Your entrance and hallways are the first places you (and your guests) see when you enter your home and the last you see when you leave - making them important spaces to keep clear and organised.
Whether you have a large entrance hallway or just a few steps before you move from the front door to the central part of your home, it's a space that should feel welcoming, but also functional.
A place to transition from inside/outside and from one room to another with minimal clutter and distraction.
If the entrance to your home feels any less than inviting, you're fed up of tripping over bags or shoes, or you struggle to find your keys. This home edit is for you.
What is getting dumped by your door?
Entrance and hallways are challenging to keep tidy. A natural dumping ground for whatever people want to shed when they walk through the door. When we physically leave behind the outside world and our day . But, the sight of dumped bags, coats piled high, a waste ground of forgotten shoes, muddy wellies, wayward umbrellas, keys, post etc., by the door will not give you that calm 'welcome home' that I think we all need after a long day.
Take a moment to think about what naturally lands by your door. How does the area get used (and abused)?
Do shoes pile up on the floor? Does mail cover surfaces? What happens to school bags, shopping and coats?
DECLUTTER and simplify
The first step to creating calm is decluttering. It's important to take the time to decide what really needs to be kept in this area. What things do you need by the front door to make daily life easier? What can you let go of altogether, and what can be re-homed?
Pull out every item from the space, spread it out and start grouping it into like-for-like categories - coats, shoes, bags. You can also group by person.
Take everything off the overloaded hooks, the old bags, the odd shoes, gloves, hats, dog leads, footballs, rollerblades and forgotten lunchboxes! You may be surprised at what you find lurking beneath the layers!
If it's not supposed to be there and has a home in another room - put it back.
Check all items fit and are still being used. Donate anything that you no longer need that is still in good condition, and recycle anything that is past its best.
Return any special occasion shoes and coats to your wardrobe. They don't need to be easily accessible by the door if not worn very often.
WORK WITH THE SEASONS
If you are limited with storage space, pack away any out of season items. Winter coats, hats, scarves and gloves in the summer, and summer hats and flip-flops in the winter.
Do a little edit when you bring back your seasonal items from last year. Evaluate your possessions and donate (or recycle) anything you won't wear or use again this year. Some people would really appreciate that bobble hat that just didn't suit you last year.
A DESIGNATED SPACE FOR EVERYTHING
Entranceway space varies significantly from home to home, but what we have in common is that we all need a place to put our coats, shoes and other things when we arrive home.
Make space for everyones needs. It needs to work for everyone in the home, so it's important to visualise the needs of each person. Whether it's a basket, cupboard or cubby holes, giving everyone their space for daily essentials will make the morning rush much easier.
If storage for the items that we tend to throw off as we enter the front door is anywhere other than in the hallway, then the chances are that they will not get put away - they'll stay put on the floor or chucked over a chair, at the exact spot where they were taken off.
Don't just put it down - put it away.
It's unrealistic for anyone, on entering the home, to traipse around putting their bag, shoes and coat in different locations, so try and create a storage system as close to the door as possible.
If everyday items just sit on the floor, other things are going to build up around them and piles of clutter magically appear and keeping the entrance to your home clear will be more challenging.
All the small things. What happens to keys, phones and any post that you pick up? Do you need a basket or two on top of a console to put the little things that easily get lost?
Do the most used coats, bags, and shoes have a place to sit or hang? Are they easy to put away at the end of the day?
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR SPACE in your hallway
Even if you don't have the luxury of a dedicated coat cupboard or mud room, you can still do a lot in a small space.
Once you've decluttered and cleared the space, it's easier to see other options available in recesses, nooks and wall spaces that you may have missed when they were covered in stuff.
Utilise any available vertical space with shelves or hooks, and consider using stackable racks or cupboards to double your shoe storage.
Don't just use understairs cupboards as a dumping ground. If utilised correctly, this space can work well. They may be an awkward shape, but they are usually quite deep, and with added shelves and hooks, they can provide some great storage. If budget allows, you can also have bespoke storage drawers and cupboards fitted.
space-saving HALLWAY STORAGE TIPS AND IDEAS
Wardrobes can work fantastically well as coat cupboards in larger hallways. They are versatile and, you can easily add more shelves and rails if you need to. They are great for keeping everything tidy and hidden.
Using every inch of space is the key to organising smaller areas.
For smaller and narrower hallways, open storage such as shelving and wall hooks may work better as doors can get in the way and become difficult to navigate.
Don't overcrowd the space. Think carefully about where you place any hooks or stands. Directly behind the door can make the entrance feel confined and cluttered, not to mention annoying in a confined space.
If you're investing in a piece of hallway furniture and are limited on space - opt for a multi-usage piece. There are lots of options available that include a bench and space for coats and shoes.
If you have enough space, a bureau or console table can be both aesthetically pleasing and practical. Anything with drawers works well for smaller items.
COAT STORAGE
How many coats do you typically store in your hallway?
If you're using hooks, try and have at least one coat hook per family member. Position children's hooks lower down so smaller children can hang their own coats and bags.
If you have room for more hooks, then go for it. Better to have the coats spread out over a longer row than having lots piled onto one hook. You don't want to have to remove five coats before you can get to the one you want. Over time, the bulge of all the coats is likely to slowly encroach on your hallway, dropping off one by one every time you brush past them.
Rails are also a great option if you have the space, whether within a wardrobe or coat cupboard, wall mounted or free standing. They make organising and accessing your coats much easier.
If you are hanging coats on a rail. Make sure you use sturdy wooden hangers.
SHOE STORAGE
Shoes can quickly become messy - especially for families. Shoes, trainers, wellies and football boots often get abandoned at the door.
A basket, shoe rack, or shelves placed as close as possible to the door means that all shoes coming in from outside can be taken off and neatly stored off the floor.
When adding shelves - always go for flat and simple. Try and avoid anything with an angled shelf or flimsy rods, as shoes slide off or fall through the gaps, especially in a busy hallway where all it will take is a slight bump from someone passing by to knock everything off. A sturdy shelving unit with adjustable shelves works best and means that you can change the height to accommodate your boots in the winter.
If space allows, its nice to include a place to sit to make it easier to take off and put on shoes.
Do all the shoes need to live by the door? How many pairs per person do you have space for?
Ikea TRONES units are really versatile as they can be easily stacked and provide a home in narrow hallways for shoes, accessories and pet items.
STORING KEYS AND LITTLE THINGS
How many of us haven't experienced those frustrating times when we're rushing at 100 miles per hour to get out of the door but can't find our keys? Use trays, dishes, baskets or hooks to give your keys a regular home and avoid the drama of having to hunt for them.
Pegboards with added hooks and trays can also work well to hold smaller items by the door.
Smaller accessory items can be easily corralled using boxes or baskets. Summer sunscreens, hats and winter gloves and scarves can all be kept together and pulled out when needed. At the end of the season, you can simply switch out the contents, out with the summer and in with autumn and winter accessories.
Each member of the family could have their own labelled or colour-coded baskets for their things to prevent them from getting lost.
If you have a hallway closet, you can over the door organises to hold smaller items such as gloves, hats, glasses and small umbrellas.
Use pretty trays (like this one from H&M) to store small items on a shelf or console table.
INCOMING. An open in-tray as near to your front door as possible will keep your mail together until you are ready to deal with it. If surface space is short, you could attach a wire basket or vertical tray to the wall.
OUTGOING. For busy households with lots of incoming and outgoing items, you can use a lovely basket to place items such as donations, items to be returned or collected and items that are due to leave the house.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Your entryway is a practical space, but to make it feel welcoming its nice to add a few finishing touches. Add some pretty prints or inspirational quotes to that boost your mood at the beginning of the day, some greenery or a fragrance diffuser.
HALLWAY STORAGE IDEAS and inspiration
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