How to Decorate a Vestibule: Designer Ideas for a Polished Entryway

When someone makes a grand entrance, they’re usually well-dressed and exude confidence, turning heads when they walk into a room. In the home, a grand entrance is the personification of this. It’s a charismatic space that exudes a vibe, making visitors feel special at their point of arrival.

One particular entrance hall, the vestibule, is a charming architectural feature in historic homes that may feel cumbersome and cramped when considering how to decorate it. And it can leave you wondering — how can I make this grand?

“Vestibules are deceptively tricky because they’re often small transitional spaces that still need to make a strong first impression,” says Washington, D.C.-based interior designer Zoë Feldman. “Architecturally they can be narrow, dark or oddly proportioned; and because people pass through them quickly, they’re easy to overlook in the design process — but that’s exactly why they matter. A vestibule is the first moment of the home and sets the tone for everything that follows.”

Traditionally the enclosed entryway provides a transition space between the exterior of the house and the foyer. The outer door and inner door are needed to control temperature, keeping the house insulated and preventing the elements from blowing into the entrance hall. Vestibules also keep noise at bay from the bustling city outside. It’s a buffer area, providing an extra layer of privacy from the street.

But in reality this transition zone is more than a place you merely pass through. It begs for a magical moment.

“A vestibule is the threshold between the outside world and your home, so it should feel intentional,” Feldman says. “Even in a compact footprint, it has the opportunity to create an experience. I think of it almost like the opening line of a novel — it introduces the mood, the palette, and the personality of the house. When it’s thoughtfully designed, it instantly signals that the home beyond it will be welcoming and considered.”

So how do you pack a punch in such a small, confined space? Embracing unique architectural details like the door or molding by keeping their original woodgrain, keeps the space traditional and gives it a nod to the past. Or if you want to highlight architectural features, paint them in a unique color or lacquer.

“Small vestibules are actually wonderful opportunities to be a bit daring because the footprint is so compact,” Feldman says.

From the floor to the ceiling, making use of all surfaces is important. A patterned or textured flooring adds visual interest. And highlighting the oft-ignored ceiling with proper lighting, adds volume and dimension in the space. Enveloping the walls in a bold or textured paper is another way to infuse the petit portal with personality.

Because the space is small, it’s also important to embrace light. Original features like transoms and stained glass windows give the space character, harkening back to yesteryear, but still allow the passage of light. Mirrors can help bounce light around if your entryway is lacking in the window department.

Feldman brought a Georgetown townhouse’s vestibule back to life by creating a painted steel and glass partition to define and give structure to the space. “A floating console provides functionality without crowding the footprint, and we layered in a decorative mirror above it to reflect light from the outdoors and create a place for touch-ups on the way out the door,” she says. “The flooring is a beautiful Waterworks mosaic that feels classic yet unique. What I love about the final result is that it feels composed but effortless.”

Vestibules come in all shapes and sizes, and also are found in apartment buildings and condos as well, as the transition space between elevator and front door. For a D.C. penthouse vestibule that had no natural light, Feldman leaned into its cavernous appeal.

“Rather than trying to fight that limitation, we embraced it,” she recalls. “We wrapped the entire space in a deep, glossy teal that created a rich, enveloping atmosphere, and introduced a glowing lantern overhead to bring warmth and softness to the light.”

In other homes, vestibule entryways work overtime as a mudroom and drop zone, where you can sit down, take off your shoes, and hang up your coat.

For New Jersey-based interior designer Joey Cohen, most of her clients’ homes are urban, where space comes at a premium. Their vestibules are typically used as “hardworking everyday spaces,” she says, where they store coats, shoes, kids’ backpacks and sports equipment.

“The challenge is finding smart ways to maximize that limited footprint so the space stays functional and organized without feeling cramped,” she says.

Whether you’re furnishing an entryway that’s a drop zone or one that feels more grand and formal, it’s important to use pieces that don’t impose. Typically custom is the way to go in this situation, knowing that the space is fitted with furnishings in the appropriate dimensions.

To maximize potential in a minimal space, Cohen relies on hooks and bins as much as possible, so there’s a home for everything. “The goal is to make the system as easy as possible so the space can stay organized and relatively clutter-free,” she says.

For a client’s pint-sized vestibule that already had built-in storage, Cohen made this transition zone into a design moment by adding Kelly Ventura “Midnight Garden” wallpaper and painting the molding, doors and built-ins in a soothing blue.

“We were able to completely transform the space,” Cohen says. The new gussied up entry way also laid the groundwork for the changes that echoed throughout the rest of the house.

“It’s a space you pass through multiple times a day, and it’s also the first thing someone sees when they enter your home,” Cohen says. “Because of that, it needs to strike the balance of being beautiful and highly functional.”