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Homes
that lack a front entry, or foyer, tend to make a bad
first impression. If you've ever been to a house that
shoves you unceremoniously into the main living space
as soon as you step through the front door, you'll know
what I mean.
So
a front entry, or receiving place, is crucial to a sense
of welcome, inviting a visitor to step in from the outside
world. But how can you make such a place if none exists,
or if the one you have is cramped or dark?
The
first part of the solution is to add a surface to stand
on that's not part of the flooring of the rest of the
room. But it's not enough to change the floor material.
Although this provides a small amount of differentiation
from the rest of the room, it doesn't create a separate
place. For this we need a three-dimensional boundary,
a sense of shelter around the new patch of floor.
Often
a homeowner will add a half-wall to divide the receiving
place from the rest of the room, but even this is not
enough. It is often worse because now the room feels
chopped up and awkward. To give a real sense of shelter
you have to define the entrance at the ceiling level
as well.
The
crucial ingredients include a sense of three-dimensional
definition, as well as enough square footage to give
you a place to stand and shift from outside persona
to inside persona, access to natural light, and a connection
to other circulation pathways through the house.
Sarah
Susanka, The importance of a front entry way, pp. 28,
Inspired House, July/Aug 2004, Taunton Press
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