I Transformed My Entryway Without Decluttering It with This One Brilliant Find

When my family and I moved into our new home, I was thrilled to have an actual entryway. Finally, I thought — somewhere to put all the shoes, jackets, backpacks, and bags that had cluttered up our last home, where the front door opened directly into the living room. The catch? The new entryway is tiny. 

We got a shoe cabinet and topped it with baskets for hats, helmets, and sunscreen, but bags and jackets still ended up piling up by the door. With three small kids in school and various after-school activities, I’ve made peace with the fact that a certain level of clutter is just part of life. But there’s something genuinely dispiriting about being greeted by a pile of stuff every time you walk through the front door. It was affecting my mood daily. 

For a while, a standing coat rack did the job, but it eventually bent and broke (probably due to overloading it), it wasn’t particularly stylish, and my kids couldn’t reach the arms anyway, which meant I was always the one putting their things away. (In the dark, it also looked like a person standing by my door, which always freaked me out.) So I started to think about something a little more permanent.

I wanted sturdy hooks at varying heights so my kids could hang up their own stuff. I was tempted by some fun, colorful options, but knew whatever I chose needed to work with our dark oak hallway mirror and historic house’s vibe. I landed on the Felidio wooden wall hooks that matched the wood tones, had great reviews for sturdiness, and felt modern without being trendy. At $25.99 for a pack of six, they were an easy yes. They’re available in five different stains and colors, as well as packs ranging from three pegs to six; I opted for the stunning black walnut option.

The one wrinkle: Our wall is brick, which meant a regular drill wasn’t going to cut it. I called in our handyman and a hammer drill, and the whole job took about 20 minutes. We installed five of the six hooks in an X-shape pattern — simple, intentional, and a little more interesting than a straight line. (If you’re drilling into drywall, you could do this yourself with a standard drill in even less time.)

The Felidio wooden wall hooks are the cleanest, prettiest way to hang all the miscellaneous bags, coats, and hats that otherwise cause so much unwanted visual clutter in our entryway. They look far more expensive than they are, and add a touch of luxury to the space. Bags and jackets are off the floor, my kids have actually gotten into the habit of hanging up their backpacks, and the space feels calmer without a single item being decluttered or relegated to elsewhere.

Are there still stray tote bags on the door handle? Yes. Do shoes still occasionally overflow out of the rack? Also yes. But being greeted by a messy pile of bags every morning (and especially when having guests over) was so off-putting, and now the space looks intentional. For less than $5 per peg and 20 minutes, that feels like a huge win. My only regret is not doing it sooner!

Buy: Felidio Wood Wall Hooks, 6-Pack, $25.99