https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Mon, 20 Apr 2026 16:25:10 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2017453 Tue, 02 Apr 2019 22:17:21 +0000 shiny 2017453@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Late to the thread because I always forget to check Off Topic forum!</p> <p>FashIntern, I *love* the Ikea shoe cabinets!!! We have one in our hallway across from our laundry closet that we're using to stash detergent and other laundry items. They are so useful in small spaces, for shoes and otherwise.&nbsp;</p> <p>Our current place has a teeny tiny entry -- you basically just walk into the space and to the right are the stairs leading up, straight ahead is the living space, to the left is shown in pic 1. If you want to sit to put on your shoes, you sit on the stairs as they are right there. Very short hallway leading to powder room has the console and the mirror. Most people don't even notice Marilyn until they hit the powder room as they walk right on by this non-entry. </p> <p>In the pic you can see the hinges and that's the coat closet, which isn't very wide but it's deep -- so there's two sets of rods one in front, one in back. This is handy for seasonal rotation of coats. It's filled pretty much solely with DH's coats, as he has a lot of coats.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>As empty nesters we've gotten in the habit of putting our stuff away upon entering. I take my handbag right upstairs, as well as my coat, hat, scarf, gloves and put those away in my closet. I've gotten into the Konmari thing and empty my handbag into my "purse station" which is my top nightstand drawer. The bottom nightstand drawer is my laptop bag station.&nbsp;</p> <p>He puts his coat in the hall closet and his gloves/hat etc in the entry console. Not shown in this pic as it's older but we do have a dish for keys, coins, his wallet. Mail gets sorted first in the lobby over the circular file, then inside at the kitchen island which is steps away from the entry. The items needing attention then go on my office desk, or into hubby's backpack to take to work the next day. His backpack rests overnight in the bottom of the hall closet.&nbsp;</p> <p>We might have a two pairs of shoes on the mat near the stairs (his and mine). As for recycling, it goes straight out barely hitting the entry. Any returns or donations have a spot in my closet until I'm ready to take them to the car.&nbsp;</p> <p>Pic 2 shows that we have a piece of art across from the mirror in this narrow hallway. (Different art now, this is an older picture). That art is covering up the fuse box. It's also visible from the living room. I got tired of looking at an ugly fuse box.</p> <p>I actually wanted to put in a low shoe bench and maybe some hooks but my husband nixed the idea, which got us into the habit of putting stuff away elsewhere. We still, however, need a boot rack: in the meantime wet boots stay outside our door in the hallway. I've also got this mad urge to paint our door, just not sure what color.&nbsp;</p> <p>Pic 3 is our last home's entry when we were a family of 4. More like a pass through than an entry. That server console was great, the kids each got a "cubby" (cabinet) for their backpacks and stuff. The drawers were used as our mailbox and for stashing keys and sunglasses. Mail and school stuff got sorted on top. Still, there was always an explosion of stuff as there is with families, so I got to having the kids dump their bulkier stuff (guitar case, gym bags, boots) behind the sofa in the space under the windows. You could see the mess when you entered the house, but couldn't see it while in the house, and that made me happy.&nbsp;</p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2016569 Fri, 29 Mar 2019 22:18:46 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2016569@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Jenn—I’m impressed! When I’ve seen that area in your WIWs, I never would’ve guessed it was a “working” entranceway, thought it was just for show. But now that you point out the details, I see it’s all hiding (nearly) in plain sight. Lol about the single sox. </p> <p>L’Abielle, good point about assigning specific tasks to hooks. And the little spot just for a shoehorn is the kind of brilliance a home develops once you’ve lived in it for a while. I’m thinking our shoehorn will go with the polish, suede brush, etc in the very lowest cube of the stack for hats/mittens. </p> <p>I may need to figure out a better shoe-putting-on bench. If it’s lower than the bottoms of the coats and no more than 20 cm deep, I can stash it under the coat rack. A Japanese stool (there must be a better name) would fit, but those seem so blah anymore. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2016549 Fri, 29 Mar 2019 20:56:33 +0000 Jenn 2016549@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>We have a fairly spacious entryway right now, but it does become kind of a catch-all place for coats, shoes, school bags, gym bags, etc. I try to keep everything contained in baskets, so the mess is at least -hidden away- until I get around to cleaning it up for real. One of these baskets is seriously mostly full of the discarded socks I find EVERYWHERE. It gets emptied out on laundry day.</p> <p>The cat food station is also in the entryway right now because we had to do some rearranging when we took in an extra kid last month. Also note the random spray-painted banner my son put up to alert his friends he was having a party in the basement. That probably needs to come down. Lots of art too, because that’s how we roll. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2016548 Fri, 29 Mar 2019 20:51:50 +0000 L'Abeille 2016548@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You've already come to the conclusion I was going to suggest: hooks. There are some really nice looking ones for entryways too: rustic or minimalist pegs on a board, nautical inspired hooks etc. A few in an entryway can be really versatile for whatever doesn't belong on the coatrack. One could hold DS's backpack and the other your sunhat, umbrella, or bag of grocery bags. If you have designated purposes for them it is less likely to devolve to a big mess.</p> <p>As for me: the tiny tiled entryway in our current empty nest has a small coat closet with one shelf and a bench for sitting on to put on boots etc, which is usually filled with random stuff waiting to go out the door or too messy to bring deeper in. The latest innovation is a tiny hook that holds the shoe horn so it's always findable--I love it. There is a fancier entry by the unused front door that has another closet for the out of season coats and boots and gear.</p> <p>When we had four in school, we had a wonderful mudroom the width of the house at the back door. It had a big coat rack, a wall of cubbies, hooks for the jacket du jour; at one end was the big freezer, and the entrance to the laundry room. I still miss it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2016428 Fri, 29 Mar 2019 14:35:31 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2016428@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Janet, you “kind of envy the ability to put anything in an entryway”? I kind of envy the ability to have one entrance for real and one for show. That’s like the house I grew up in, and I’m just now realizing what a mistake the architect made in putting the coat closet near the front door/entrance foyer. We all came in the door from the garage, or a door right next to it. There was a place for shoes, a keyboard, a counter where mail got dumped, hooks for kids’ coats, but our parents always had to walk across the house to put their coats in the closet. Never occurred to me as a kid that it could be a problem—I figured it was just the natural order of things. My mother will still sometimes grumble over the irony that the small back entrance (the “service hall” on the blueprints) was where friends always came, and the double doors at the foot of stairs with a pretty rail, in front of a parquet floor, small chandelier, etc was the place where no one but UPS &amp; the like (ie service providers) ever rang. </p> <p>I agree with you that it’s nice to have an enclosed place for coats, but I am jealously guarding the 4’ square closet right by the door. I have a tendency to start projects—sorting papers, making things, painting, potting plants, all sorts of messiness—and wanting them to be undisturbed for days. It seems the older he gets the harder it is for my son to go around stuff like that. In fairness to him, this home is small and I shouldn’t make him stare at my messes. So once all the construction and installation of the initial move-in is complete, that closet will be my personal little maker space. The only thing I might store in there is a sewing machine, if I eventually get one. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2016418 Fri, 29 Mar 2019 13:53:14 +0000 Janet 2016418@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I kind of envy the ability to put anything in an entryway! Ours is really just a landing pad that leads to living room, hallway to kitchen, and stairs off to the side, both up and down, as we are in a multilevel contemporary house. Wall space is at a premium because it’s so open. </p> <p>There is a small shelf along the wall and stairway next to the front door, which can serve as a place to put things (keys, bags) but that’s mainly for visitors since we tend to enter and exit the house through the garage (which brings us in through the laundry room and into the kitchen, which is our more natural landing pad). We have a coat closet in the hallway off the foyer, so I like that coats go in an enclosed area. </p> <p>I like the idea of keeping it simple and functional. A mirror is nice, but I don’t mind saving a full-length mirror for another space in the home if it doesn’t work in the entranceway. At our old house, where the front door opened straight into the living room, we had a coat rack on one side and a small wall-mounted shelf and mirror on the other.<br /> It worked out great. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2016347 Fri, 29 Mar 2019 11:05:27 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2016347@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I’m tempted to hang this vertically behind the coat rack, just because DS would hate it—such a mean mom, lol. <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/633360449/wall-wallpaper-panels-tokyo-metro?ga_order=most_relevant&#038;ga_search_type=all&#038;ga_view_type=gallery&#038;ga_search_query=tokyo+metro+map&#038;ref=sr_gallery-1-12" rel="nofollow">https://www.etsy.com/listing/6.....llery-1-12</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2016210 Thu, 28 Mar 2019 21:11:47 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2016210@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Sterling and epigal, a table or shelf sound brilliant, and drawers could be great at keeping things clutter-free. But, in our last home, the coatrack with seat and shelf that I thought would be so perfect for that was quickly filled with stuff that should've gone out, and I rarely rotated enough out to be able to sit on it again. Ours is much clearer now, and I think we both want to keep it that way. Sterling, it sounds like you to be that disciplined in keeping it clear. This is where I have the things you keep on your shelf and table:</p> <p><div>shoes in dedicated shoe rack (~6" deep)<br /> keys on hooks at bottom of message ctr</div><div>sun lotion and bugspray--NONE we left Florida, yay</div><div>vase, bowl, other pretty things--would be good</div><div>gloves (hats, scarves, etc) in a colorful stack of 25" cubes (Ikea Lixhult)</div><div>Exercise log--OHHHHH, I need to make one!</div><div>The spot across from where the mirror will go is the front door.<br /> </div><div><br /> </div><div>But I have figured out where to set stuff like you, Carla, and others have mentioned--hooks! The coat rack is next to a light switch. Underneath that is room for a couple hooks to hang bags while I take off shoes, coat, etc.<br /> </div><div><br /> </div><div>Kate, I'll keep my eyes open, but these are likely to be it for a while, because other places in our home have nothing. Woulda, coulda, shoulda thought of the classy route earlier. C'est la vie!<br /> </div><div><br /> </div><div>I've made one other small addition--a little set of drawers, not quite a foot long. Each drawer is about the right size for a standard block of post-it notes. I had intended to put it on my desk, but it’s too big. It fits on the top of the shoe cabinet just right. The gap between them and the little wall is where the hat &amp; mitten cubes will go. That piece of “wall” is a few inches wide; the coat rack is on the other side, and then the door to the rest of the apt.<br /> </div> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2016029 Thu, 28 Mar 2019 09:36:54 +0000 Anonymous 2016029@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have a table that has three drawers. &nbsp;I put <i><u>everything</u></i> I need to address <i><u>on the table</u></i> so that I see it as I exit. &nbsp;The drawers hold items that I use on a daily basis that do not need to be visible (keys, gloves, exercise log). &nbsp;Overhanging the table is a mirror. &nbsp;Across from the table is my favorite print. &nbsp;</p> <p>I keep the entry immaculate (dusting, vacuuming, decluttering) because that is the first impression a person gets when entering my home. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2015316 Tue, 26 Mar 2019 00:20:47 +0000 elpgal 2015316@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Mine has a small narrow bookshelf that I use for shoes. On top, a large wide shallow wooden bowl for keys, a thing for sunscreen bottles and bug spray and a vase that I fill with fresh flowers/branches. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2015309 Mon, 25 Mar 2019 23:52:36 +0000 Kate 2015309@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Luckily none of those metal pieces were expensive, and in fact, were pretty cheap. I realized after I replied that I bought all of them from the same small&nbsp; shop in my neighborhood—sadly now closed. It's worth checking out local shops and flea markets for smaller pieces like these. Good luck in the hunt! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2015154 Mon, 25 Mar 2019 14:02:42 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2015154@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p> <div>Kate, your entryway sounds very classy! Also sounds more expensive than I can do right now, but maybe adding a few metal pieces or trim would elevate the look of ours. Right now it's very Ikea<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Joy, a carved wooden trunk/bench is on my "later" list for the living room. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Gretchen, high five! We're in this together.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anchie, that is an enviably empty hallway! Even with all the pieces to store various things, mine is still full of stuff. But it's mostly things to take to the cellar or return to stores or it's big pieces of cardboard to recycle, so it should calm down pretty soon--we won't be moving in forever!</div><div><br /></div><div>Runcarla, yours also looks like a relaxing welcome. I really like the idea of places to set stuff--so often I come home with groceries and run drop them in my kitchen before taking off shoes, coat, etc. That totally nullifies the "no shoes to keep the house clean(er)" rule. But people sitting on the piano bench to deal with shoes--uhn-uh!</div><div><br /></div><div>RL, funny about your smaller tray--my son takes after me &amp; our standard-sized one is barely big enough! Both pairs of shoes are pushed all the way in. <br /></div> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2015082 Mon, 25 Mar 2019 05:28:38 +0000 Kate 2015082@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Just inside the door to the right and against the wall are two slim pedestals, which are lit from inside, one taller than the other. Keys go on top the shorter one. On the wall to the left is a long, narrow zinc table (48”x12”), coffee table height, where we put the mail. Shoes go beneath it, and there is a large copper-framed mirror above it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2015072 Mon, 25 Mar 2019 03:13:54 +0000 Anonymous 2015072@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>A very large potted Swiss cheese philodendrum. Former owners had a beautiful carved Mexican wooden bench. Still looking for a wooden carved bench or chest. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014931 Sun, 24 Mar 2019 18:18:15 +0000 Gretchen 2014931@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Nothing yet! We have a split level so the small entry leads directly to stairs. Pre-remodel I had a small console and mirror, but still ended w a pile of shoes and bags when kids got home. Looking forward to some new ideas. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014728 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 21:23:28 +0000 anchie 2014728@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not much. I hide our coats and shoes inside closet on the right. Doors to the left lead to a laundry/storage room.<br /> I sometimes take my WIW pictures in the little mirror on the closet doors.<br /> At the end of the entry is a long hallway that is leading to the rest of the apartment. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014694 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 19:00:02 +0000 Carla 2014694@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>The main entry opens onto a wide hall that runs the width of the house and looks directly into the music room and is kitty corner from the closet. Before I got the metal and wood bench - perfect for removing boots/shoes - folks used to sit on my piano bench to deal with footwear! The console around the corner and under the mirror is the drop off spot for keys, sunglasses and wallets and the docking station for iphone and iPad charging. The rod with hooks is actually in the kitchen, but in an odd place for towels or utensils. It is perfect for the bags I have in rotation, but not at the entry. Shoes do pile up in the entryway and on the floor of the closet.</p> <p>I have a table on the porch beside the entry door. It is super convenient for when I have parcels and need to fiddle with keys and lock. No setting things on the ground. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014668 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 17:13:36 +0000 rachylou 2014668@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Your hall sounds like the hall of one apartment I had. The biggest thing for me always is a place to set down the mail and the grocery bags when coming in. I wanted a narrow console table, but this was before ‘tiny house living.’ My solution was a tiny, child-size bench. Since then, tho, slim console tables have become available.</p> <p>Right now there is an all-in-one in my entry. A stand with mirror, coat hooks, and mail box/table. Also has a place for umbrellas. It’s fairly shallow when I think about it, so it would have fit in that old apartment of mine... wish I’d thought of it at the time.</p> <p>Another thought is a wall-mounted slim shelf.</p> <p>Oh and my latest find is a tiny, one-pair boot tray from the Japanese dollar store (Daiso). That’s brilliant for wet boots. Those regular boot trays are always too big. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014657 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 16:04:56 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2014657@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks everybody! Our little hallway sounds incredibly standard. I may try adding flowers or something on top of the shoe cabinet (it’s Ikea’s Stall) as per Diana’s suggestion. Our little message center has a chalkboard up top (we use those chalk pens so there’s no dust) and a place underneath for letters, etc. Or we might look for a decorative mirror at flea markets and put the more functional full-body one in the bedroom. In that case, you all will get stocking foot outfit pix, lol </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014640 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 15:24:07 +0000 JAileen 2014640@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>In our entryway we have a free standing coat rack, a bench, a mirror, and lots of shoes. When I’m driving somewhere, I go out through the utility room to the garage, so our utility room has a wall mounted coat rack and lots of shoes. I wish there was a stool to sit on, but it’s just too small. Every now and then I put shoes away. This week was the official start of Spring, yet we woke to snow. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014603 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 13:23:18 +0000 Anonymous 2014603@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I don't have an entryway, the door just opens to the living room, but right now-the dog :)<br /> I do have hooks next to the door to put keys and dog leash though!<br /> It sound like what you have are the things that need to be there, but what about a basket for other stuff that's going out-library books, mail to send, etc. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014592 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 12:51:36 +0000 Eva 2014592@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Apart from a shoe storage bench, coat closet and mirror, we have a magnetic white board with board markers and decorative magnets. We use it to write down to-do lists (and for doodling), and to put up shopping lists, bills, event flyers etc. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014587 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 12:30:57 +0000 Diana 2014587@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh! Also, we have a big colorful framed print (it’s a concert poster) over the bench. I’d definitely recommend hanging some art of some kind on the wall! Another idea might be a small table with flowers (fake if you want lower maintenance) or a plant.<br /> Edit: or how about a decorative clock if you want something more functional. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014584 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 12:27:27 +0000 Diana 2014584@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Right now? A huge pile of shoes. There’s *supposed to be a shoe rack for them but the place I want to put on is narrow enough that most standard racks or shelves won’t fit. I think I’ve found one at IKEA that will work but haven’t had time to get down there to buy it yet. It’ll hopefully be a wall mounted set of shelves as tall as the door. I have a lot of shoes. ;)<br /> My husband’s shoes, on the other hand, fit entirely on the two shelves under the bench we have there. There’s also a ledge (built in with an air intake under that we can’t block) that we currently have mail and things like winter hats on. A small hook rack on the wall over it for keys and such.<br /> Full length mirror on a door leading to another room. This is the first thing I bought for the new house - since we don’t wear shoes in the rest of the house this is the only place to see your whole outfit (and take outfit photos lol).<br /> The coat closet is right there so we don’t have a coat rack. I tend to take my bag upstairs so don’t need a place to put it. If I do leave it down there I put it on the small ledge or in the coat closet. </p> <p>There’s also a small trash can for recycling, and a door mat. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014576 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 12:06:20 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2014576@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Kathie, good point. The “message center” has 3 hooks from it for keys &amp; I’ll hang my backpack/purse from it, but he has his school bookbag that has no home. The sh<b>oe</b> cabinet is about 6” deep and 90 cm tall (sorry for mixed units), so a table above it won’t work, and anyway, the hallway is only about a meter wide, so only very narrow/flat things work. At one end, there is the door to a storage closet; the apt door is on the long wall adjacent to it. At the other end is the bathroom door; the door to the living room/ rest of the apt is on the long wall adjacent to it (diagonal from the outside door). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014574 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 11:47:02 +0000 Kathie 2014574@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Do you need a spot for bag/backpack/wallet/keys? Maybe a small table that can fit over the shoes? That’s the only other type of item that we have in our entry. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what%e2%80%99s-in-your-entryway#post-2014548 Sat, 23 Mar 2019 08:10:37 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 2014548@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Friends, I hope you don’t mind another interior decorating question, this time about a place that has to get form and function just right. </p> <p>Coming into our apartment, there is a small hallway. This is what’s in it so far: <ul> <li>The coatrack in the picture</li> <li>Shoe storage</li> <li>A message center</li> <li>Storage for hats, mittens, gloves, scarves*</li> <li>A full-length mirror*</li> <li>Bottles to be returned for deposit</li> <li>A small step ladder that doubles as a seat for putting shoes on</li> <li>A great big ole empty space, above the shoes and right smack in front of you as you walk in the door. </li> </ul> My son wants to put a mirror in the empty spot. That gets the form right, but not the function; it would look better, but couldn’t be full-length. Art with no function seems incongruous with the space—I want it to be welcoming and cheerful, yes, but it is a working space, not a grand entry with a mudroom tucked away elsewhere. </p> <p>So I’m looking for inspiration and ideas. Is there something I’ve overlooked that clearly belongs in the foyer? What do you have in your home’s most-used entrance? </p> <p>*planned </p>