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Foyer
Nate Berkus
Because of its transitional nature, the foyer is one of the most difficult spaces to furnish in any home. Designer Nate Berkus conceived this one as a personal gallery of curiosities and a preview of attractions to come.
“An entrance hall should tell the first chapter of the story of you and your home—where you have been and where you aspire to go,” says Berkus, who used the space as a showcase for his signature placement of natural materials and organic forms. Inspired by the home of influential Belgian designer Axel Vervoordt, the is room largely neutral (weathered wood, silvery metal, gray marble, natural sisal), which gives the space a sense of calm luxury. Berkus describes Vervoordt’s home as “very grand yet filled with simple objects and antiques so that it feels very collected and creative.”
The balance of furnishings and art is one of the key lessons of the coolly dramatic space, which is centered on a long and narrow marble-topped console table. One wall of the foyer holds a sculpture made of crisscrossing twigs, its height and width echoed on the opposite wall by a tall bookcase that is an artwork itself, completely covered with strands of rope. And a pair of antique panels of carved pine that hang on one wall are balanced by two large orange, ball-shaped works of art.
Though arrangement of the foyer is sternly symmetrical, the idiosyncratic nature of the objects and their earthy, honest materials make the space feel warm rather than rigid.
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