House Calls: Time to deck the hallways

THE CHALLENGE

First impressions are lasting impressions, so pay extra attention to your foyer when decking the halls this season; it’s the first, and sometimes only, room guests see when they visit your house. We asked designer Kelley Proxmire for tips on giving a dull entryway a festive touch.

Gallery

 Georgetown antiques dealer Marston Luce decorated his Cleveland Park home with fresh flowers and plants. Erin and Gregory Pitts, both in the design business, dressed their shingle-style, Gibson Island home in natural colors. Heidi and John Scanlon chose vibrant colors such as tangerine, fuchsia and raspberry for their Georgetown house.

More on this Story

• More features from House Calls
• Holiday House Calls: The dining room
• Holiday House Calls: The hallway
• Holiday House Calls: The front door

Holiday Guide 2011

THE SOLUTION

By using lush greenery, ornamented topiaries and faux-fur pillows, Proxmire pulls off a winter theme in unexpected ways. “Practicality is important, too,” she said. “By keeping the wall and accent colors neutral, you can add and subtract seasonal items all year long.”

A pair of red lamps will add instant holiday cheer. They can be brought out again for other holidays, such as Valentine’s Day.

Painting the walls a neutral color, such as Benjamin Moore’s Linen White, allows the room to transition easily from season to season.

Get crafty. Spray-paint a cardboard deer head white, and use it as a wreath hook.

Give the greenery a more festive look by dressing it with red ornaments and silver bows.

Add practical furniture. A chest of drawers can store winter accessories, and a bench offers a soft place to sit and place bags and gifts.

Hang bay leaf garland around the door and along the banister to make the entrance feel warm and inviting. Accent with bows to pull in the reds in the room.

RESOURCES

Cardboard animal heads ($52, www.uncommongoods.com); bay leaf garland ($60-$100, www.williamssonoma.com);
solid wood Chippendale planter box ($50, www.simplyplanters.com); sweet bay triple ball tree topiaries ($250, www.artificialplantsandtrees.com);
hand-painted accent chest in rustic sand finish ($615, www.overstock.com); Red Westport striped rug ($88, www.rosenberryrooms.com); set of two
South Beach table lamps in cherry red ($100, www.overstock.com).

Kelley Proxmire Interior Design (301-320-2109, www.kelleyinterior
design.com) is in Bethesda.

SPLURGE . . .

Bay leaf wreath ($60, www.williamssonoma.com).

Fur pillows by Adrienne Landau ($150, www.neimanmarcus.com).

. . . OR SAVE

Holiday Living Denver artificial wreath with red bow ($11, www.lowes.com).

Coyote faux fur pillows ($35, www.decorinnovation.
com).

Tell us about your design challenge.

Send photos, room dimensions and contact information to makeover@washpost.com.