3 Ways Door Blinds can Enhance a Contemporary Foyer

In the decorative sense, your foyer is the place that gives a “first impression” of your home. Ideally, it should have a welcoming vibe, in keeping with the overall style of your house, with colors that complement surrounding rooms.

Yet in practical terms, that foyer is also a functional space; it’s where family members and guests literally make their entrances and exits. Chances are you’ve already addressed certain practicalities, such as including a place to store coats and keys, or adding a storage bin for shoes and winter boots. In a similar way, choosing the right blinds or shades for your front door can have a big impact on both the appearance and function of your home’s entrance area.

Things to Consider in a Foyer

Whether your foyer is a small point of entry, or a thoroughfare that reaches from the front door to the back patio, it’s likely to have a few distinct features:

• Privacy Issues: Your foyer may be a place of welcome, but it's not open to the public! If your house is close to the street, can people easily peer into your front door? Do you want to block out street noise? The right door blinds or shades can meet your need for both privacy and noise control.

• Light filtering: Because foyers generally lead into other rooms—those rooms have windows, but the foyer itself may not—you might want to maximize any direct sunlight your entrance hall does get. The goal is to have door blinds that serve a dual purpose, alternating between accessing light and providing privacy.

• Cord-free convenience: Cords on window treatments are unsightly, and potentially dangerous to young children and pets; in foyers, dangling cords can also blow in and out whenever the front door opens or closes. Cordless and motorization options are easy, effective solutions to these issues.

• Practical Details: Window treatments on doors need to be shallow - 1” slats on blinds, for instance - so the blinds or shades can fit easily without getting in the way of door knobs or handles. Also necessary: A ‘hold down’ bracket at the bottom of the door to keep the window treatment neatly in place.

Three Ideal Window Treatments for Your Foyer

Blinds or shades that are slim, cord-free and without a bulky valance, headrail or fascia at the top are ideal foyer door choices. Here are three smart options that can complement a contemporary foyer.

• Wood or faux wood blinds with 1” slats combine the narrow proportions needed with an elegant designer look; they are available in a variety of stains and decorative paint choices. These blinds can easily filter light to your specifications (faux wood blinds are particularly good in spots with strong sunlight, since they’re made from materials that resist warping).

• Cellular (honeycomb) shades have a slim fit, an ability to filter light effectively and another advantage: exceptional insulation features. They’re ideal if you’re looking to save energy by blocking cold in winter and heat in summer. Plus, cellular shades offer a wide assortment of styles, opacities and colors to suit your decor.

• Roller shades are exceptionally versatile. Like other options, they are slim and effective at filtering light. Roller shades also offer an assortment of colors, patterns and textiles, giving you many decorative choices.

Each of these window treatments come with a motorization feature, allowing you to operate shades and blinds with your phone, tablet, remote, wall switch or home automation devices such as Amazon Echo or Google Home. That makes foyer door blinds or shades not only cordless, but effortless!

Want to learn about all the options for adding blinds or shades to modernize your foyer and other doors throughout your home? Contact us today for a free design consultation.