I feel extra sensitive about the importance of an entryway because I, like many city dwellers, technically don't have one. Instead — in an affront to feng shui — my front door opens directly across from my bathroom. In addition to making sure the door to the throne is closed when I leave, I've focused on making the neighboring 3-foot wide swath of wall practical and personal. Here are some ideas for making your entryway welcoming.
1. Set your sights on something you love. I completely agree with Tess on the importance of having at least one thing that really makes you happy right when you walk in the front door. In her case, it is a light switch decoupaged by a friend — in my place, it's a cute print by Kate Pugsley that makes me smile and feel at ease. Flowers and plants are great mood-boosters, too, if you have the space.
2. Edit, then put everything in its right place. Maybe even more than the kitchen, an entryway is the place you have to decide what you really want to see and need to use. For most of us, the minimum is a place for keys and mail, but things — bills, scarves, bags — can pile up fast. Baskets can give quick organization, and something as simple as putting away your coat as soon as you walk in the door will help keep the space uncluttered.
3. Have fun with the details. Well chosen "little things" will pull their weight in any space. Look for fun walls hooks, personalize your light switches, or add fun patterned paper to shelves.
4. Look down. Surprisingly, even when I had art on my entry wall and a shoe organizer in place, my little entryway didn't feel complete until I put a narrow strip of leftover gray indoor/outdoor carpet along the length of the wall. It sets the spot away from the rest of the hallway and also is helpful under the dog dish and kicked-off shoes. Similarly, having a nice doormat or colorful runner will make you happy to have gotten your feet there.
5. Create a place to sit. Depending on how much space you have, you could have a big, colorful bench or, in my cramped case, a short double-duty stool. Seeing a surface to plop yourself or your bag down on makes the space immediately more inviting.
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Great tips! We barely have an entryway because our front door opens right into our library, but we're working on it. We did make a small entryway by our backdoor for coming in from bike rides, too.
My front door opens right into the hallway which contains my kitchen (former "pullman" kitchen I slightly expanded). To the left of the door is a closet, to the right I situated a 30" x 24" "landing strip" with wall hooks just beside the door and then mirror, chair and small table perpendicular for everything from shoes to recycling. That area abuts my free-standing pantry which begins the official "kitchen" area.
I would love to make our entryway more inviting and more practical, but our entryway is a narrow hallway, at the end of which is 4 doors plus a staircase. I don't see a place for anything but pictures on the wall. Even coats on hooks take up too much space. But then, we never really pause in the entryway (cause there's nothing there)--we just go straight to one of the rooms, usually the kitchen, and plop everything down there. Anyway, does anybody else have a dark narrow hallway as an entryway, and do you have any tips for making it more welcoming/more useful?
I like the way the runners are used (so it seems) up the stairs. Something for me to think of as a cost efficient way to carpet the stairs so that my chihuahuas don't fall and injure themselves.
I just moved to Austin and I've been slowly updating and improving my apartment, which is the first one I've lived in on my own(!). Just last weekend, I finally got my entryway set up. It does make a huge difference! Thankfully, I have just enough room for a coat rack, tiny set of drawers for scarves, mirror, key holder, and wellies. I guess my "happy thing" is the Union Jack flag on the wall, which one of my good friends in the UK gave me before I came back stateside. But I'd love to get the Marc Johns "What to focus on" print because it's so calming:
http://shop.marcjohns.com/collections/prints/products/what-to-focus-on-print
From the posts, it sure seems like entryways can pose a lot of various spatial challenges. But it's true that they set the tone for one's whole home, so the attention is worth it. I love the pictured entry - so organized and pure - and the tip for making a beloved focal point. Great post!!
Does anyone know where that storage bench is from? I want it in the worst way!
WHere is the clover mirror from?