The Cape Cod-style home appeared to be ideal for a single person. The second floor consisted of three bedrooms and two full baths, spaces that could be relegated to owner’s and guest quarters, plus a home office or gym. But the new owner of the Cleveland Heights abode was an empty nester who wanted to age in place. That meant adding a first-floor owner’s suite — and utilizing every square foot of the existing main level, including the foyer.
But like many foyers, this one was designed to be nothing more than an extension of the front door. Jackie Holzheimer, president of Holzheimer Interiors in Shaker Heights, recalls a plain area, perhaps 200 square feet in size, with a view of an equally plain 3-foot-wide staircase. The coat closet, she adds, was located off one side of the staircase, not conveniently placed near the front door.
“It was very bland, very uninspiring and not very welcoming from the inside and from the outside,” she says.
Holzheimer’s mission: to create an impressive entrance that functioned as a workspace and sitting area as well as a spot to greet guests.
Her plan involved removing the closet to open up a circular traffic flow through the first floor and adding 2-foot-deep closets on either side of the front door, features that facilitate entertaining the homeowner’s large family. The front door was flanked with sidelights and recessed so it was even with new closet doors rather than the exterior wall, creating a depth to the house and allowing visitors to step directly into an open space.
That first impression is enhanced by a flared staircase created by gradually widening the bottom treads and replacing handrails, balusters and newel posts. Holzheimer replaced the white-oak floor with hickory.
“You can get a browner color cast into it, not as much yellow or orange that tends to come from a normal oak,” she explains. “And [the homeowner] didn’t want as much woodgrain.” The stairs, she adds, were stained a similar color.
Holzheimer chose a cream geometrically patterned rug made of pure wool — a material that’s easy to clean when regularly vacuumed — for the foyer floor and a diamond-patterned green, gray and taupe nylon runner for the stairs. The walls were painted Sherwin-Williams Dried Thyme, a color that complements the caramel-khaki and gray-green shades used respectively in the living-dining room and family room.
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Holzheimer furnished the foyer with pieces from the homeowner’s prior residence. A Maitland-Smith game table with drawers and a top that flips from backgammon to a chess and checker board — surfaces she uses when entertaining grandchildren — doubles as a desk for paying bills, planning trips and working on her laptop. An antique wooden stool for a gaming opponent slides under the table when not in use.
On the other side of the space, two armchairs reupholstered in an off-white herringbone-patterned performance fabric were stationed on either side of a leather-tooled-top table, offering a place to change shoes or catch up with a friend. Silk kidney pillows add swirls of green and gold. The entire arrangement is illuminated by an antique brass Crystorama-brand fixture that casts intriguing shadows while still providing adequate lighting.
Holzheimer measures the success of her design by how much the homeowner uses it, even when there are no visitors around to entertain. “She’s in there all the time,” Holzheimer says.
ANATOMY OF A WELL-APPOINTED FOYER
According to Shaker Heights interior designer Jackie Holzheimer, every foyer needs more than a closet to fulfill its original purpose.
Seating: “Even if you can just fit a single chair, that chair can be very welcoming,” Holzheimer says. It is an invitation to sit down and stay, if only for a moment or two.
A hard surface: “Whether that’s a desk or a console table or a chest, some sort of hard surface is just key to functioning in the space,” Holzheimer says. It serves as a spot to drop handbags, hats, gloves and just-delivered packages.
A walk-off rug: The ideal one is easy to clean after a muddy-shoe encounter and “offers some pattern and color, a little bit of interest when you first walk in,” Holzheimer says.
“A character piece:” It can be an antique casement piece, a funky lamp or lighting fixture, anything that enhances that first impression of the home. “You want something with a little pizazz,” Holzheimer urges.
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