Foyer plans - so many options, no coherent ideas

Though it seems ages away, we are only about 4 or 5 weeks away from moving in to our new house. Walls are primed, plumbing ready, electrical putting in the lights and switches this week. I'm getting antsy and weary and weepy -- partially because it's been so long, it's now so close, and it will still be a long time yet.

As the time comes, I realize how much I have yet to do, how much crap we have, and how much more we need once we get in the house.

I've been thinking more and more about what I want to do with the front entry. Or, foyer, as it is known. For those who do not know, it's called FOY-yay. Not foy-YER. It's French.

So anyway, our front entry is enormous. It is the common entry area for both the main living suite upstairs and the rental suite downstairs. If you look at the drawing below, you will see the basic layout.

Front door (left) Garage door (right)

Now, we already have a bench. The Guy bought it when we were still living in the other house. I haven't seen it in about 9 months, so I have no idea what it looks like any more. If its ugly, we will return it and I have an old bench I will recover, so either way, we have it under control.

Above the bench, I plan to put a mirror.

Mirror from Lowe's

In front of the door, I want to put a large area rug. This will be to catch dirt and pull the room together.  These are the two rugs I like, but neither will look good with the picture I want to put over top of the closet on the 5 foot ledge that is there.

I have a phenomenal painting my Dad brought back from Ukraine one of his first trips there. Long before he got married and ended up settling there. It is a watercolour nature scene of a tree and is in a wooden frame that leans towards being burgundy in colour. I have no picture of this picture at all. 

So, in retrospect, neither of these rugs will really suit it at all.

Do you see my dilemma?

On the wall behind the main door (so directly across from the bench) I want to put this show cabinet. I have become the crazy person who likes everything to be neat and orderly and put away.  (Side note: What has this marriage done to me????) The idea is that The Guy and I will share this with the tenants downstairs so that winter boots or 45 pairs of flip flops are left by the front door (I'm totally talking about me with the flip flops) and yet we will all have access to the shoes we need.

Ikea STALL shoe cabinet

My conundrum aside from the rug choice is the picture choices. There are 5 spots that could be places for paintings, photos, knick knacks, statues, etc. The ledge over the closet (centred green swirl) I wanted to put the painting from Ukraine, two large vases, and a statue of two people entwined.

Over the shoe cabinet, I plan to do something like a small photo gallery.

Do not judge my Paint art gallery.

 The trouble will be the GIANT empty space further along that same wall.  The ceilings are about 10 feet give or take. The space in the top left green swirl is about 4 feet wide. Over the stairs going down  (not swirled) is another 3 foot space where I plan to put some sort of saying in sticky letters.

Going along the wall heading upstairs (top right green swirl) is room for 3 or 4 photos "walking" up along the stairs.  There is NOTHING BUT WALL SPACE in this foyer.

Seriously. SO MANY OPTIONS.

So, I am calling upon the designers, the artists, the nosey, the opinionated to share with me their thoughts. I don't want to overwhelm the space. I don't want it to be so busy no one can stand to be there.  However, I also don't want it so empty it looks like an entryway to an apartment building.

And yet, if it meant I could move in tomorrow, I would paint it all orange and hang whips on the walls.