Make an Entrance with These 14 Refreshing Entryway Ideas

Wowed upon entry.

Small as it may be compared to a regular bedroom, the entryway plays an unexpectedly big role in setting the mood for the rest of your home. Not only is it an area that you’ll inevitably go past day in and day out, it’s also the first space that your friends and family will enter when they come over.

But how exactly do you create a welcoming entrance that’ll impress everyone? Well, you don’t have to look far: these standout examples from 14 real-life homes have the answer(s).

1. Turn it into a mini lobby…

You only get one chance to make a first impression, and this 5-room BTO’s entryway certainly does the job.

Enclosed with built-in carpentry and tinted glass panels, it’s also got mood lighting to boot. Think strip lighting at the ceiling, coupled by cove lighting under the cabinets. What you get, then, is a mini lobby that looks like something straight out of a Sci-Fi movie!

2. …or a faux lobby

If you like the concept behind the previous example but find an enclosed entryway too claustrophobic, consider this next idea instead.

In this 5-room BTO, carpentry is flushed to the wall, while a steel frame and clear glass panels are used to demarcate the area as a ‘lobby’ (no shoes beyond this point, perhaps?). On top of keeping the space open, it also creates a look that’s congruent with the kitchen’s foldable glass doors.

3. Line it with fluted panel cabinets

To keep your home tidy, there’s nothing better than having sufficient storage – which is exactly what you’ll find along the entryway of this contemporary home.

Hidden behind rows of wood-clad panels are cabinets that keep the walkway tidy and clutter-free by providing ample storage space. It also helps that the panels come together to form a statement-making feature wall!

4. Utilise dead space with multi-purpose carpentry

We all know for a fact that square footage doesn’t come cheap in Singapore, so if you are living in a compact apartment, this one’s for you.

Making efficient use of (otherwise) dead space in a corner of the entryway, this 2-bedroom condo’s dining bench-cum-concealed storage unit kills two birds with a single stone, taking care of both your space and storage woes at the same time.

5. Create a cosy nook

Much like the examples above, the entryway of this homey executive apartment incorporates useful storage as part of its design. There’s a small twist, however.

A conveniently-placed niche embedded in the centre of the cabinetry makes it easy for home occupants to pull on their shoes on their way out, in addition to serving as a cosy retreat.

6. Use patterned flooring…

Bringing in simple motifs or patterns is a classic (read: proven) way of making a space look more interesting. And this rule-of-thumb applies for entryways as well, as seen in this well-coordinated apartment.

Here, a herringbone floor draws the eye with a simple, but effective graphic punch. The effect is then replicated in the kitchen and backsplash for added visual continuity.

7. …or colourful tiles!

Alternatively, demarcate the entryway from the rest of the living room by using bright coloured tiles in the former, followed by neutral tiles of a different shape and size in the latter. That way, you get to have pops of colour without going over-the-top.

Take notes from this 5-room BTO at Telok Blangah, where a floor-to-ceiling shoe cabinet – which also doubles as a household shelter concealer, by the way – extends into the main living area, once again lending a sense of continuity across the two areas.

8. Conceal your household shelter with decorative carpentry

As much as it may be an eyesore, a household shelter’s importance cannot be understated. That said, there are ways you can (legally) conceal it.

In this Punggol BTO, dark wood fluted panels fitted with warm LED lights do just that, and serve as a show-stopping entryway feature at the same time. Plus, it’s a good way to illuminate the living room softly, like when someone in the family comes back late at night and you don’t want him/her knocking over things in the dark.

9. Erect a partition for privacy…

Newer HDB flats tend to open up directly into the living/dining area. While this lends an airy feel to the space, it also means that your every move will be visible to onlookers when the main door is open.

As a simple but effective solution, the owners of this resale flat in Sengkang installed a partition of fluted glass at the top and rattan at the bottom – a combination that works oh-so-well with the rest of its soothing Scandinavian interior.

Explore: Prying Eyes Begone: 6 Tips for Increased Privacy at Home

10. …or use breeze blocks instead

But if you’d like a little more ventilation and some of that old-school charm, breeze blocks are definitely a viable alternative.

That way, you get to keep your main door open without sacrificing privacy. We especially love how they match the retro entryway tiles in this otherwise contemporary BTO in Ang Mo Kio.

11. Seamlessly integrate it with the rest of the living room

If you aren’t keen on making an already-small entryway feel even more cramped, or wish to save the space for something else, you can always ‘expand’ your entryway into other home areas – the seamless look makes your home ‘larger’ visually.

This wood-look home makes use of additional storage space beneath its floating cabinets as a storage area for shoes – a clever (if not unconventional) idea, don’t you think?

12. Replace walls with foldable glass doors

It’s not uncommon for resale HDB flats to come with a narrow entryway stretching 3 to 5m in length. Take this Jurong West unit for example, where a wall separating its entryway from the adjacent dining and kitchen area was hacked away and replaced with foldable glass doors.

This gives its owners the choice of opening up the space, or to keep them separate (say, for a more intimate dinner) as needed. Reminiscent of a cosy European countryside home, we reckon.

13. Add neon lights

But if you don’t mind keeping a narrow passageway (it does afford much privacy, after all), a simple way to zhuzh it up is to add neon lights and signages – tastefully, of course.

Extra oomph aside, this resale flat’s entryway is also interesting because the main door has been relocated further into the house, leaving only a gate where the original entrance used to be.

14. Transform external recessed areas into a private corridor

In rarer cases of older HDB flats, it’s even possible to expand a unit’s confines by purchasing the recessed areas outside.

The owners of this executive apartment in Marsiling did so with no expense spared, transforming it into an indoor-outdoor passageway, complete with see-through glass walls. Talk about making an entrance!

This article was originally published on 28 Jun 2018 and updated on 13 Jul 2022.

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