I thought about your first idea in my design. But as you said, it will only look nice when the foyer is big enough (ie. for a 60 feet frontage house it is a popuar design). For a 50 feet frontage house then I am sacrificing living room width (also brough up by you). Especially in Toronto, we can only put a 40 feet house on a 50 feet lot. Going to 42 feet I already need to apply for variance. After weighting both, I gave up that idea since I really want a wide living room. From exterior perspective, a wide living room make the house appears to be bigger as well.
My garage is leading up to the laundry room, which is similar to mud room.
My garage is leading up to the laundry room, which is similar to mud room.