| We open our homes and invite the world in | | | | when you finished a 5K walk. |
| through our front doors. It often provides the | | | | Entry tables come in all varieties. Perhaps you |
| first impression that we give to newcomers, and | | | | selected one that coordinates with your elegant |
| it welcomes our returning friends and neighbors. | | | | dining room, one that holds a treasure carried |
| But despite its important role giving the initial | | | | back from a European adventure or a prized |
| impression in our homes, the entry to our home | | | | wedding gift. Don't overlook tables that can handle |
| is a space that usually gets walked through, but | | | | overflow storage from the dining room-stemware |
| not really lived in. Or does it? Furnish this space | | | | and wine bottles, or the box holding your |
| properly, and it becomes a reliable support to the | | | | grandmother's silverware. When you entertain, |
| entire family. | | | | you can use one of your entry tables to set up a |
| The hardest working furniture in the foyer are | | | | wine bar to greet your guests as they walk in the |
| the entry tables. No, they're not quite as | | | | door. If you have limited space for a home office, |
| important as the kitchen table, and they don't get | | | | you can forego the usual choices for entry tables |
| the workout that the coffee table in the family | | | | and use a furniture-grade horizontal file cabinet. It |
| room does. But these tables are the reliable places | | | | looks like a bureau, but it works like storage. |
| that help us keep the details of our lives in order. | | | | If you don't have much floor space for actual |
| It's where we drop our keys when we walk in | | | | furniture, you can install a shelf on the wall |
| the front door--we don't need to think about | | | | opposite the front door, or place a top on a pony |
| where to look for the keys when we are rushing | | | | wall in lieu of the traditional choices for entry |
| out in the morning. We leave the stamped bills | | | | tables. Some entry tables are designed particularly |
| and birthday cards to drop in the mailbox right | | | | for small spaces, with just a shallow table top and |
| inside the front door, at these trusty tables. | | | | a pair of front legs; you attach it to the wall like a |
| Our foyers probably often hold multiple entry | | | | shelf but the legs make it look like furniture. |
| tables-maybe one is a console that anchors a | | | | Since entry tables stand alone in a foyer, and are |
| mirror (good for last glimpse before you head out | | | | not necessarily tied to a suite of furniture such as |
| to face the world). Maybe another one that acts | | | | the ones you would see in a dining room or a |
| as storage-it's got a drawer for the dry cleaning | | | | family room, you can experiment with furniture in |
| claim check, or room underneath where you can | | | | different styles or materials in this space. If you |
| store the diaper bag when you return home or | | | | have a home filled with contemporary furnishings, |
| keep the dog's leash between quick jaunts around | | | | you can easily place a family antique in the foyer. |
| the block. But the surfaces of these tables often | | | | Similarly, if you have a country home filled with |
| hold the things that document the work and | | | | warm pine and painted furniture, entry tables |
| accomplishments in our lives-this year's school | | | | made of wrought iron and glass might be an easy |
| photos, an award-winning drawing from the | | | | way to add variety to your furnishings. |
| neighborhood art fair, or that trophy you won | | | | |