9 IKEA Hacks for Your Entryway You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner

We ask a lot of our entryways. They’re the first impression of your home, which means they should make some sort of statement. They’re also the landing pad, which means they need to store your shoes, bags, jackets, keys, and mail, but make it fashion. And they have to do it all in a pretty limited number of square feet.

Not surprisingly, then, there are hacks for that—IKEA hacks, to be specific. Here are some of the best ones:

Ashley Rose at Sugar & Cloth originally hacked this IKEA BESTA shelf unit for a child’s room, but it’s still pretty perfect for an entryway. A floating credenza manages to be design-forward and space-savvy at the very same time.

If your DIY skills are somewhat modest (raises hand), this reimagining of IKEA’s three-pack of HEAT cork trivets is about as basic as you get. Betty at Oh Everything Handmade painted her cork rounds before mounting them, but you don’t even have to do that. (A similar concept from IKEA leaves the cork rounds plain but adds wine corks—all the better to hang things from). An artful staggering of three, six, or nine of these gives you a chic place to put your bills, reminders, hooks for keys, photos, and the like.

In a smaller space, every inch matters—and a super narrow console like this one from Cori George at Hey, Let’s Make Stuff makes the most of the few inches you can spare. All it takes is one IKEA LACK shelf and two ADILS table legs, which totals less than $30. While this half-table doesn’t hold a lot of weight, it doesn’t really need to—just a bowl for keys, your mail. Purses and packages can be stowed underneath.

If you’re trying to create a landing pad where one did not exist before, and even the narrowest console won’t fit, this DIY that blogger Francesca Stone created for Hunker might be perfect. Two HEJNE shelves, a few hooks and wood strips, and you have a versatile station for holding all your small items, necessary and decorative alike.

A statement mirror can really make an entryway. This dead-simple starburst mirror DIY, from Hermione Chantal and using literal IKEA drinking straws, is perfect for visually anchoring a small landing pad and checking your look on the way out.

The TRONES shoe cabinet can do so much more, which is why it’s such a go-to for IKEA hackers everywhere. Shuly Anenburg at The Wall Whisperer stacked six of them, and topped the piece with a sharp black wooden top for a sleek, slim, modern look.

IKEA Hackers never fails to inspire, especially when the hack is super simple. Take this TOSTERUP door handle DIY mail holder. IKEA no longer carries the door handles, but you can still find them on eBay.

The MANDAL headboard is straightforward and classic. And with a few smart embellishments (knobs, a mirror) courtesy of IKEA Hackers, it can become the blank slate for whatever your entryway needs. 

And for those of us who bike to and fro, the FROSTA bike wall mount, also from IKEA Hackers, is a savior. All you need is a trusty saw and some screws.