Accessories in a large foyer may include:

Travel posters

An iron architectural finding over the door

Mirrors

Family photographs in identical frames

Furnishings, such as a hand-painted Bombay chest, should be pieces that would help create an elegant and friendly entryway in any home.

To make the foyer functional, as well as adding more decorative texture to the room, consider a painting technique called crackling to revive a chair and a coat rack. Here's how to do it: Prime the furniture with the same primer used on the stairway treads; allow to dry for 8 hours. Add a gold paint color to the furniture; allow to dry for 8 hours. Add crackle medium (glue) in a crosshatch manner to the furniture; allow to dry 1 hour. Paint the furniture. Don't worry about covering the surface completely -- the crackle texture should be messy -- but make sure to paint in one direction only. It will take several minutes before the crackle effect begins. Once the desired effect is achieved, seal the furniture with polyurethane finish.