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Fall Nesting: A Welcoming Entry

Pottery Barn

When I think about Fall Nesting, I think about creating a comfortable place for my family and guests we invite into our home. It is a labor of love to create a space where people want to gather. Fall is the season when we’ll spend more time indoors and I want to be ready for guests, holidays and spending time together as a family.

Fall Nesting: A Welcoming Entry

I’ve always been more intrigued by how my home FEELS than how it looks. I don’t get too caught up in getting all the most current styles or department store holiday decor to fill up my house each season, but I do really enjoy the process of creating the ambience I want for my home.

Fall Nesting: A Welcoming Entry

House and Home

Fortunately, when you pay attention to how a home feels, the end result is that it looks good too in more ways than one.

It may not be Pinterest-ready but family and friends will sense that warm and welcoming ambience when they enter your home. You’ll be at ease and more comfortable when you know you’ve poured a little heart and soul into your home. Your home will be a peaceful place. And that is what really matters!

Fall Nesting: A Welcoming Entry

Sarah Richardson HGTV 

Ambience is what makes a home come alive and feel welcoming. Paying attention to those small details of how your home feels shows you care about the people in the home and the guests you invite inside.

No matter what your style is, your entry is an important part of the character of your home. You may not have a separate formal entry, in fact, your entry might be straight into a living room. But size or formality is not important.

What matters is the care and attention you give to the important first impression of your home.

Fall Nesting: A Welcoming Entry

Atlanta Homes

Keeping your entry clean, tidy, cared for, well-lit, uncluttered but filled with small personal details and mementos that tell the story of your family are all important aspects to setting the stage for a comfortable, welcoming home.

Have fun expressing yourself with color and accessories and make a daily ritual of keeping your entry free of clutter (maybe by finding cute ways to contain it!), so you are always ready and comfortable to open your door to guests. Who among us hasn’t considering pulling the blinds and hiding in the closet when the doorbell rings and our homes aren’t as we want them to be?

The goal isn’t a perfect home (does that exist for normal people?), but to embrace real-life imperfection while creating a welcoming, peaceful space for family and friends! Let your entry be a happy first peek into the life you live or aspire to have!

If your entry looks tired, worn, cluttered or doesn’t set the right tone for your home, you might want to give your entryway a little extra love this Fall!  I’ll talk about mine soon, it’s getting some love too!

  • Have you walked in your front door lately and looked at it with fresh eyes?
  • What does your front entry say to your family and guests when you enter in?
  • Does it set the tone and atmosphere you intend for your home?

Happy Fall Nesting! Check back for more posts in this month-long series!

You might want to check out my ebook for more ideas and inspiration for creating an authentic home.

 

22 Comments

  1. KATHYSUE

    I so agree with you Melissa, your entry should be very well dressed, it it the first and the last thing people will see when entering or departing. I always say I want them to wonder what they are about to see around the corner!! Great post,
    Kathysue

    Reply
    • Melissa

      So true!!

      Happy Fall Kathysue!

      Reply
    • Melissa

      Amen, yes, that is always the starting point!

      Reply
  2. Julie Schock

    Beautiful pictures as always, Melissa! I have always adored that Sarah Richardson entry. Could she come to my house please?! :)

    Thanks so much for hosting the Fall link parties. I’m a new blogger and have gotten loads of traffic from you — I really appreciate it!

    Reply
    • Melissa

      That is awesome, glad to hear it! WELCOME to blogging! :-)

      Reply
  3. LibbyP

    Melissa, I love this post! I hope my entry doesn’t impress anyone – but I hope it welcomes all my guests. Intentionally welcoming, that’s my goal!

    Reply
  4. Debbie

    Hi Melissa, I’m working on entry to our back door…which everyone seems to use. I’d love them to come to the front BUT NO the back door seems to call their name, draw them in. I”m not sure why except that the back door seems to be the best door. So I’m throwing some attention that way! have a great day!
    Blessings,
    Debbie

    Reply
  5. Kelly - Talk of the House

    I am in the same boat as Debbie above me…everyone comes in the back door.(My very first blog post was about this problem!) Front entry always looks great, but back door has shoes in a basket and jackets hanging on hooks. I am planning on “putting on the fall” next week at both entries when the temperature has dropped enough to not bake the pumpkins I put out there.
    LOVE the photos in your post today! (especially the Sarah one.)

    Reply
  6. Suzi Dia (The Pillow Studio)

    Decorating to make a home feel good rather than look good is such a great distinction. That makes me feel better about my back entry which is very functional and welcoming but definitely the least styled room in my house…

    Reply
  7. Ranelle

    My entry doesn’t say anything about my home because there’s nothing there! I don’t have a foyer, there’s just a landing and stairs going up and down (I live in a Split Entry style home). The wall to the right is BARE, and so isn’t the space above the door and the space above the stairs. Any suggestions? I was thinking of putting a self-made starburst mirror above the stairs or maybe the door.

    Reply
  8. Diane

    There’s nothing like a welcoming tasteful entry! Mine is tiny…no room for anything except a mirror on one side and a picture – from the thrift store on the other….which opens up to a tiny hall with a wall on one side and the archway to the ‘great’ room on the other. But…I made it dramatic by painting that tiny 6 foot wide wall a gorgeous rich claret and placing a secretary against that wall with two sweet pictures I picked up at the Louvre when I was in college next to it, over a statement-sized antique pottery umbrella stand. You’ll love that I spin my side chair around into the hall way, flip down the desk top on the secretary and voila! it’s my bill paying station. Haha!!

    Reply
  9. Carrie

    I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this post!!! I’ve been thinking a lot about “homecoming” this week, organizing & decorating our mudroom. Your post makes me want to work on the space inside our front door. Thanks for some great inspiration, Melissa, and for keeping us in the right frame of mind!

    Reply
  10. Lisa

    Great post Melissa! Love the photos – especially the one from Sara Richardson. That entry speaks to my soul! I will definitely take a minute to look at my entry with fresh eyes.

    Reply
  11. JoAnna

    I totally enjoyed this post! I agree that it is more important that your home “feel” comfortable than be pinterest or magazine ready! I LOVE the quirky pieces in my home that alot of other people might not love.

    Reply
  12. Pam

    I needed this today, thank you. We moved about 6 weeks ago and the entrance just wasn’t working. I opened the front door took a look and started over. I didn’t do anything that ground shaking but it needed to be fresher and audited.

    Reply
  13. Jennifer

    That Pottery Barn pic is my favorite entry. I set out to copy it until I realized how much those glass hurricanes cost and I just knew I’d kill the orchid with my black thumb. Oh, well. I improvised with smaller hurricanes and a non-killable horse (the kids did break off his ears though). The scale is what matters!

    Reply
  14. Amy

    you have inspired me! i am going to look at my “entry way” with new eyes and redesign it, thanks!

    Reply
  15. Shirley

    I love how you put this and completely agree. My business is built off of the “looks” aspect of decor, but I think it touches on the “feel” aspect too. It is important to get the feel of your home, business, work-space, etc, just right for you. So much is achieved, so much stress prevented when you have a lovely place to come home to or work in. Lovely thoughts, and beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  16. Vicky

    Thank you for all your Fall Nesting inspirations! Love the idea of decorating for ambience. Thought I was alone in using this concept!! Now I need help with my “entry”, as I have none. My front door opens directly into my condo’s Great Room with an open stairway , and a tall ceiling. Suggestions anyone? Remember space is at a premium, with no accessible wall area nearby. A common problem, I am thinking. :-)

    Reply
  17. interior designer Scottsdale AZ

    Great blog Melissa I really like seeing the different opinions and how everyone unique style really comes out in their own home. A quote that really stood out for me in the post was “creating the ambience I want for my home.” This is what every home owner is trying to accomplish. Create that ambience that you want for your own home!

    Reply
  18. Ella

    Love this post! Feel & function are reigning supreme with me of late. I think if we get those two right, then the results are almost always a pleasing space to the eye as well. We currently have a tiny 3×5′ entryway that opens to a tiny half bath, to our dining room & has the hall stairs landing into it. By far, not very functional (for our family of 6) nor room for much of a “feel” to be brought through very effectively. We’re about to embark on an addition to resolve this major issue (along with a deficient amount of bedrooms). It won’t be huge, but at roughly 7×10…the entry/mudroom will function for our needs, give us an opportunity to inject our personality & create a warm, welcoming space. So excited!

    Reply

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