How to make the perfect entrance at home

There’s a real sense of arrival at this inner west house by interior designer Greg Natale.

Metallic outdoor lights are a practical addition at night while providing design symmetry during the day. An art deco style custom made security grill set into the arched entranceway blurs the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Central to this doorway is an oversized pendant meant to create drama. Metallic detail at the top links it to the external lights.

While the palette is predominantly black, white and grey, it’s all a matter of texture, with large format grey tiles giving way to patterned floors for the internal spaces. A climbing plant offers the finishing touch.

More: gregnatale.com

When is a garage not a garage? When it becomes a large canvas marking a clear entranceway on an otherwise nondescript laneway.

Artist Nico Nicoson created the striking artwork on the new garage and studio designed by architect Kitty Lee as part of a wider renovation of the house. In an area where graffiti is commonplace, it was a beautiful solution to a typically urban problem.

Now, finding the laneway entry to the house is a snap, with the door painted in cerulean blue contrasted against a white brick wall.

The response from neighbours has been positive, with many remarking on how it has added personality to the street. Even on the darkest night, there’s little chance of losing your way.

More: klarch.com.au

There was only one way to go with freshening up the facade of this Federation home, and that was all the way. Architect Eva-Marie Prineas from Studio Prineas celebrated the history of this house without overdoing it, restoring the marble stair treads but keeping the tiles and plinths a simple charcoal to let the Federation-style pathway and veranda really sing. Quoin style brick work and timber fretwork, typical of the era, give the house a final polish.

More: studioprineas.com.au

Nothing says crisp and cool like a black and white scheme for the exterior. With so much detail in the Victorian Italianate facade of this Newtown terrace, interior designer Karen Akers opted for a monochromatic palette to let the period features speak for themselves. While getting the details right can be time consuming and costly, it’s a worthwhile investment here.

A deliberately quiet palette of mostly white and grey leads the eye to the black front door while tessellated encaustic tiles add texture and pattern.

Although garden options are limited in the small space, evergreen shrubs introduce some greenery and soften the formality of the architecture. Even the small change in level is significant, creating some distance between the front door and the street.

More: karenakers.com.au