Photo of a large contemporary foyer in Paris with green walls, marble floors, a double front door, a black front door and white floor.

Photo of a country entryway in Burlington with grey walls, slate floors, a single front door, a black front door and grey floor.

Matthew Millman Photography
This is an example of a mid-sized beach style foyer in San Francisco with light hardwood floors, a single front door, a black front door, beige walls and beige floor.

This two story entry needed a grand statement of a chandelier. We chose this lovely Circa Lighting cage chandelier for its grand scale, yet light mass. The black iron compliments the black handrail on the staircase.

The generous proportions of the front door and surround in the entrance hallway were emphasised by being painted black, whilst the contemporary stained glass panels add a softness. The geometric black and white tiled floor is reminiscent of an original Victorian tiled hallway, but reimagined in a more contemporary style. And the panelling underneath the stairs is in a contemporary v-groove style, which has been used to create hidden shoe & coat storage.

Stunning entrance.
Design ideas for an expansive contemporary foyer in Detroit with white walls, medium hardwood floors, a black front door and brown floor.

Design ideas for a mid-sized contemporary foyer in DC Metro with grey walls, porcelain floors, a single front door, a black front door and grey floor.

Photo of a mid-sized arts and crafts front door in Indianapolis with a single front door and a black front door.

This is an example of a contemporary front door in Moscow with white walls, a single front door, a black front door and white floor.

This is an example of a small country foyer in Austin with beige walls, a double front door and a black front door.

Governor's House Entry by Lisa Tharp. 2019 Bulfinch Award - Interior Design. Photo by Michael J. Lee
This is an example of a transitional front door with white walls, painted wood floors, a single front door and a black front door.

Lioba Schneider, Falke Architekten BDA, Köln
This is an example of a mid-sized modern front door in Cologne with white walls, concrete floors, a pivot front door, a black front door and grey floor.

Photo of a transitional foyer in Omaha with grey walls, dark hardwood floors, a double front door, a black front door and brown floor.

Meet Meridith: a super-mom who’s as busy as she is badass  — and easily my favorite overachiever. She slays her office job and comes home to an equally high-octane family life. We share a love for city living with farmhouse aspirations. There’s a vegetable garden in the backyard, a black cat, and a floppy eared rabbit named Rocky. There has been a mobile chicken coop and a colony of bees in the backyard. At one point they even had a pregnant hedgehog on their hands! Between gardening, entertaining, and helping with homework, Meridith has zero time for interior design. Spending several days a week in New York for work, she has limited amount of time at home with her family. My goal was to let her make the most of it by taking her design projects off her to do list and let her get back to her family (and rabbit). I wanted her to spend her weekends at her son's baseball games, not shopping for sofas. That’s my cue! Meridith is wonderful. She is one of the kindest people I know. We had so much fun, it doesn’t seem fair to call this “work”. She is loving, and smart, and funny. She’s one of those girlfriends everyone wants to call their own best friend. I wanted her house to reflect that: to feel cozy and inviting, and encourage guests to stay a while. Meridith is not your average beige person, and she has excellent taste. Plus, she was totally hands-on with design choices. It was a true collaboration. We played up her quirky side and built usable, inspiring spaces one lightbulb moment at a time. I took her love for color (sacré blue!) and immediately started creating a plan for her space and thinking about her design wish list. I set out hunting for vibrant hues and intriguing patterns that spoke to her color palette and taste for pattern. I focused on creating the right vibe in each space: a bit of drama in the dining room, a bit more refined and quiet atmosphere for the living room, and a neutral zen tone in their master bedroom. Her stuff. My eye. Meridith’s impeccable taste comes through in her art collection. The perfect placement of her beautiful paintings served as the design model for color and mood. We had a bit of a chair graveyard on our hands, but we worked with some key pieces of her existing furniture and incorporated other traditional pieces, which struck a pleasant balance. French chairs, Asian-influenced footstools, turned legs, gilded finishes, glass hurricanes – a wonderful mash-up of traditional and contemporary. Some special touches were custom-made (the marble backsplash in the powder room, the kitchen banquette) and others were happy accidents (a wallpaper we spotted via Pinterest). They all came together in a design aesthetic that feels warm, inviting, and vibrant — just like Meridith! We built her space based on function. We asked ourselves, “how will her family use each room on any given day?” Meridith throws legendary dinner parties, so we needed curated seating arrangements that could easily switch from family meals to elegant entertaining. We sought a cozy eat-in kitchen and decongested entryways that still made a statement. Above all, we wanted Meredith’s style and panache to shine through every detail. From the pendant in the entryway, to a wild use of pattern in her dining room drapery, Meredith’s space was a total win. See more of our work at www.safferstone.com. Connect with us on Facebook, get inspired on Pinterest, and share modern musings on life & design on Instagram. Or, share what's on your plate with us at hello@safferstone.com. Photo: Angie Seckinger

John Moery Photography
Beach style front door in Los Angeles with grey walls, medium hardwood floors, a dutch front door and a black front door.

This is an example of a mid-sized country front door in Montreal with grey walls, a single front door and a black front door.

Gorgeous entry with loads of natural light. Light hardwood floors flow from room to room on the first level. Oil-rubbed bronze light fixtures add a sense of eclectic elegance to the farmhouse setting.

Dean Matthews
Inspiration for an expansive transitional entryway in Miami with white walls, a single front door and a black front door.

Unique Media & Design, Jennifer Dickinson
Photo of a traditional entryway in Chicago with white walls, a single front door and a black front door.