Log Cabin Floor Plans

Log Coat Rack

Log Coat Rack

Cambridge

Your Home's First Impression

Have you ever heard the expression, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression.”?  Well, it’s true.  This is why it may be so important to keep the entrance to your home visually pleasing.   But, the foyer or entryway into your home can be the most challenging area to keep organized.

When someone walks into your front door, their brains are busy formulating their first impressions.  Our instinct depends on our ability to decide many things within the first three seconds of entering a new place or meeting a new person.  Surprisingly, our first impressions are extremely accurate.  Our brains can pick up on the tiniest of visual cues and let us know if we should feel threatened, intrigued, frightened or included.  Utilizing the biological and psychological facts surrounding first impressions, we can decorate to make the first impression that we want to make.

The first thing that your brain notices about a person is their smile.  This positive and inviting image tells the brain that it is safe to approach, especially if the smile is produced quickly and genuinely.  We can use this phenomenon to decide how your foyer should look.  Dark, gloomy and oppressive will tell visitors’ brains to watch out or make them feel like they are not welcome, setting them up to have a self-conscious and paranoid experience at your home.

But, dark isn’t always bad.  Sometimes dark gives a feeling of relaxed.  Take a log cabin feel, for example.  Fluffy couches decorated with dark colors and rich woods can be very comforting.  Decorating in this style means that you need to be careful not to cross over that fine line between cozy and oppressive.  Use a few white or cream colored accents to accentuate the dark colors.  This tells the brain that the colors chosen were “on purpose”.  The brain perceives the white colors as clean or safe.

You can portray the foyer’s “smile” in other ways, too.  Candid pictures of people smiling are great.  Posed family portraits really give a feeling of fakeness and insincerity, so reserve those for other places in the home.  Pictures of things in nature are also great for this area.  Nature gives people a sense of belonging and freedom.  Even using natural woods can give people this feeling.

Keep the foyer organized so that it is usable.  It doesn’t have to look formal to look clean.  As long as it’s orderly and organized, then it won’t give off the impression that you are too busy to have people over.  Cell phones charging and unzipped purses in the foyer give off the impression that you are a busy person who may need them to leave before long.  Try not to give off the impression that you don’t have time for company.

To do this, include things that will give a signal to the visitor that you want them to stay.  A hat rack, umbrella stand or a place for coats will make a person feel as if they are welcome in this place.  Even a simple welcome sign or cozy floor mat can give off this impression.  If you install a hanging bar for coats in your foyer, try to keep it close to empty.  This gives the impression that there is plenty of room for company.  Use wood hangers as opposed to other kinds of coat hangers to keep the area looking nice and inviting.