and antique mail slot but it’s extremely energy inefficient and also locks us out ALL the time. If we do end up replacing it, we’d opt for a door that lets in a bit more light.
Adding Entryway Character
After adjusting the lighting, the next task at hand was to add some character to this entry space. I wanted it to feel very grand and time-period appropriate for our home.
Box Trim + White Walls and Contrast Trim
The first step to really jazz up the walls was to add box trim throughout the entry and all the way up the stairs! I am over the moon with how this turned out. We hired out for this project because of the difficulty of adding trim pieces to the very high ceilings. I was pretty nit-picky on the layout and spacing of the trim… We had to take down and redo a section on the stair wall which extended the time of the project… but now I’m so glad. It is seriously stunning and so “colonial” feeling!
I break down in THIS post how to plan the spacing and layout of box trim!
For paint color, we opted for Alabaster by Sherwin Williams. White walls are a staple in colonial houses, providing a clean look that contrasts beautifully with the rich, dark wood floors and trims typical of the period. This classic color scheme allows natural materials like wood tones and marble tiles to stand out, adding texture and depth to the space.
I love contrast trim and after using it in our last home, I knew I wanted to find a space for it here. We kept the living room very neutral so I thought adding a darker trim in the entry would bring in some unique contrast. We chose Natural Cream by Benjamin Moore for our trim and I love it! It’s the same shade we used for our kitchen cabinetry.
Adding the Checkerboard Marble Floors
Probably the most asked about element of this space are our gorgeous, new checkerboard floors in the foyer.
I get asked all the time if they are original because they truly look like they should have always been there! One of the coolest things about the colonial floorplan is that it has enough separation from room to room to be able to add a cool accent like this!
We experimented with a number of different tiles, but I knew from the start that I wanted either honed marble or limestone cabochon. After finding out that limestone cabochon was even more expensive than marble, we opted for the current tiles we have.
I found that the classic black and white checkerboard was a bit overpowering for this space but I LOVED the subtle contrast of the gray bardiglio marble.
We decided to use real marble tiles in a 12×12 size. I experimented with some porcelain “marble-look” tiles and I just couldn’t find anything that matched the authentic beauty of the real thing. Plus the space isn’t huge so we decided the splurge was worth it. The mix of white Carrara and grey bardiglio tiles in a honed finish really makes this foyer stand out and feel extra special.
Are Checkerboard Floors a Fad?
If you’re like me, you may be seeing checkerboard floors all over your IG feed and Pinterest and wondering if this unique accent will last the test of time.
Admittedly, I’ve been a fan of this look for years. I even painted our old deck with a harlequin pattern before it was cool… But the more I study European architecture, the more I’m convinced this “trend” is timeless and NOT a fad at all! Designers and architects have been using a checkerboard tile pattern for centuries and the fact that our new floors are honed marble makes them even more timeless!
Making the Staircase the Focal Point
In a colonial entryway, the focal point is often the beautiful open staircase. You’ve lucked out if you have a visibly winding stair banister like ours.
I shared in THIS post that we gave this banister a little refresh when our floors were being redone. Our original plan was to stain it light to match the floors. After the sanding phase began we found out it was a different wood type than the floors + made of several different types of wood. Our options were to paint it or stain it dark to cover the wood variation. I couldn’t bear to paint the original wood banister from 1930 SO we stained it Special Walnut by Minwax and gave it a high-gloss coating.
I think it came out beautifully and the rich, dark wood contrasts beautifully with the elegant lighter floors. I’m currently trying to decide if I like the 2 tone stairs or if I want the stair treads to match the banister. Either way, it’s staying like this for now.
The stair treads have had lots of carpet on them over the years and are pretty speckled with nail and staple holes. It doesn’t bother me but we may eventually put a stair runner on them. With little kids, I get nervous about tumbling down such a big staircase with no cushion. For now, though, we are letting the natural wood shine.
The Finishing Touches:
The finishing touches for this colonial front entryway were furniture, art and floor coverings that enhance the natural beauty of the space.
It’s taken me a while to select the right furniture for this area but overall, we’ve kept it very simple and are allowing the stunning new floor, wall trim and beautiful banister to shine.
While the majority of the pieces I styled in our entryway are vintage, I’ve linked all the entryway furniture and art below with similar pieces in place of the vintage items.
Our Entryway Sources:
- Wall Sconces (Single and Double)
- Chandelier (similar, ours is vintage)
- Entry Table
- Vase
- Books
- Gold Frames
- Floor Tiles (Carrara and Bardiglio)
- Black and White Art
- Horse Head figurine (similar)
- Faux Stems
- Marble bowl
I hope you love these colonial entryway ideas as much as we do! What questions do you have about this transformation?
