Designer Charlene Threatful’s Favourite Room

By Kristin Doucet | 4 minute read

What and where is your favourite room? 

As a designer, I always find it hard to choose my favourite room because each space is unique, and after 25 years of living in my home, each room has special memories associated with it. However, one of my favourite spaces is the front entry. It’s not a room per se, but it connects to many rooms and is used every day. It is the first space you see when you enter and the last you see when you leave, so it needs to be inviting, personal and set the tone for the rest of the home.I  have beautiful rose bushes in the front garden and I love having cuttings on the front entry table to greet guests and provide a transition from the outdoors.

Calgary designer Charlene Threatful’s favourite room in her home is her foyer, the first room you see when you enter her home and the last you see when you leave it.

What was the inspiration behind creating the room? 

I was inspired to create a space that spoke to the other elements in the rooms adjacent to the front entry. The custom wool carpet is meant to fade away and stands up to the elements that our family and guests bestow upon it. I used a warm gold metal front entry table to tie in the dining room lighting and my front office finishes. I also wanted something unexpected and achieved that with the animal print carpet running up the stairs. I [added] colour [through] the artwork, which I easily change out every few years. I also love to collect items from my travels, and those can be seen throughout the space. 

Threatful enjoys collecting items from her travels and placing them in her entrance way and throughout her home. The bronze statue in the stairwell is from a trip to Africa.

What were the challenges in creating this room and how did you overcome them?

The most challenging aspect of this space is the fact that you see the powder room, my home office, the staircase, the formal dining room, and all the way to the back of the house out to the backyard. Making it speak to all those other spaces and pulling elements from all of those rooms was the most challenging. It would have been easy to keep it neutral and without color, but I wanted it to reflect my personal sense of style. I also wanted it to be interesting and draw visitors in.  

The second challenge was the size of the space. There is not a lot of room to make an impact, so scale was important in selecting furniture, specifically the entry table, ottoman (which is a necessity for elderly guests) and accessories. The small space between the upper and lower staircase was also a challenge in that there were so many elements in that space that the large planter made the most sense, and I changed out the plantings seasonally. 

Threatful designed an entranceway that pulled elements from all of the rooms adjacent to it carefully choosing furniture and objects that worked with the size of the space.

What are your favourite features of the room?

One of my favourite features of the front entry is the lighting. I like to mix styles, and the hanging light is more modern in style but I love the Swarovski crystals that line the bottom of the light, making it sparkle when lit. It also looks amazing when dimmed as it emits a really warm light but the crystals still sparkle. It’s feminine and modern at the same time. The brass lamp with the black linen shade is another lighting element that I love. I have had it for many years and have moved it around my entire home. It now has a new home on my front entry table. It provides a warm glow and is always on when my kids are out and I know they will be home well after I’ve gone to bed!  It gives them just enough light to navigate the space in the dark. 

A warm gold metal front entry table ties in the dining room lighting and the front office finishes. Cuttings from Threatful’s rose bushes sit in a small vase next to a Hermès box she purchased during a trip to New York City.

How does this room make you feel?

It makes me feel good!  I walk through it to enter my home office, complete with a large fireplace which is used often throughout the cold winter days. I also walk through it when I head upstairs and am greeted by my gorgeous tall African bronze lady who looks divine standing on the  leopard print!

Describe a favourite moment in this room.

There are too many to describe! [One of my favourite moments was] bringing home my two daughters from the hospital after they were born. Another is leaving the front door open so that when my kids were little I could keep an eye on them while they played with the neighborhood kids. And, of course, greeting family and friends in the space throughout the years.