The entryway is your home's first impression—not just for guests, but for your future self walking through the door after a long day. Adopt the approach of first writing a brief outlining functionalities you want it to have and what feelings you want it to bring you.
The Functionality Brief
I find it generally easier to start with functionalities first when shaping a space. As I enter and leave my home, there are several things that would make it more convenient for me to have in the entryway so I will need storage space for the following:
- Keys
- Shoes
- An umbrella
- A bag
- A coat
- A hat
- A lint roller
- Shoe polish
- A space to keep my mail (optional)
I also would like to be able to sit down while changing shoes. In my previous home which was a lovely rental, I already had a coat hanger and a key hanger. There was limited space so I got a nice shoe bench where I can leave my bag, keep my shoes and other small items. In my new home, I luckily have a cupboard in the hallway which I turned into a closet for all my coats and shoes and less regularly used items like shoe polish. This leaves me more space to add something like a console table! Not saying console table can't also accommodate more storage, just that my options are less limited.
Setting the Mood
When I come back home, I want to feel warm, welcome and not confined. Having always enjoyed vintage items, I wanted to introduce it subtly but not too much because the overall design of my home is contemporary.
Brief layout idea
Having considered how I want to use the space and what I want to feel, I thought of having a mirror which can make the space feel bigger above an elegant, timeless console table with storage! A couple of wall sconces would also add more warmth. With the console table taking up quite a bit of space, ottoman stools ideally with storage could round up my space really nicely!
Finding the Perfect Pieces
With the layout ideas outlined, I began looking for furniture. There are so many choices out there. To create the kind of aesthetic that brings me that warmth with slight vintage feel, I looked into the materials and the shapes. Console tables can be wooden, glass or metal. I felt glass and metal on a console would give off a sleek and super modern vibe rather than an organic warmth so I was quickly settling on a wooden, ideally walnut to get that organic warmth. Sharp corners or box like shapes also would not give the soft warm feeling I like. Insisting on a small drawer for those tiny essentials narrowed my choices significantly, but it was a non-negotiable for the 'Practical' side of me. An optional bonus could be having a bit of marble on top as a touch of cool luxury. It would be the perfect material contrast - walnut feels like nature while marble feels like a boutique hotel! For the mirror then I quickly decided on a round one due to the softer feel but did not quite like the standard plain round mirrors I often saw while browsing online for inspirations. After endlessly searching for a round mirror with some subtle vintage details, I came across one with sectioned design mimicking traditional paned windows! One surely can't find a mirror that makes a space feel less confined than that! It has a brass frame which is a fairly warm and vintage feeling metal. This concluded my search for my perfect mirror. To match the mirror, I looked for a brass wall sconce and opted to have LED candles to avoid having to do electric wiring work and found one after weeks of searching (see my picks page for link to where I got it). For the ottoman stools, I wanted ones not too big that would overwhelm the space, fabric that feels soft against the skin (such as when wearing shorts!), a neutral and light colour and ideally with storage space! With the key elements settled, I still needed somewhere to hang a coat and umbrella. There are quite many beautiful umbrella stands but to keep the space neat, I opted for a standing coat stand which is enough for a coat, a hat, an umbrella and still some space to tuck a regular used pair of shoes underneath.
When I found the main key items, I put them together on a mood-board to check the compatibility and also measured the hallway to see how they all fit together. I definitely do not want it to feel cluttered! The end result was the perfect entryway for me. By starting with a brief and honouring both my storage needs and my love for vintage warmth, the entryway no longer feels like a transitional 'mess'—it feels like a deep breath the moment I step inside.