A huge thanks to Cost Plus World Market for sponsoring today’s post on How to Create a Functional Entryway!
Hi, friends!
Hope you’re having a fantastic day! I am SO excited about today’s post because it’s something I’ve been planning and working on for awhile. Right before the holidays, we purchased our first home and moved in. Right after that, Wyatt got sick, and things got really crazy – so we hadn’t been able to unpack and really set everything up. One things began to settle down a bit, I started working on how to create a functional entryway in our home.
I knew I wanted it to be a space that was organized and kid-friendly. Somewhere the boys could store their hats, gloves, coats, sit down to take off their shoes, etc. So I put a lot of thought into how different elements were arranged, and I was careful when choosing the pieces we wanted. I’m happy to say that we are officially done, and I can’t wait to show you!
Here is the entryway before:
Pretty basic, right? All I had hung up was a small sign over the door and a round mirror at the bottom of the staircase. The area needed a lot of work, so I put together a plan to make the best use out of this small space, and make it as functional as possible.
How to Create a Functional Entryway
Step One | Find the Right Rug
Not going to lie, this rug is my FAVORITE part about the space. It’s the Navy Bordered Woven Jute Area Rug from World Market, and I fell in love with it the minute I saw it. My boys are messy, and they track in a lot of dirt, so I knew I’d been shaking the rug a lot, and vacuuming, I needed something super-durable that could withstand these little ones. And this rug is just perfect! It’s very thick and sturdy, I can take it outside, shake it off, and it’s good to go!
Step Two | Create a Seating Area
This part was tricky, because I wanted somewhere William and I could sit, and somewhere that was kid-friendly that the boys could sit as well. I knew I wanted a bench with storage, so when I spotted the White Oakdale Storage Bench, I had to have it! It houses adorable baskets (baskets come with the bench), that are fairly large and offer the perfect amount of storage for winter hats, gloves, and scarves.
We also got a Metal Jackson Tub Chair, so when we all come in the house at the same time, the boys can go to the bench to remove shoes, etc. and William and I can use this seat. I am just so in love with it! It’s got that amazing rustic, farmhouse look that I just absolutely adore, don’t you think? Plus, it’s easy to wipe clean!
Step Three | Create a Place to Hang Your Hat
Living with all boys means you’ll be constantly picking up baseball hats, and coats, and jackets, and sweatshirts, etc. And, my friends, let me tell you that this drives me crazy. I wanted to find something that had multiple hooks. I loved this Industrial Wall Rack because it has just that! Now when we come in the door, everything has a place. I even hang my purse here!
And because my little guys can’t quite reach these hooks, we added in these adorable Monogram Letter Hooks at a lower level so they can hang their coats, and backpacks with ease! Both Wyatt and Levi LOVE finding their letter when they walk in the door to hang their items.
Step Four | Add somewhere to Kick Off Your Shoes
Having something by the front door to catch shoes is a big deal for us. We have two pups and leaving our shoes out and about is just asking for trouble. Plus, the playroom we’ve set up for the boys is right near the entryway so the area gets a lot of traffic. I wanted to make it easy for the boys to just throw their shoes into this Embossed Metal St. Laurent Trash Can. I love that its a little heavy, you can easily wipe it off, and it’s got that cute French style. A win-win-win!
Step Five | Hang a message board
A message board is a fun way to both take notes and leave inspiring messages for your family and friends. I just love this Chalkboard Wall Plaque and it’s gorgeous scrolled metal top. Right now ours just says “Welcome” but I can’t wait to change it up with the seasons – and record some of my favorite quotes on it. I picked up an erasable chalkboard pen from the craft store and plan on using a piece of a velcro strip to stick it right to the bottom or side of this board for easy access.
And because everyone loves a good “before” and “after” photo..
So, what do you think? Is there anything you’d add/change?
Do you have tips on How to Create a Functional Entryway?
Share your thoughts below!
Items Used: Navy Bordered Woven Jute Area Rug | White Oakdale Storage Bench | Metal Jackson Tub Chair | Industrial Wall Rack | Monogram Letter Hooks | Embossed Metal St. Laurent Trash Can | Chalkboard Wall Plaque
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I love all of your tips! I wish so badly that I had an entry way I could do up like this. Instead my front door opens up right into my living room-but my house is only about 1k sq feet. It’s so tiny! I just need to work on getting my living room functional and organized instead haha!
I love your redesign of your enterway. I am working on changing mine up. We recently got a new bench with better storage. It is a bigger bench. I have a coat rack (child sized) that the kids hang their coats and backpacks on. Then I have command hooks on the wall for sports bags. It is still a work in progress for me 🙂
I love the bench with the baskets for hats, gloves and such. I would love a nice big coat rack like that! We have one small over the door rack on the inside of our front foyer and it is NOT big enough for the 5 of us. It’s amazing how many hoodies the kids really have, never notice unless I’m caught up on the laundry.
I love your ideas for entry way organization! The bench with baskets would be so practical for us and our entrance. The bucket idea is perfect for kids shoes too, I bet its much easier to get them to put their shoes away that way.
What a wonderful transformation of your entryway. I absolutely love that rug. Jute rugs make me so happy, they’re so earthy and functional.
Awesome use of space…really like the bench with the baskets as well as the bin for shoes. We 5 kids it’s a bit of hectic clutter with all the backpacks and shoes and stuff. Having a simple well organized entry point makes all the difference.
Ken
I need something like this so bad! Right now, I have nothing and so everything ends up every where. It’s a mess! LOL. Next school year, i will be organized and have my front entry way organized!
So often our entryways are just dead, wasted space. I love the idea of putting them to work. For people who live in cold weather climates, having a place to sit down and take off their snowy shoes/boots is very important. And you made it all look beautiful!
oooh I love decluttering and this post of yours has already given me lots of ideas for organizing my place! (I tend to be messy at times haha) Thank you so much for sharing!
LOL, we don’t really have a separate entryway, so to speak. In our house design, the door pretty much opens onto a patch of tile in the living room. So we don’t have any space at all for furniture! However, yours looks lovely and serene. Very nice!