I would love to have a butler that takes care of everything for me the minute I walk through the door... but seeing as how I don't (have a butler, that is), it is important that I maintain our entryway in order to live well.
Our entryway is a bit funny. It is a small landing with a staircase leading up and a staircase leading down (we live in a three story town house). It is not an ideal entryway (especially compared to the standards of feng shui) and it will be quite cramped once the stroller arrives, but I look at it as a challenge that I am willing to work with!
The key points for having an entryway that allow you to live well are as follows:
It is ideal to have…
A place to keep your shoes, if you take them off when you enter your home (which I do). The key here is to only have one pair of shoes by the entryway, not 5- which I do admit, is a problem for me. I am working on it…
A place to put your handbag and/ or keys, wallet and cell phones- preferably out of sight. I just don’t like looking at these things as I walk through the house. We struggle with this as well. I am constantly frowning at the large cacophony of ‘things’ on our sideboard table. I have rectified this by placing a basket in the hall closet where these items can easily be placed.
A clutter-free closet that can be used as place to hang your coat (only the day’s coat, not an entire storage room for all coats) with a few empty hangers for when guests visit. This closet also can hold dog leashes, extra shoes and can be where you store your handbag du jour.
A place to store your mail. I used to be in the alarming habit of collecting the mail, placing it on the dining room table and allowing it to pile up until some unforeseen day where I decided to sort through it. Now I sort through it immediately upon entering the house, recycle the junk, get rid of envelopes and bring the important letters or bills to my office.
A table with a few pictures of family and friends. Make sure these are family and friends that you actually like- looking at them will hopefully brighten your mood and remind you warmly, that you are home…
A potted plant, orchid or bouquet of flowers- something to remind you that your home is a place to thrive…
C’est tout! I don’t ask much of my entryway. It must be efficient and uncluttered. Ours is a work in progress.
I would love to know… what is your entryway like?
The basket pictured above is very handy for placing such items as wallets, sunglasses and keys etc. We keep ours in a hall closet.
I have a tiny entryway where everyone falls over one another if we all come in at the same time, and it actually takes over part of the living room as well :-( There's a shelf holding a bowl with all my lipsticks and a mirror above. There's a key box for the car keys, and a tiny closet full of coats, wrapping paper, a basket for sunglasses and hats, frisbees, tennis balls and the vacuum. And yes the line-up of shoes! Oh, and an umbrella stand.
ReplyDeleteSomeday, I want a mud room.
I personally love the look of a beautifil small bowl to catch keys in as you come through the door, on a nice table with a painting above it. And I had stripes 5 and 10 inches apart painted with matte and semi-gloss paint on the one foyer wall. And I adore my monkey lamp with the shade out of fake tortiese hanging from his tail, while he sits atop a pile of books, with his reading glasses on. And last but not least, a nice candle so guests smell something nice the minute they walk in my home.
ReplyDeleteMy entryway doesn't allow for anything really.. it just opens right up into the living room and there's no defined "entryway" space. There is a closet though and I like to use an over the door hook like this to hang my handbag on the inside of the closet:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=16486167&RN=50
It's funny.. about an hour ago I had 6 pairs of shoes lined up by the door until my boyfriend dramatically started counting them.. lol. They're now in the closet. ;)
Our entryway is probably one of the least cluttered and most restful areas of the house. It is a long corridor (typical of terrace) I admit to shoes being there as I still haven't figured out a good storage holder for them. I also have a floral mat for feet to be wiped as well. I used to have a lot of family and travel photos on the walls but took them down as I now prefer the bare walls. xx
ReplyDeleteCashmere- tiny entryways are so challenging- ours is too! When I talk about the table with family photos and even the hall closet- those aren't technically in our immediate entryway... they are on the way to the living room (very confusing) lol. A mud room would be wonderful...
ReplyDeleteLydia- your entryway sounds lovely! Especially the monkey lamp... and yes, a nice candle is an ideal addition to the list- it can provide atmosphere right away...
Merveilleux- I have the same problem! I know I said it is ideal to have one pair by the door and I try to do this but some how they seem to pile up! One time I came home and noticed I had almost 7 pairs of ballet flats (my favorite daytime shoe) lined by the door- ridiculous!
Josephine- your entryway sounds blissful- a clutter-free space really can soothe you when you walk through the door...
Our entryway is a sliding glass door directly into the living room. I do have an area by our telephone though, which is where keys and phones live. Clutter-free is the main thing. If you walk into a clear area you immediately feel relaxed. I'm loving this series!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I've recently just rented my first apartment here in America and I'm so excited, I will be taking inspiration from your "Living well" posts! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOy, the shoes! I finally moved our shoe pile away from the kitchen door, which had been serving as our main portal, because it was too stressful to see them collected there. AND I started getting strict about the no person needs more than two pair of shoes at the ready rule. The rest go away. We follow this rule much better these days--I include myself among the offenders when there is slippage, but we are all doing better. It helps.
ReplyDeleteThings to collect the things that collect by the door are indeed good. I also like to keep some greenery by each entry...there's something about that which, as you say, is welcoming and indicative of thriving.
The dog leash actually hangs on a buffalo horn my grandfather found in his youth and mounted to a wood display thingamabob. Kind of incongruous, but it works. In the whimsy/family history categories...kind of like the pictures on the entry table. :)
I agree about not letting things pile up; though it is so easy to! My keys, random lip glosses, gum, etc all end up on my entry table. I have to make sure I go through and put things in their place.
ReplyDeleteYou sound so organized! (Kids change that, a bit... )
ReplyDeleteI do love a great entryway. Sad that many homes during a certain period did not incorporate that into the design. The door opens straight into the living room, requiring some serious creativity for those critical items we like to deposit right as we enter.
Not even a tiny coat closet!
Ideas?
well as I am living in a very small flat in very central London at the moment my entry way is not ideal! I adore being so central but space is at a premium! Ideally though I think a little table or chest with little drawers for keys, post/ mail and so on. I don't like clutter and I like things to be shut away. I don't know about shoes as I don't like racks but I don't like dirty carpets either. So I think just the pair you were wearing- but clearly at the moment I have a little line of shoes!
ReplyDeleteThey, are a constant battle I think, but I agree, they must be well organized, pretty and welcoming so it's worth it. Sometimes however one is obliged to try to correct the habits of others with whom one cohabits if you catch my drift.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, flowers, always flowers and a lamp.
Thanks again everyone for your comments...
ReplyDeleteYes I keep being reminded that once our baby arrives it will be hard to remain so organized... My thoughts on that are- if I start out as organized as possible I am setting myself up for a smoother ride! :)
Big Little Wolf- regarding the lack of any storage near your entryway... Perhaps some pretty, uniform baskets and some coat hooks would do the trick?
Alan- I wouldn't want you to get rid of your wife, son and dog lol! I bet having them instead of an organized entryway is a much better trade off :)
It seems that shoes are a number one problem with people. I have hung a shoe rack in the hall closet and if I notice my shoes piling up by the front door I quickly put them away save one pair...
Hi everyone! This is the first time I have actually responded to a post. I found it very amusing and comforting to find that I am not the only one dealing with the never ending SAGA of shoe storage in the entryway. Has anyone checked out the shoe cabinets available at Ikea? They have a good selection of shoe cabinets which vary from 7.5" to 12" in depth and can store from 6+ pairs of shoes depending on the size of the unit you select. The top of the unit can also serve as a key/cell phone repository. I'm not sure if it is still available but the model I have actually came with key hooks as part of the design:)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/?query=shoe+cabinet