Creating an Entrance Way You Love

The entrance way in your home plays several essential functions. Besides giving you a place to drop off keys, mail, shoes, and coats, it sets the tone and energy for your home.  

Your entrance way is the threshold between the outside world and your haven at home. Creating an entrance way that you love will bring you joy every time you enter or exit your home. You want to feel like your burdens have been lifted as you enter your home.  

My entrance way was a mess. I had a basket for shoes and a regular dining chair to catch coats and purses. I had not put any thought or love into that area. Every time I came home, I saw the cluttered and neglected area. Without even realizing it, this set the tone for my entire home. I was never content or relaxed at home.

After redoing that area, I now feel better every time I come in the door.  

How can you improve your entrance way?

1.  Think about how you use the area.  What items need a home there? Shoes, keys, mail, coats, bookbags, etc. Knowing what you need to store there is an essential step. If you create a beautiful but not practical area, it will get cluttered quickly. Think about your life and how your family functions. Will you need storage for coats, or is there a closet nearby? Take a week or so to observe what collects in that area. See what clutter is there that needs a home.
2. Evaluate your current storage solutions.  If you have storage solutions in that area, evaluate how they are working for you. If the area still seems cluttered, think about how your family moves through the area and how they use that space. For example, we have a coat closet right by the door. However, we never use it to hang up our coats. The coats just get tossed onto whatever furniture is there. Realizing that my family, including myself, would never be bothered to open up the coat closet to hang up our coats, I put up a few hooks to hang the coats under our key rack. Now the coats are always hung up. (Ok, almost always, I still have a seven-year-old.)
3. Decide on storage solutions for the items that will be stored there.    Do you want a bench or table (or both) in the area? A key rack or a bowl for keys? Think about what you’ve learned about your family’s habits from steps 1 and 2 when deciding on storage solutions.  
4. Implement your new plan.  Set up the area and see what you think. Live with it for a week or two and then make adjustments as needed. I decided to go with a bench and thought we would put our shoes underneath. Ha, I think I’m the only one who thought that. After a week or so, I realized the error in my thinking. Now I have a beautiful basket next to the bench for shoes. I found a cute little house key rack that has a shelf to put wallets and other items like that since we don’t have a table in that area.  
5. Make your soul sing. Once you have gotten the clutter under control in the area, it is now time to make this area speak to your soul. Bring some enchantment and beauty inside. If you have a table, perhaps a vase with fresh flowers or a candle. Perhaps a quote that uplifts you. Just make sure it is something that you love. I chose a beautiful needlework pillow that I had. It sits on the bench and makes me smile every time I see it.  

Spending time evaluating and reworking your entrance way will improve the energy of your entire house. Once you have designed an area that uplifts your soul, make sure that you maintain it. If clutter creeps back in, reevaluate the area and make adjustments as needed.

Soon you will have an area that brings a smile to your face every time you see it.  

Leave me a comment and let me know how you’ve changed your entrance way to work better for your family.