When you live in an older or smaller home, you know that storage comes at a premium. Entryway storage in particular can be a problem when you don’t have the luxury of a coat closet, much less an entire mudroom.
Luckily, with a little bit of inspiration and thinking outside the box, you can come up with a functional and stylish storage solution for even the tiniest of entryways.
The narrow entryway inside our back door is one space that has been bugging me for awhile.
Our back door is right next to our garage, so it is the primary entryway for our family. We use it every day as we load up the boys (and shoes, jackets, nap mats, diapers, stuff) for daycare and leave for work. It is our dumping zone when we get back home (with kids, daily reports, artwork, bags of dirty clothes, even more stuff) in the evenings.
This entryway is a bit odd, because there is a built-in “stoop” just inside the door. There’s a short landing space that leads to the stairs to the basement, and to the right, a few stairs up into our kitchen and main living area. We did have a set of hooks hanging on the wall above the stoop that usually held a couple coats, but we were also using that floor space to store two vacuums, an extra recycling bin, and whatever else got piled there temporarily.
Not only was this space being inefficiently used as a landing zone, but the shoes on shoes in front of stairs were becoming a fairly major safety hazard – especially for our two little boys.
I knew there had to be a better solution for storage that would look nice and add function to the space. I also wanted to improve this area so that rather than feeling constantly overwhelmed by the clutter, coming in the door at the end of the day would feel more like a calm welcome home.
I took to Pinterest to get the creative juices flowing, before coming up with a DIY plan specifically for our weird little entryway which I will share soon.
There are tons of ideas out there for small entryway solutions, so I thought I would share some of my favorites!
Here are 10 stylish and functional small entryway storage ideas.
1. Styled Ikea Shoe Cabinet
I came across these awesome Ikea Shoe Cabinets a few different times in my search, and love how narrow and practical this solution is for shoe storage in a very small entryway/hallway. This dressed-up version of the Ikea Hemnes from Lavender Julep is one of my favorites, and looks like a pretty simple hack.
2. Tiny Apartment Family Entryway
Here is another example that takes advantage of very narrow space behind a front door. This family of 4 also used an Ikea Shoe Cabinet, and added shelving above for function and decor. I just love the row of hooks that’s accessible for small kids, and the calendar on the wall brings it all together.
3. Built-In Backpack Wall
I love this built-in Backpack Wall from I’m Batmom. She used a board and batten design, an oversized photo print and a chalkboard wall to take advantage of a smallish corner that was otherwise not being used. No more throwing backpacks in the middle of the floor, AND it looks like this space just belongs.
4. Back Porch Corner Storage
This simple update to a small corner just inside the back door uses a DIY bench with shoe bins, hooks and shelving to create a stylish entryway landing zone. The perfect balance of function and decor.
5. DIY Wood Bench and Hooks
Here’s an example of a beautiful DIY wood bench that was made to fit a small corner with some simple hooks and a cute sign with a spot for keys hung above. Get the full how-to from Making Manzanita.
6. Behind the Door Board & Batten Wall
This simple and chic board and batten wall is as stunning as it is functional for hanging storage just behind the front door. The narrow top ledge creates just enough space for a few pieces of artwork and decor.
7. Floating Ikea Shoe Cabinet
This house tour showcases another way to dress up a practical Ikea Besta shoe cabinet in a small entryway. The wall mounted cabinet floats above a clean white tile floor creating a beautiful, minimalistic look. Also, I’m thinking I may need to get in on the big-round-mirror-in-the-entryway trend.
8. Ikea Tarva Hack Built-In Mini Mudroom
This impressive built-in offers tons of storage with drawers, hooks, and shelving. The bead board, crown molding and stained wood bench top dress it up and make it look substantial and anything but cheap. I was surprised to learn that this all started with an Ikea nightstand hack!
9. Locker-Style Custom Built-In Storage
Originally, I was picturing creating something like this built-in with locker style dividers and cubbies for each kid or family member. Unfortunately, our space is just a bit too tight to squeeze in useable side by side spaces for our family of 4. I love the way this one turned out, with wire baskets for the shoe cubbies, coat hooks at different levels, space to drop bags and even some shelves for decor up above!
10. Wall-Mounted Window Box Entryway Storage
I found this unique idea in a Better Homes & Gardens post. They used a few coat hooks and DIY wooden window planter boxes with smaller bins or dividers inside for all of the typical entryway storage needs. I love how simple this is, while still creating a very intentional and stylish space!
As you can see, there are so many creative options to create or improve entryway storage, whether you are working with just a small empty wall space, an unused corner, a hallway or the space behind a door. These ideas range from easy and inexpensive to more serious DIY projects that may be a permanent investment in your home. They all hit the mark in my opinion, when it comes to balancing function, organization, and style in a small entryway.
