The foyer of a home is a first impression and a nonverbal welcome to houseguests. After walking through a home's front door, the entryway space should make a statement about what lies inside, says Mary Carol Garrity, author, designer and owner of Nell Hill's, a home furnishings store located in the Kansas City area.

"The way a foyer looks can set the tone for the rest of the home," Garrity says. "Whether the foyer is a grand entry or a smaller space, it should entice you to come in."

The key to a fabulous foyer starts at the front door. "People will wait at the front door before entering, and when the door opens, there should be an element of excitement," Garrity says. "Don't be afraid to make a statement at the front door with a wreath, bold doorknocker or paint color, and treat it as a foreshadowing of the foyer."

Even the best-dressed entryway will look tired with a dingy door. So, if the welcome has been worn out on your home's front door, it might be time for an upgrade.

Replacing an old door with a new, energy-efficient one usually involves the installation of an entire door unit. This includes the posts or jambs (the vertical parts of the doorframe); the head (the upper horizontal part of the doorframe); and the sill or threshold (the lower horizontal part of the frame), which is installed into the opening.

It's also easy to let light shine into your foyer with decorative glass door options that can be beveled or etched. Sidelights -- glass panels on either side of a front door -- or a transom window above the door create entryway appeal and encourage sunshine, not scrutiny, from the street.

Garrity views the foyer as a prime piece of decorative real estate, which starts on the entry-level floor. "The flooring is part of the decorative element of a foyer," she says. "Some people might have an intricate parquet wood flooring laid, while others might put down a beautiful rug."

Guests should be falling head-over-heels for decorative entryway elements, not tripping over a trail of items tracked and stacked inside the foyer. "Have a place to stow shoes and other things family members bring inside," Garrity says. "You don't want people tripping over things. It should be a clutter-free zone."

Paint is the easiest way to bring color and life into a space. A foyer can become instantly cool with a shade of blue or warm with a deep, rich red on the wall. "Some people keep the walls a neutral color to serve as a backdrop to artwork hung in the foyer," Garrity says. "Depending on its configuration, you can also create a focal point in your foyer by hanging a beautiful wallpaper on just one wall."

A foyer's design can often be taken to the next level by extending decorative elements to a home's staircase, which is often seen from the entryway in a multi-level house.

"The artwork hung in a home can begin in the foyer and continue up the wall by a staircase," Garrity says. "A stairway in view from the foyer is just a naturally dramatic design element, so use the flat newel post at the bottom of a staircase as a place to put a tray with a bouquet of flowers."

A foyer's furnishings should be spare and chosen with care. "You don't want a lot of furniture in the foyer, but there are some pieces you need," Garrity says. "Depending on the foyer space, it's great if you can have a console table and a couple of chairs, or a bench to sit on or place a visitor's coat or purse. A wall mirror enlarges the space, but it's also great to catch one last glimpse of yourself before you head out the door."

The type of furniture used in your foyer should reflect your personal taste, which can be formal or fun. It can also be a combination of both. "In decorating, not everything has to be all matchy-matchy," Garrity says. "Have pieces you love in your home and it will be a reflection of your personal sense of style."

A bright tip to set the mood in the foyer is to pay attention to the light fixtures. Whether you're hanging a vintage chandelier or a modernly sleek, colorful pendant from the ceiling, Garrity says it's important to also have accent lighting. "Burning candles not only cast a pretty glow, they also makes the space smell good," she says. "I also like having a lamp on a foyer table and always leaving the light on for guests."

For the Foyer:

-- NellHills.com or call 816-746-4320.

-- Pella.com or see Store Locator.

-- CaliforniaClosets.com or call 877-905-6128.

(For editorial questions, please contact Clint Hooker at chooker@amuniversal.com.)

You don't need a mountaintop experience or woodland dwelling to treat your cabin fever. The warm, rustic design details of a cabin getaway can be brought into your home no matter where you live, says Jeff Balmer, a fourth-generation builder, cabin designer and an owner of Lands End Development in Crosslake, Minnesota.

"Most everyone has those childhood memories of escaping to the lake house or going down to a beach home for vacation," Balmer says. "The first step to bringing a little cabin into your own home is to create informal, rustic spaces meant for entertaining people."

While it might not be in the budget to build a new mountain retreat or a house by the water's edge, Balmer says the relaxed energy found in a cabin can flow through an existing home. "We do renovations to a home's lower level, the master suite or a bonus room above the garage to create a getaway," he says. "The cabin feel in a home is about getting back to basics and using natural materials."

Combining Natural Elements

While beach cottages tend to be light, bright and white with cool colors throughout, Balmer says many traditional cabins tend toward warmer color tones, utilizing stained pinewood and natural stonework to achieve a rustic look and feel.

"A cabin should feel cozy, without being suffocating," he says. "An open floor plan or vaulted ceilings give cabins an air about them."

The four earth elements are often represented in a cabin's design: land, air, water and fire. "In a family room we see this all coming together: the stone and woodwork; the airiness of vaulted ceilings, the views through the windows of the lake outside; and, of course, the fireplace," Balmer says. "For those who are remodeling and don't live near water, people can purchase an indoor fountain and have the added benefit of hearing the water trickling, too."

Bringing the Indoors Outside

Cavorting with nature is part of the cabin experience. "There's always talk about bringing the outdoors inside a home," Balmer says. "But, in a cabin, you also bring the indoors outside, and building a porch is a good way to start."

Whether you're shooting the breeze or just catching one, a porch is a natural place to gather without having to stray too far from home. A transitional space by its very nature, a porch connects a home to the outside world.

"Some people enclose their porch, so they can enjoy it all four seasons," Balmer says. "Even on the smallest house, building a porch is high on the list for those who want to enjoy a cabin lifestyle."

Of course, a porch swing is a prerequisite for many, but having comfortable seating, surrounded by fragrant flowers and landscaping, is also an essential part of creating an inviting atmosphere.

An invigorating way to bring the cabin experience home is to install an outdoor shower, Balmer says. "It's not for everyone and certainly won't work in every residential situation, but if you're close to the beach, it makes sense to have one to get the sand off before going into the house," he says. "Some people even use them as part of their regular showering routine."

Balmer says installing an outdoor shower isn't difficult, but it requires a drain and a water source that can be shut off during the winter months in colder climates. Of course, the shower surround can be private or open to nature, but Balmer says there's nothing like washing up at sun-up in an outdoor shower.

Building Built-Ins

A cabin is meant to be a gathering place, so space can be at a premium with a house full of people. "It's in the cabin style to use every nook and cranny of a home, whether you're building a bookshelf or a bunk bed," Balmer says. "To create that rustic look, the trick is to use solid modern-day craftsmanship, but build in details that are usable and look like they've been there for decades."

A wide hallway became a bedroom in an O'Brien Lake, Minnesota, home when Balmer's team constructed a double set of built-in bunks along the walls. "A higher ceiling and plenty of light gives that bedroom-hallway a warm, cozy feeling," Balmer says. "And when you have a bunch of people staying with you, you need to use every bit of space you have."

Kitchen is Central

While the kitchen is most often considered the heart of the home, it is also the core to cabin-style living. "When it comes to home design, we often start with the kitchen, and the rest of the house flows from there," Balmer says. "You want the kitchen to be open, not only to the house, but to the outdoor spaces, where people can cook and eat outside."

There's no need to rough it in today's rustic kitchen. Built with modern amenities -- including a large range, refrigerator, well-stocked pantry and kitchen island -- the rustic charm comes from the use of antique decor and distressed cabinet finishes, which give the space character and warmth.

For a growing number of homeowners, the great outdoors has also become the newest frontier for culinary construction. An outdoor kitchen is built with amenities often found in its indoor counterpart, with appliances, countertops or cabinetry built to withstand a wide range of temperatures. A large gas or charcoal grill is often the center of the outdoor kitchen, but before purchasing any other outdoor appliances, look for the UL (Underwriters Laboratory) seal approving items for outdoor use.

A cabin's aesthetic doesn't have to be watered-down into an all-or-nothing endeavor in your home, Balmer says. "At the end of the day, creating a cabin is about creating a space where you can go to get away," he says. "If you can build another vacation home, that's great, but it doesn't take as much to transform a room or basement into your personal retreat."

Rustic Pleasures

For more information, go to LandsEndDev.com or call 218-692-LAND (5263).

(For editorial questions, please contact Clint Hooker at chooker@amuniversal.com.)

The standard shed takes a modern twist by creating a structure that adds square footage to a homeowner's property for a guest bedroom, artist studio, workout space, home office or man cave.

More than a simple storage unit for lawn and garden items, a thoroughly modern milled out-building is in for people who want to add livable square footage to their residential property, says Tim Vack, general manager of Modern-Shed Inc., based in Seattle since 2005.

"Our Modern-Shed isn't just a shed, it's a shell which can stylishly house additional living space," he says of the company with ten sales representatives across North America. "Based on mid-century architecture, the elegance of the Modern-Shed is the simplicity of a structure with a single-angled roof and windows near the top."

A Modern-Shed is used less as a gardening shed and more as part of a stylish backyard garden getaway, as the company claims to be the first to customize and produce mid-century style outbuildings that are International Building Code compliant. Capitalizing on this modern movement, even Tuff Shed, a company known for its barnlike and traditional-style sheds, offers a contemporary Premier Pro Studio shed, which can be purchased nationwide.

If a homeowner wants to shed the conventional for a contemporary outbuilding, there are many things to do before breaking ground. Vack says involving family members in the discussion of a Modern-Shed's usage helps to make it a little extension of the big house.

"Life is so stressful, and having a place to escape into the backyard is like having that tree house when we were kids," he says. "But if the site isn't prepared properly, a Modern-Shed can be anything but fun and games."

The location for a studio-style shed should be a relatively dry spot, on slightly elevated ground, where rainwater won't collect. Often, homeowners build their Modern-Shed over a solid or crushed rock surface, poured concrete pad or wooden decking, but the structure should be built at least 12 to 18 inches off the ground, according to Vack. "The site needs to be prepared and graded to handle the drainage after water flows off the roof," he says. "Also, site accommodations must be made if the Modern-Shed is going to have electricity and plumbing."

But before buying and breaking ground on the bitty building, Vack says homeowners need to do their homework and check with local accessory building codes within their municipality and/or homeowner's association. "Modern-Shed provides the ready-to-assemble customized and prefabricated building components, and after construction, the structure can weigh up to 5,000 pounds," Vack says. "But it's up to the homeowners to secure the permits and construction team to execute their dream for a Modern-Shed, or it can quickly become a nightmare."

Modern-Sheds come in a variety of sizes, but the most popular is a 10-by-12-foot structure, totaling 120 square feet. The Modern-Shed can be customized using a variety of materials and woods, with insulated walls that hold professionally manufactured windows and doors. Vack says the cost of a Modern-Shed can start out at $100 per square foot and top off around $250 per square foot. The average cost, however, is just over $150 per square foot, he says.

A Modern-Shed space can be used for both work and play:

-- A home office, the most popular usage, is a space that is both productive and professional, including easy commutes to and from the backyard.

-- An art studio for the artist-in-residence is a creative space flooded with natural light from windows near the roofline.

-- A home gym allows families to stay in and work out, then cool off outside.

-- A hobby or craft room puts an end to canvassing your home for art supplies while longing for a permanent place to sew, scrapbook or creatively sprawl out.

-- A man cave or game room allows families to bring their A-game home and socially engage by watching the big game on television in a penalty-free zone.

-- A teen hangout allows your home to be a drama-free scene by creating a special space for the young adults in your life.

-- A guest suite is sweet for visiting friends and family, with enough space and privacy to accommodate loved ones.

Building a backyard space sheds light on the charms of creating an additional private residential room without remodeling the existing home. "The concept of the Modern-Shed is growing, as the company is on track to fulfill 20 percent more orders this year than it did last year," Vack says. "Building a Modern-Shed isn't just about putting up a building, it's about a lifestyle, as homeowners also landscape around this new multipurpose room for a finishing and fragrant touch."

Shed Ready:

For more information, see Modern-Shed.com or call 800-261-7282.

(For editorial questions, please contact Clint Hooker at chooker@amuniversal.com.)