Furniture Files

Topkapi Palace Harem - Photo by Svein-Magne Tunli at tunliweb

We’ve all heard those old truisms about how you’ll never get a second chance to make a first impression, and that said first impressions are the most important.  Most of us are careful about how we present ourselves—but what about our houses?

I’m not saying the right choice of entryway furniture can make or break a friendship or a business opportunity—but if you have some space between the threshold of your front door and your main living space, why not make the most of it?

It’s nice to have the room in which to place a console table or a hall tree.  Even an item as humble as an accent table comes in such a wide variety these days that you could find one for every room in the house and indicate something different with each choice.

Carefully displayed, pieces like those can have a great impact. But if you don’t have the room or a winning lottery ticket, don’t despair.

Take a look at the space immediately past your threshold. Do you live in a split level with one stairway leading up and another leading down? Is the space past your front door a tiled area, a closet, and a hallway? When you walk in the door, what do you see first?

Nile Vine Mirror from iFurn.com

If it’s nothing but a light and a wall, you’ve still got something to work with. Such seemingly small elements of an entryway can be orchestrated to impact your guests. Choice of light design, color, wall décor, even the plates for on/off switches can add up to more than the sum of their parts.

If you wish to make a dark hallway brighter, a well-placed mirror can open up the space and funnel light intothe area. Should you want to give your guests a bit of an introduction to your way of seeing the world, one specific piece of art can greet them. Or, should you wish to hint at the overall theme of your house, choose among the finishes or designs of light fixtures that echo other schemes found throughout your home.

Even though it’d be nice to have the room and the funds to turn your entryway into another Monticello or Topkapi Palace, the majority of us can’t quite manage that yet.

But a splendid first impression can be made with one really great choice. Whether it’s a coat rack or a clock is up to you.

Woodbury Mahogany Coat Rack from iFurn.com

For these and other entryway furniture choices, please visit us at ifurn.com.

Everyone who’s anyone in the world of design will have their eyes on Europe this January. From the 14th through the 17th, Heimtextil, the world’s largest international trade fair for home and contract textiles, will be taking place in Frankfurt am Main, in Germany.

What’s covered in home and contract textiles?  Upholstery, carpet, bedding, filling materials, window treatments, sun screening–not just for the home or the office, but for everything architectural you can think of–hospitals, jails, the transport sector, schools, and more.

The products on display by manufacturers and designers will ultimately filter down to everyday folk like you and me.

What innovations in computer desks are going to appear in our department stores over the next year?  Will blue in upholstery fabrics stage a comeback?  Or will we see a further step into earth tones?  What will the hot new piece of accent furniture be?  If I buy a sofa table in the next year, will my best bet be for an antique country table or one with a darker, futuristic feel to it?  Are “tan-through” swimsuits coming to a Wal*Mart near me?

More seriously, with titles such as “Eco-Luxury — Green Business — Innovation” and  ““How does Sustainability establish itself in Interior Architecture and what Role do Textiles play in it?” one can see that some of the goals of the 21st century may be a marriage of environmental concerns–the planetary environment with the human environment.

I’m just hoping that no one trots out see-through swimsuits just yet.