The entryway is your – and your guests' – first impression of your home. And you know what they say - you only get one chance to make a first impression. We've rounded up hooks, racks, landing strips and other essentials to help turn your entry into a space that is welcoming and, just as importantly, convenient.
• Entryway Essential: Landing Strip Hooks Unlock the door, walk into your home, hang the keys on a hook. Then, you'll always know where your keys are when you need them.
• Best Umbrella Stands A vessel in the entryway gives you a place to stash that drippy umbrella on your way in and keeps it close by when you're leaving home on a rainy day.
• Winter Ready: 10 Boot Trays A place for your snowy or muddy shoes and boots will help keep your entryway — and the rest of your home — tidy.
• Best Wall Mount Hooks & Coat Racks For entryways that are too small for a coat tree, a wall mounted coat rack will give you a place to hang your coat and bag when you enter your home.
• 5 Orange Accessories For the Entry Bring a little color to the entryway with one of these orange options.
• Best Shoe Racks, Cabinets & Stands If your entryway lacks a closet, one of the shoe cabinets from this post will give you a place to stash your kicks. If you're lucky enough to have a closet, one of the racks might be more ideal.
• Front Doorsteps with Flair: 10 New Doormats for the New Year There's no rule that doormats have to go outside your door!
• Best Coat Racks & Coat Trees If you have the room for one, a coat tree will give you space to hang multiple coats and bags.
• Small Space Solution: Wall Mounted Landing Strips We're all about the landing strip here at Apartment Therapy. If you don't have space for a full table, one of these wall mounted options may be just the ticket.
• High vs. Low: Mudroom & Entry Essentials From storage lockers to benches, this post will help you outfit an entry no matter your budget.
MORE ENTRYWAYS ON APARTMENT THERAPY
• Tips for Dealing with a No-Entryway Entryway
• Best Foot Forward: Make a Good Entry
• Inspiration: Entry Ways, Foyers & Landing Strips
• How To: Make A Colorful And Organized Entry Way
Small Cool Lessons: Discovering Small Space Design Ideas That Really Work
Beatriz's Fun and Functional Workspace
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sheex Bedding
How to Make Fresh Pasta Dough in the Food Processor
Doh! I have struggled with the landing strip idea due to the layout of my home. I want a place for my purse to "live" when I come home. I never thought of a chair. I'm going to move one into place now!
Yes, a chair by the front door would be the perfect place to rest my bird cage when I get home.
Loving ngnerd's comment! And I have to agree.... I have two very small children and found a metal spoon in my boot yesterday... this is really the kind of disorganization that I am dealing with on a daily basis. At least the boots were on the boot tray at the time.
It took me a while to see the utility of the shoe cabinets, but I decided to get one when we moved into an apartment where the entry is right into the living room. I love our IKEA shoe cabinet, it keeps the shoes neat and out of sight, and we have little baskets on top for our keys and stuff. I'm a huge fan!
We were so lucky that we snatched up our home before it got gutted. Our entryway is original to the the 1965 build and is one of the main features of the house. It's where I take the majority of the photos for my blog. We get lots of positive feedback from everyone who sees it! Who doesn't love gold metalic alligator skin wallpaper and black with gold metal flake VCT floors?
I have to ask: how many posts will we see on entryways?
My 'first impressions' of the top pic would be either your bird died or flew away. Now, if there'd been a black and white cat near it; perfect!
One of the easiest ways to add hooks for coats, purses and keys is to buy an over-the-door rack, the ones made for bath towels. They work great for entryways (and non-entryways) and are the perfect non-permanent solution for renters.
Your ideas are perfect to make an entry way useful, like the idea of placing a landing strip hooks because I always forget where I put down my keys and the shoe rack as well.
I agree landing strips and entryways are super important. But I am trying to understand how people do shoes and boots. In the winter, outwear boots of course are on the boot tray. And a pair of clogs or slippers nearby to wear in the house. But how about non-winter months? And in the winter if you carry shoes to work to wear indoors. If you're wearing boots or shoes, do they ALL stay in the entryway? Do you wipe them off and take them to your closet? What do people do? Just wondering!
It all seems very American. Even if you don't take off your shoes, surely people still need to hang their coats and scarves somewhere? This is how I think most entryways function:
http://cdn.publishme.se/cdn/8-2/419487/images/2010/hallen-2_84533048.jpg
http://cdn.publishme.se/cdn/8-2/419487/images/2010/hallen-1_84532833.jpg
http://www.styleroom.se/image/scaled/normal/ih88/1/302055-hall.jpg
http://hem.passagen.se/katrinelund/Hall1.JPG
http://www.styleroom.se/image/scaled/normal/obss/1/191048-hall.jpg
Ha! Exactly what I was thinking. It would be nice to have a place to sit by the door to take off your shoes. It'd be even better if you didn't have to move something out of your bum's way first.
I find landing strips, hooks, places for shoes, etc end up making an entryway more practical for the owners but a bit less welcoming for guests...there's more stuff for them to squeeze around when you are opening the door and you're all standing around hugging or whatever.
My door opens right into my apartment - no hallway, nook, or anything of the kind. On either side of the door is a small table with baskets for keys and maps, and a rack of hooks for coats and shoerack. Help? Tiny NYC apartment syndrome!
Look at picture number three in my post above. The Katrinelund one. Could you get one of those small coatthings?
Or perhaps something like this:
http://www.bosattningspiraten.se/pub_images/large/town_ek_S_1283.jpg
Hilarious! ngnerd!