The Entryway Recipe: 5 Hacks to Style a Small Apartment Foyer
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In a smaller house or apartment, the entryway sometimes barely counts as space. Maybe you have just a blank wall, a tight corner, or nothing more than the inside of your front door. Truth is, while many of us aren’t blessed with large mudrooms with rows of cabinetry, we can still create a well designed, organized entry.
So, if you’re working with a cramped foyer or a super skinny hallway, here’s a recipe for a high-impact, low-footprint entryway.
1. The Vertical Mudroom: Over-the-Door & Beyond
No room on the ground? Go higher. Forget those bulky old hall trees, you just don’t have the room. Slim hooks mounted right on the wall, or even sturdier ones that hang over the door in aged brass or dark bronze, keep coats and bags where they need to be.
For the mood board, I kept it to one row of hooks, but I love the idea of using several along the wall, or another row lower to the ground for little ones to easily hang their own coats.
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2. The "Floating" Landing Strip
Then there's the drop zone for your stuff. A bulky table would choke off a narrow hall in no time, so opt for something suspended. This leaves you a spot for keys and perhaps a small light, without sacrificing any floor space.
I’m pretty much obsessed with this wall shelf used in the entryway mood board. Not only is it a gorgeous heirloom quality shelf to act as a console, but this piece has hidden hooks for bags, dog leashes, you name it. It’s perfect.
3. The Mirror Illusion: But Keep it Interesting
Mirrors are the oldest trick in the book for a reason. They reflect light, brightening up and visually expanding small dark spaces. But plain rectangles look tired these days. Sculptural frames bring a high dose of design drama to keep your entry from looking too utilitarian.
4. Grounding with the Right Rug
Speaking of utilitarian, if you don’t have a mudroom, you’re going to need a rug that can handle some mud. My favorite stylish no nonsense rugs come from LLBean. New Englanders know a few things about small homes and mud. For this entryway recipe, I chose an LLBean washable runner that can handle whatever you throw at it, all while looking minimalist chic.
Tip: For those entries open to the rest of the home, a skinny rug down the length of the wall in front of the door visually creates a separate room.
5. Hidden Shoe Bunkers
Last, but not least: handling footwear chaos. Piles of shoes wreck the whole look faster than anything. The best way to handle shoe storage in a small foyer or hall is with either a woven basket, or narrow storage unit. Some shoe storage cabinets have panels that swing open, then the tops can act as your drop zone.
For this mood board I went with a narrow basket that can be tucked under the coat hooks.
How can you create an organized small entryway?
Follow this recipe:
1 Surface + 2 Hooks + 1 Basket + 1 Mirror + Rug = A functional foyer that works for any home size.
