I do not feel that all the woods have to match. You have a beautiful foyer. I do not think the desk and chair look too small but I do agree the pictures could be bigger.

Nora,
Your foyer is beautiful. Love the provincial stain on the floors.
Your stairs look just fine to me & yes, I could see the post and rail painted black or dark brown.

Your secretary and chair are both very pretty and look very nice.

Smiles:)

Nora, I love your foyer! Mine is the exact opposite; dark stairs (Dark Walnut) with lighter floors (Golden Oak). We are moving in this week. Several people have questioned my choice, but we think it's beautiful.

{{!gwi}}

PennyLaney

Thanks for the photo Penny. You may have given me the inspiration I needed to go dark/black with the railing!

Love the look!

Hey ladies-

Love the darker floors.

Norasnews...what color is on the walls in your foyer?

Thanks-
A

Your floor and stairs are beautiful and I too don't like everything matchy, matchy. All the woods in nature don't match so why should they in our home? As gorgeous as your home is if anyone comes in and makes a note that the floor is a different color than the stairs, do me and you a favor, show them to the door without a return invitation. LOL

I like it the way it is. I don't think I would like the black.

Laurie

I would leave them alone. They seem to work well with the furnishings you have in the foyer.

As for your furniture there. I would open the secretary to give it more visual impact. Slide the desk to the left a bit more, put the waste can down on the right side of the desk. Then move the chair so it is angled as if someone had been sitting at the desk, and pushed back a bit and got up. A colorful cushion on the seat of the chair would give the chair more visual weight.

I would take the small pix from the large wall and arrange them over the desk. Tho they are in modern frames, the dark lampshade will create a sense of connection with the frames, I think. With their various sizes and shapes, they should be able to nicely fill that spot. Move the fruit art pix to the large wall, as it feels too large for the desk anyway, and the ornate gold frame feels crowded on that wall. Take the lamp off the books, as it appears to be sitting precariously.

The space is very nice - a little tweaking will make a big difference to the eye, imo.

Thanks Les917, I appreciate your suggestions!

It took me a couple hours (!) but I did get around to cleaning out the sec'y (and shortening the chain) so it looks decent open! Now I need decorative items for inside!!!

One question tho: I am not sure if my photo reflects this .. do you see that the stairway has an odd bend? Therefore there is a weird angle in the wall, so I can't move the piece too far to the left..
also.. I forgot why I hung that big fruit art there! It hides a hole in the wall!!! (never finished security system oops!)

Now, I will need to mess around with the photos above the piece, but before I made more holes I wanted opinions on whether they look good! Also, I think the fruit piece has to go higher if it will stay on that wall.. or maybe I can find another home for it! and move more black framed photos there.. just larger scale...

here are new photos: plus you can see Deer Path (Ben Moore 1047) in the 4:00 pm western sun!

Okay.. what do you think about this runner:

or a more reasonably priced fascimile!!! I really like all the colors, but I am afraid the cheaper versions will be less detailed.. I need to do a lot of research. Does anyone have a black runner they love????

I did see the little bend in the wall, and at first was wondering if the desk could straddle that bend, across the angle (tho I know it is wider). But because of the trim going up the stair, I think it would look odd, so I abandoned that idea.

I think it would be better to move the desk back to the right, and put the wastebasket flat against that angled wall. The wastebasket is wider than it appeared, and I think it leaves too much of a gap of empty wall if it sits on the right side. Good thing you didn't hang the pix in their final spot, eh? LOL

Anyway, I think the pix are fine, tho I would like to see a grouping of three of them, not just the two, and hung much closer together. I might try the lamp on the right side of the desk, to move it away from that dip in the trim right there and let it fill some of the taller open wall space. Then hang all the framed pieces in a grouping to the left of the lamp (and cover the hole).

I like the desk open -- I think it really makes the piece more interesting and welcoming there. I would try to angle the chair just a bit more, toward the desk, and try putting a decorative pillow on it just to see how a cushion would add some color and softness there.

As for accessories, you could add a leather blotter if you like, for more color, maybe a pretty bowl to hold keys or mail or pot pourri. I would like to see a smaller plant on there, I think the spathiphyllum feels kind of large, or at least the pot does. Something in a brass planter would be nice, or a black oriental-feeling patterned low pot.

I like the runner - is that for the hallway past the desk area, or where? My only thought about the dark runner down that hall is that the hall already feels as if it is in shadow, and I wonder if you would do better to have something with a bit lighter background.

Thanks for the ideas.. I will try to come up with a creative arrangement! Although I am way more into NUMBERS than ART!! I need major help!

The runner is for the stairs.... but I fear it will be too pricey for moi!

This is such a picky point, but the plant on top of the desk seems just a little too large. I still think a plant would look nice there, but that planter seems about 1-2" too big for the top of the desk. But otherwise, I like the desk open, and I agree w/ Les that it should be moved back to the right. Actually, what I would do is center it on that wall and get rid of the trash basket... again, being picky. I love that runner but I'd hate to cover up your beautiful stairs.

Love to hear these things.. be picky all you want! (Maybe that is why I used to have the lamp on the books, to make it look bigger than the plant?) Never thought to get a smaller plant! (DOH!)

I love the room just the way it is. The stairs looks so wonderful with the furniture in the foyer and the darker floor is just gorgeous. I really think it is interesting when the woods are not so matchy. It is helping me decide on my room. Thank you!

Nora, everything about your foyer has been done beautifully! The furniture, stairs, and floor all blend very well together. IMO, it's because they are all a *warm* stain color.

If you would have gone with a deep walnut-brown floor, the outcome would have been totally different. It might have been a little too shocking for the soft stain of the furniture and stairs.

I love the runner you posted~who makes it? I'm looking for a runner and a rug in the same colors. My thinking is to look at carpeting and have a custom rug/runner made. Hopefully i'll find a carpeting I like on sale as i'm not looking to spend a fortune either.