Inaccessible Foyer Landing

Submission 12,016

Part of a series on Discourse (Slang). [View Related Entries]

About

The Inaccessible Foyer Landing refers to a common interior design feature prevalent in suburban, American homes (nicknamed McMansions) in which a landing is added above the door placed beneath the large foyer window resembling a Palladian window. The design has been ridiculed online throughout the 2010s. Many call the foyer a "Lawyer Foyer" because of its resemblance to the inner entrance of a law firm. However, discourse and memes about the foyer landing peaked in early 2024 when Twitter / X user @RealEstateMaxi tweeted about it. Thereafter, many quoted the post, adding what nonsensical objects they would put on top of the landing.

Origin

The McMansion was popularized in the 1990s and the moniker was coined in 1992.^[3]^[4] McMansions are characterized as generic yet gaudy. Many people's perception of them is that they allude to wealth but are low-class.^[3]

A common feature of McMansions is called a "lawyer foyer," named as such because it's a two story entrance, often with a large, winding staircase, Palladian window and expensive ornaments like chandeliers, as written about by The New Yorker^[5]^[6] in 2001 and 2011 (example shown below).

Currently, the first known internet post about a lawyer foyer with an inaccessible landing on top of the doorway was posted to /r/mildlyinteresting^[1] on March 28th, 2015, by Reddior tnick771 who attached an Imgur^[2] photo, showing, "My parents house has a floor above the front door that is carpeted but not accessible" (shown below). The Reddit post gained roughly 16,000 upvotes in nine years while the Imgur post gained over 5,200 upvotes across the same timeframe.

Spread

In July 2016, writer Kate Wagner started her Tumblr^[7] blog McMansion Hell which gained media attention in 2016 from outlets like Slate.^[8] On July 25th, 2017, the /r/McMansionHell^[9] subreddit was created. Both outlets provided criticism for McMansion design. For instance, on September 25th, 2016, a post on the blog^[10] included a photo of a McMansion exterior with an "inaccessible useless balcony" labeled (shown below).

@RealEstateMaxi's "Inaccessible Landing" Tweet

On January 16th, 2024, X^[11] user @RealEstateMaxi tweeted a photo of a McMansion foyer, captioning it, "One of my least-liked design elements of suburban design is this inaccessible landing I see in foyers." He asked the viewer, "Any creative solutions for 'staging' it out there?" Over three days, the tweet received over 67.2 million views and 10,000 likes (shown below).

The tweet inspired a slew of quotes and replies in which users provided humorous answers as to what could occupy the inaccessible landing. For instance, an early viral example was a reply shared by X^[12] user @imvarsityparker on January 16th, 2024, who showed a military bunker captioned, "Bust that window out and…." gaining over 9,000 likes in three days (shown below, left).

On January 17th, 2024, X^[13] user @Magic_Max98 posted a crudely-made Photoshop of men playing air hockey on the landing, captioned, "Easy solution," receiving over 3,300 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Increasingly viral quotes soon followed, such as one from X^[14] user @chillextremist on January 18th, 2024, who suggested, "Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band," gaining over 144,000 likes in one day (shown below, left).

Others made photoshops like @Magic_Max98, such as X^[15] user @StoolieMemes on January 18th, 2024, who added a Chilli's restaurant, gaining roughly 142,000 likes in one day (shown below, right).

The Staircase Cranny

The Staircase Cranny refers to a viral photograph of an empty opening below a staircase, likely meant for a wardrobe or storage. The photograph was posted on X / Twitter in mid-February 2024 was used for humorous edits as users referenced various media, similar to the recent Inaccessible Foyer Landing trend.

The Bathroom Cranny

The Bathroom Cranny refers to a viral photograph of a narrow niche between a bathroom and another room, likely meant for a wardrobe or storage. The photograph was posted on X / Twitter in mid-February 2024 was used for humorous edits as users referenced various media.