Make a Great First Impression!

Whatever you call it--entry, foyer, front hall--it makes an impact, for better or worse. We're not just talking about guests. If you enter your home through the front door, the foyer has an effect on you too.
In this post we'll discuss the interior space, because "curb appeal" (the front of your house, including your front door) deserves its own post.

With the help of Pinterest, we've analyzed the features we believe can help anyone's foyer set the right tone for the rest of their home. What do we mean by "right tone"?

An entry should be welcoming and give visitors a sneak peek of your personal decorating style.

1. Neatness - yes, entries always attract clutter, especially if they're the family entrance too. But the last thing you want is a guest tripping over a jumble of shoes and backpacks. Utilize hall trees, peg boards, closets, baskets, etc. to corral the mess. An umbrella stand isn't a bad idea either.

2. Mirror - it's not absolutely necessary, but certainly handy for last minute checks before leaving the house.

3. Greenery - connect outside and inside with real or "faux" plants. Color, shape, and container can all reflect your overall decorating theme while adding the fresh appeal of Nature.

4. Surface space - preferably with at least a small container or storage element. Despite good intentions, mail and keys frequently end up "somewhere" in the entry. If your foyer is large enough for a dresser or case-piece with drawers, GREAT. Use them wisely. If not, a basket, bowl, or tray will do. (We have a small blue bowl on the foyer console).

5. Lighting - Overhead pendant, sconce(s), lamp(s) - choose fixtures to match your style and ensure ample illumination. What's more depressing than a dark hallway? Not much. Guests shouldn't feel as though they're at risk for meeting a bear or something... We don't have much natural light in our foyer, and we're considering replacing the front door at some point with one that has a larger window.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

6. Color -  Here's a wonderful opportunity to foreshadow the décor in the rest of the house. You have a teal sofa in the family room? Why not choose wallpaper or a rug containing that color? Or create a vignette using a teal vase or candlesticks? Changing the ratio of your primary color scheme will make everything more interesting.

7. Art - Not only is art cool in and of itself, and reflective of your interests, it can spark initial conversation. Prints, photos, maps, ceramics, they're all good...

8. Softness - Foyers tend to be full of hard surfaces, which actually aren't warm and welcoming. Rugs, or a small upholstered piece, or a pillow on a bench--any of these can add a cozy touch.

Here are a few photos of our front entry at Quince Cottage. Below is the "before" (the only interesting thing is the hanging fixture we chose).

Foyer © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

And here's the foyer "after" we had our way with it!

The nest prints were $8 each at an antique store and we framed them with inexpensive ready-made frames.

The shadow box came from HomeGoods, and what's inside reflects our love of Nature, milk glass, and travel.

Here's the other side of the hall, and if you're curious about that rolling door, check out our earlier posts on choosing, refinishing, and installing it.

Here's a photo of the front entry in our former home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

For photos of other peoples' entries, head to our First Impressions Pinterest board.

Tell us what you think. What's the one thing your foyer can't be without?

Quince Cottage Design Mantra: Create a beautiful, comfortable home that reflects your unique style and personality. 
In our own place, patina is valued, rustic rubs shoulders with opulent (we call this "agrarian chic"), and you're sure to get a terrier-style welcome!

Here's Buster waiting for you to come back © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Summertime, and the Living is Peachy...

Alright, technically it isn't quite summer, but we've had enough hot days at Quince Cottage to make it feel like summer. Strolling past the luscious fruits and veggies at the Raleigh Farmers' Market, it's impossible not to be inspired to make ALL THE YUMMY THINGS.

State Farmers Market Raleigh © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

In a couple of weeks we're having company,which creates the perfect excuse to test-drive some recipes. There's nothing worse than seeing something that looks mouthwateringly delicious on Pinterest, making it, then having the result be worthy of one of those Pinterest Fails on Tumblr. Here's a recipe we thought looked tasty from cookingclassy(dot)com. We're glad we made it first, because the spice level was pretty overwhelming. Like eating pot pourri. It was hard to even taste those peaches I spent so much time peeling, pitting, and slicing... We also thought it could benefit from a bit of brown sugar.

So, we reformulated with fantastic results. Now we can share it with you! Now, of course, if you love heavy autumnal spices, by all means take a look at the original recipe.

Peach Bar Ingredients © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Except we decided to eliminate nutmeg in our second attempt and were glad we did. 
Ron noticed afterward that I'd forgotten to include the egg, so here you go.

Egg © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

We always had brown eggs in New England-down here in North Carolina they're considered kind of exotic I guess (judging by price and availability).

Ingredients
4 1/2 C peaches (about 10 peaches, firm but ripe, peeled, pitted, diced)
1 3/4 C white sugar, divided
3 1/2 TBS cornstarch
1/3 C brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of ground ginger
2 TBS orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
3 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C salted butter, cold and divided into cubes
1 large egg
1/4 C sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan
2. In small bowl, whisk together 3/4 white sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and ginger
3. In large bowl, toss peaches with orange juice and zest. Sprinkle sugar mixture over peaches and toss to coat. Set aside.
4. In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with fork or pastry blender until it forms coarse crumbs.
5. In another small bowl whisk together egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Pour egg mixture into flour mixture and stir to combine. Add remaining 1 C white sugar and brown sugar, stir to combine.
6. Spread and press half of crumb mixture into bottom of pan. Toss peach mixture once more and pour over crumb layer, spread to cover evenly. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture on top in an even layer.
7. Bake 45-50 minutes (until golden).
8. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or allow to cool and cut into bars. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

And now, what y'all have been waiting for...

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Here, have a bite!

© Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Now, there's absolutely no reason why you couldn't make this recipe using other seasonal fruits. At Quince Cottage we love recipes that are simple, tasty, and customizable. We might try this with berries, apples, or pineapple. And if you don't have time to make a fruit filling, canned pie filling would definitely work.

Come back and see us again - we'll be sharing Porch Project #2!

The Framers Are Here!

For a week or so nothing much happened on our lot. Either it was raining buckets, or the crews were working on our future neighbors' houses.
BUT, since then there's been quite a bit of activity. There was a major wood delivery-joists, trusses, plywood sheets, etc.

Wood Delivery © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

Then framing began. Here you can see the back corner of our house, with what will be our screen porch closest to the camera. We're going to need to figure out some way to make that dark covered space under the porch floor unattractive to wildlife, and therefore boring for our terriers. Maybe we'll try to use it for storage too. I've been using Pinterest to source some good ideas!

Porch Construction © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

In the distance you can see the fourth house under construction. It's still in the lead, and we're still in second place, which is just fine. We don't want to put our current house on the market until some time in February.

This past week we had good weather, and look at all they managed to accomplish! Pretty incredible really, and SUPER exciting! From this angle you can see where our garage door will be, and our screen porch on the back right.

Photos © Rhiann Wynn-Nolet

As you can see from the photo above this one, the house beside us is coming right along too. We wonder if they drive by almost every day, the way we do?

Quince Cottage believes a typical subdivision house can be transformed into a beautiful home that reflects the unique taste and personality of its owner. In our own place, we mix vintage Southern style with some global spice. Think gilded mirror, an embroidered velvet robe from Uzbekistan, and distressed plank walls. 

Stick around, and we'll not only show you what we mean, we'll also give you tips on creating your own signature look.