What entrance do you like better in a house?

I only have one.

I’ll take the view.

8ft x 15ft “foyer”? I’d use that as a bedroom.

The windows thing. More natural light is always better.

I’ll take a view anyday. Views to me are everything.

The first is more grand, a bit formal and stately, the second is warm, inviting and instantly makes you feel like having fun and connect with the homeowner on the friendship level. Both are great and have their place. I think it’s more about what you would like, no?

Well it depends on your purpose. If you want people to stop at the entrance and look at artwork, then put up the art wall. If you want folks to come inside to the heart of the home, then do the view.

Not even art galleries put an art wall at the entrance. The artwork is on the sides, and the path is left clear to allow entrance without stopping traffic. I believe art is something to discover. Might be best to litter the interior with it, rather than slap faces with it.

An entrance into the kitchen.

Great answers so far. I care about what I would like and also what will sell in the future. Both will have a very open kitchen and family room area with tons of windows and sliding glass doors overlooking the pool.

I’m a nature freak. What’s beyond the pool and patio? The art wall would be okay, but I would want it to change from time to time or I’d lose interest in it.

@Adirondackwannabe It’s just some grass and a golf community in the distance. But, it’s not really a great view of a golf course or anything like that. You would never use the front entrance if you lived there anyway. But, I do care the impression it makes on guests, and future people who might buy the house.

Ever since birth i’ve preferred a womb with a view.

@JLeslie I guess neither of those would sell me on the house. But then a lot of people would look at my house and tell me I live in the middle of nowhere. It’s just my personal preference. I’m guessing most of the perspective buyers would lean towards the more open entrance.

I like a nice formal entrance personally.

Where is this? If there’s a lot of snow, than the foyer may be a bit more practical for having an area for guests to take their shoes off, not to mention the patio will be less appealing and will likely have a less welcoming garden if in a colder region. If you’re in the south than the open, glass patio has a lot more appeal, especially with vibrant tropical flowers in pots on the patio.

Florida.

That’s a big door number 2 for me then @JLeslie. It sounds beautiful. Is there any way for your architect to do some 3D CAD renderings that you could post for us?

@CWOTUS FTW ! The kitchen door is always the most friendly and inviting.

But given the original two choices, I’d prefer the second, especially if there is much of a view beyond the patio/pool. If you have artwork worth close and repeated observation I’d rather see that in the living room where I can sit and admire it for some time.

I like the one with the view.

@dabbler That was an interesting answer. The art work is not anything fabulous. Just framed prints I have had for a long time or I might put one of my grandfather’s paintings (sentimental and I do love to look at it, but I have seen it for 40 years) so I don’t really worry about looking at the artwork. The front entrance will only be seen by those who walk in the front door, I will probably never do it, I will wind up coming in through the garage.

I found @RealEyesRealizeRealLies answer very observant also, that gallaries usually don’t have the art smack in front of you when you walk in. That’s true. I’m not really featuring the art as much as I am wondering about the more formal entry compared to the glass one. The house does configure differently if I do the glass to the backyard. Here is basic floor plan with the glass entry, but I would center up the entry more. The other foyer the kitchen and family room would run horizontal against the back of the house. I can’t decide what I want.

A boring large foyer just seems like a waste of space. I would like the pool view. I think it would be instantly calming. Large foyers with pictures just seems stuffy and boring. It is more surprising to come in and see the pool and all that natural light. Add a few plants and it will feel like your own little oasis.

I remember a small out of the way hotel in Guam that I went too. Long dirt road drive way and then a parking lot and a dull looking building on the outside with some palm trees.
Inside was a huge surprise. The motel was only 2 stories and it was completely rectangular shape with open walkways in front of the hotel rooms. In the large court yard there was a huge pool, and large hottub .

The ground around it had rich beautiful tropical plants and flowers and beautiful palm trees. We could not believe our eyes. In the night it was romantically all lit up. From the pool area you could not hear anything outside. You felt like it was your own little private get-a-way. We hated leaving it during the day but at night we had a blast swimming in the pool and melting our aches away in the hot tub. Best part of it was that it was only a mile from the airport but none of the planes flew over it and we had the use of the pool and everything all to ourselves.
Turns out most of the motel’s clients where pilots and stewardesses who only rolled in at night and went to bed. The hotels by the beaches had most of the tourists.
Go for the pleasant surprise.

In Florida, I’d go with the view, for sure. In my area, a foyer is helpful for a coat closet and such.

Feng Shui says there should be a separation. You shouldn’t let the energy come in the front door and go directly out the back windows. You need to direct it to swirl around the room. I love a view, but I like it after I’ve settled into a room.
I also like a bit of separation for safety. If I answer the door I don’t want someone to be able to see everything in my house.

@Judi Interesting about the Feng Shui. It isn’t a big deal here as we don’t have many Asians living here and Americans here are not very into it in this region, but we are aware of it, just not aware of most of the rules. When I stayed in Tokyo my friend’s apartment indeed had a wall right in front as you walked in and then the hallway went to the left. Just a few steps and it opened to a living room, it was a long hallways.

@Pandora The family room, kitchen and majority of the bedrooms will open to the pool with both entrances. I agree that it can be like being on vacation wright at your house. It’s part of the reason I love living in FL, I feel like I am on vacation every day.

@JLeslie With a floorplan like that it makes sense to have a pleasant foyer, and with your description of the art you have as nice but not bearing serious analysis it’s a pretty good choice.
When the guests get past the foyer they will be charmed by the view.
Good luck with the new home!

I’m still conflicted about which to do. Part of the conflict is the “wall” entrance I have pictured for many years, that floor plan can fit on a smaller lot. This particular lot we are looking at has the space to do the other one. So, it’s like I have to readjust what I thought I would always do if I started from scratch. It should be a good problem, but instead I am just stressing.