When you enter a house or apartment, the entrance is the first impression you make on your guests. It’s also where everyone in the household passes through every day. We leave our shoes, bags and umbrellas here. Yet we’d all like this entrance to be tidy and welcoming. That’s why the choice of colors is so important when it comes to decorating the entrance.

Creating a welcoming entrance: a color guide for your home or apartment

The size of your entrance

Before choosing a color, consider the size of the entrance. If it’s small and dark, you won’t necessarily choose light, bright colors to give an impression of openness and luminosity. It’s true that pastel shades such as off-white, light beige or light grey can help to visually enlarge the space and make it more welcoming. But good lighting can make a space with dark walls quite welcoming.

If the entrance is spacious, there’s more freedom to experiment with bolder, deeper colors. Rich hues like navy blue, dark green or burgundy can add warmth and sophistication to a large entrance hall.

Harmonize with the rest of the house

The entrance is the first room you see when you come home, so it’s important that its color is in harmony with the rest of your interior design. The aim is to create a fluid transition between the different spaces, to give a sense of coherence to the overall decor.

For example, if the living room is decorated in neutral tones with touches of blue, you can choose a soft blue or light grey for the entrance to maintain this harmonious ambience.

Playing with contrasts

To give character to an entrance, we don’t hesitate to add accents of color to create contrast. This can be done through elements such as artwork, rugs, cushions or decorative accessories.

For example, if the walls are painted in a neutral shade such as beige, you can add accents of color with a colorful patterned rug or brightly colored abstract paintings. This will give the entrance a little pizzazz while keeping the base neutral.

On the contrary, if you choose dark, deep colors for the walls, you’ll avoid weighing down the whole with even more colors.

The most important thing is lighting

Let’s not forget the importance of lighting in color perception. Natural lighting can change the appearance of colors throughout the day, while artificial lighting can influence the way colors are perceived in the evening.

A ceiling light is ideal because the entrance is a place where people pass through. It’s important to avoid tall children bumping into the chandelier or trying to avoid it every time they pass.

A simple ceiling light like the one below for a small space: