Have you ever wondered why so many large chain stores have two sets of doors? No, it is not just to store shopping carts.

Where I live, any home that is around 100 years old (that hasn’t seen any renovations) will very likely have two front doors. Putting it simply, you open one door, step into a small space, and there will be another door in front of you.

(Image Sources: Image 1 | Image 2)

The space goes by many names, including: arctic entry, mud room, breeze room, vestibule, airlock, foyer, and more. For sake of simplicity, I am going to call them “entry vestibules.”

Entry vestibules create a buffer between the outside and the inside of the building, preventing drafts. This can help greatly with temperature regulation in both the winter cold and summer heat. I can’t find number details on energy saving, but the fact that large chains still build them may hint of their importance for money-saving.

In homes, this space also typically serves as the mud room ( a place for shoes and jackets).

In the name of “first impressions,” and open concept designs, vestibules are often the first thing to go during renovations, and I think that’s a real shame.

    • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      Where I am if it’s inside the house, like the outer door’s wall is insulated, than the room is a foyer/mud room. If it’s outside the house, i.e. the outer door’s wall is not insulated, then it is a sundeck.

      If there is only one door and the outer area is exposed with just a railing instead of a wall it’s a porch/patio.

    • glimse@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I was going to ask what you call “the area traditionally called a porch” until I discovered…calling the sitting area in front of a house a “porch” started in the southern US.

        • glimse@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Right! I didn’t know that until I looked it up to include a picture and read the Wikipedia page. I’ve never heard it used in any other context than a front deck