The look and feel of your foyer or home’s entryway send an immediate message to guests. Yet it also tends to be a place where your family needs to store shoes, hats, coats, gloves, and other outdoor items. Without proper storage and organization solutions in place, the foyer can quickly descend into complete chaos.
The following are some thoughtful ways you can help keep your entryway looking organized and pristine.
Personalized Cubby Spaces
Giving everyone their own space to hang up coats, take off their shoes, and put away their hats will go a long way toward keeping everything neatly organized. If you have more than one child, it also helps reduce the conflicts that arise when their items accidentally intermix on a shelf.
If you want to go the extra mile, you can even give them their own shoe bins. This encourages kids to stow their shoes away rather than leaving them in scattered around the foyer as a sea of tripping hazards.
If you are going to embrace the personal cubby space concept, make sure to give your guests a place to put their coats and shoes. Even if it’s little more than hanger space in a nearby hall closet.
Cubbies can be surprisingly affordable. Especially if you have someone in your family who is a little handy. They can be made from simple wood that can be painted or stained to match the rest of your entryway décor. Of course, there are prefabricated cubbies available at box retailers, but if you’re going to go that route, look for ones with adjustable shelves and hooks that will grow with your kids.
Bench Seating With Shoe Storage
A lot of people need or prefer to sit down to tie their shoes. Placing a tasteful bench in your entryway accommodates this. It can also double as a convenient shoe rack to keep your family’s basic footwear up and out of the way. Some models have a flip-top seat to hold footwear out of sight, others are tasteful racks that hold shoes out of the way, yet close at hand.
Transforming The Entryway Closet With Innovative Organization Solutions
The hall classic hall closet tends to be one of those places that seemingly descends into total chaos in the blink of an eye. Especially if you have young kids or a spouse who seems to be always on the go. Hall closets tend to be the epitome of the saying “Out of Sight, Out of Mind.”
That notion almost works right up to the point where you open the door and the contents start spilling out, while your kids argue and rummage through piles of shoes and clothes looking for what they want. Innovative storage solutions might not solve all their sloppy habits, but they will go a long way toward encouraging your family to take greater responsibility for their coats, boots, and other personal items.
Personal Cubbies
Here again we take the concept of the foyer cubby system and bring it into the hall closet where it can give everyone their own space.
Over The Door Shoe Bins
This is a great way to free up some floor space to store footwear. Especially if you have a child or spouse who collects shoes or needs different footwear for every occasion. If anything, they reduce the tripping hazards on your floor.
Shelves With Built-In Hangers
Closet hanger poles sometimes compete with the available space under a shelf. The way most contractors deal with this is to put shelves up high which might be too high for children. Wire shelves with a hanger rod installed at the front let shelves come down lower for kids to put their hats while keeping coats conveniently in reach.
Shelf Dividers
Loose clothing items and headwear have a knack for migrating along a shelf. Before you know it one child’s hat is in another child’s space and they start messing up each other’s spaces. Simple shelf dividers mimic the cubby concept for hats, gloves, and other loose items. That way everyone can put their things in their own space.
Large Hanger Hooks
Hooks are a great way to hold scarves and even handbags. Kids can also use hooks to hold their backpacks and coats. Don’t overlook peg hook systems, which have been reinvented for life outside of the garage or workshop! They let you change your hook storage options at a moment’s notice.
Shoe Trays
The four seasons have a knack for bringing mud, and water into your home. Snow in particular has a sneaky way of making wet spots and ugly stains. A simple plastic or shaped rubber shoe tray can old boots and shoes while keeping anything wet from dripping down onto the floor.
Pull Down Shelves & Hanger Racks
If you are blessed with high ceilings in your hall closet, a spring-loaded pull-down shelf or hanger rack can give you the space you need to keep seasonal items. Most either have a crank or a handle that releases the mechanism. You then pull it down when you need it, then tuck it back up to the ceiling when you’re done.
Stackable Tote Bins
Stackable tote bins are a great way to store away seasonal items that might not take well to the swings in the temperature of garage and attic storage spaces. Just make sure to label each bin. Then you can use the lid of the top bin as a shelf for loose items like keys and pocketbooks.
Lighting Your Entryway Closet
A poorly lit entryway closet can quickly turn into a black hole of disorganization. A single bare lightbulb with a pull chain is hardly going to help combat the shadows in corners and under shelves. One simple solution here is to install portable LED lights under shelves and in cubby spaces.
They can be battery-powered, produce nearly zero heat, and some models are touch operated. You can clip or attach them with Velcro in key locations to help everyone find what they need, without the mess caused by rummaging around in the dark.
