O/T: More Decorating Ideas - WWYD With a VERY Small Foyer?

[Toba]

I'm sorry ... I'm just in major decorating/purging of all unnecessary crap mode. We own a bi-level (I hate it) ... if you're unfamiliar with that, it's a two-story house. You walk up a flight of steps on the porch to the doorway and then open the door into a foyer and have a choice to take a set of stairs to go upstairs or a set of stairs to downstairs. Our foyer is relatively small and one of the first items on our list to be fixed (added on to) when we hit the lottery/come into some money (meaning ... ha-ha!). Right now, I have a wall mounted coat rack that has five rungs on it. Underneath that, I have a two tiered shoe rack that I hate (it's just cheap and ugly looking). This is behind the door when you open it, so if there are multiple people coming in the door at once, there's a big traffic jam to take your shoes and coat off and actually close the door. The other side of the foyer is not as long, space wise, so moving everything over wouldn't work. My MIL tried to "help" with my son and purchased him those plastic "removable" hooks (yeah, and removes some paint and sheetrock with it) for his coats (he can't reach our coat rack) and a plastic-wired rack that you would put in your cabinets for a shelf for his shoes. I appreciate the thought, but it's not big enough for his needs (so his coats are frequently on the floor) and it is UGLY and the first thing you see when you walk into the house.

Anybody have a better solution? We tend to have several pairs of shoes down there (we don't require people to take off shoes, but we just do as routine ... I and DS wear socks around the house). And I don't know what to do for DS.

[ourbabygirl]

Do you have a closet there, then? All of the split-level houses I've been to (MIL has one, as do some friends) have a coat closet on that little 'landing' area. If so, how about one of those hanging shoe organizer things? We have one hanging on the closet door in our laundry/ mud room to hold DD's shoes and our mittens, etc.

[newg]

we just moved from a bi-level....we had a coat rack and a bench behind the door.......we put our shoes under the bench...........I totally understand the frustration of where do people stand while coming in the door and taking off their things......
Maybe something from Ikea or the container store would work............not to mention the people who work there ususally have some good ideas!

[Toba]

No, no closet. I think split levels are set up differently than bi-levels. There are two closets at the top of the stairs and bottom of the stairs. The top of the stairs closet we turned into a pantry years ago. The bottom of the stairs closet is the one that opens into under the staircase, so it's also musty smelling in there and then it makes your coats smell like that too. Right now, it's just used for storage (yay, another thing that I have to go through and throw most of it out). I could see if DH could close off that closet with a wall (so it didn't go all the way under the staircase), which might help with the musty smell ... but that's not ideal either. We trample up and down the stairs so many times (have I mentioned that I hate bi-levels?) and we usually go UP when we come in from outside. I'd really like to have something right at the door so no matter where you're coming from in the house, your stuff is right there.

I don't think there's even enough space behind the door to put a bench (which is what I've always wanted, so you had a place to sit down to put your shoes on). I think the only alternative I have is to get a different coat rack and matching shoe rack. When we first moved in here 12+ years ago, I custom painted the coat rack (it has crackled paint and was faux weathered) and I don't think I could replicate it for a shoe rack. Still don't know what to do about DS though ... I guess we could just hang his coat up for him, but that defeats the whole purpose of "get your coat and shoes on (by yourself) so we can leave." We never have this problem in the summer. LOL

[alexsmommy]

Could you post a pic? I'm having hard time visualizing this.

[KrisM]

We have a small mudroom. But, I use baskets for shoes. Each kid has their own basket in their own color. Even DS2 knows where his shoes are.

And, we do use the plastic hooks. I've never had an issue pulling them off though.

Our plan (half done) is to put a sheet of peg board up on the walls. We're painting it wall color so it blends in. But, that will let us add enough hooks and at various levels to cover everyone's needs.

[Raidra]

We have this same setup and it sucks. Try sending three kids in ahead of you, while you have your arms full of groceries, and wait while they bump into each other, nearly push the baby down the stairs, and generally take forever removing their things.. ugh!

It drives my mom crazy, she's always trying to come up with solutions. I've more or less made my peace with it.. there just isn't room to do anything differently.

We don't have a full wall behind the door, it goes up to the level of the second floor, and then we have a wrought iron railing. We hang our coats on the curlie-cues on the railing, which looks terrible, but gives us a lot more room for coats. The children's coats are all on the side closest to the top of the stairs, so they can reach them. Behind the door on the floor, we have a big basket for shoes.

We don't even have the luxury of a closet downstairs because we remodeled the whole downstairs (including the garage) into an in-law for my parents. We only have one hall closet upstairs and that's full of shelves for linens and whatnot. No possible coat closet whatsoever.

So, I don't have any suggestions, just wanted to commiserate. :)

I'll upload a pic of ours.. just need a few to get all the pics off the camera.

[TwinFoxes]

We live in what they call a "split-foyer" in this area. It sounds similar, but I think our entryway may be a bit bigger. We have a cubby shelf with hooks in ours...it looks like the one in infomama's post asking if the Pottery Barn one is worth $300 more. You could get one of those, and use the cubbies for shoes. Or, you could get a basket for the shoes. I bet Container Store would have some that would work.

[Momof3Labs]

Could you post a pic? I'm having hard time visualizing this.

I think that they call this a raised ranch in the Chicagoland area - does that sound familiar?

[vludmilla]

I think that they call this a raised ranch in the Chicagoland area - does that sound familiar?

Yes, this is what they are called in the NY area as well.

[newg]

this is the bench we had behind the door...............
http://www.ballarddesigns.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCT&itemID=9637&fromNewSearch=true&mercadoResultId=15
the door couldn't hit the wall or door stop........but it still opened wide enough that you could go up or down the stairs.

What about using some nice hooks in the wall like these.................
http://www.lowes.com/pd_98870-81227-125558_4294856553_?productId=3079403&Ntt=hooks&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl_Wall%2B_4294856553__s?Ntk=i_products$No=60$Ntt= hooks
you could hang one set at adult level and another set at kid level............then your DC and their friends could hang their own coats........

We called the closet under the stairs, "harry potter's closet"........we used it for storage for the same reason.
We also had some hooks on the wall at the bottom of the stairs, behind the door that went to the garage......we put umbrellas and keys on those hooks.

would something like this work for you?
http://www.potterybarn.com/products/samantha-entryway-collection/?pkey=cstorage-benches

[tiapam]

Is there a window in the foyer? We hung larger cup hooks on the underside of a windowsill for DD's coats, etc. Or maybe there is somewhere else you can hang some from? My friend put them on the underside of her kitchen counter. Very cheap fix if it works for you.

[MamaKath]

No, no closet. I think split levels are set up differently than bi-levels.
Bi-levels (called split foyers in some areas) often have a closet and often don't. I have lived in both and they are often difficult to configure. The only thing that I can think of that worked really well for us is a tall coat tree instead of the rack with hooks.

I know what you mean about the wire thing though. My mom got us a wire cart. In theory it is a great thing, in reality not so much and it looks terrible. Trying to come up with a solution also (small entry way in a small rambler/ranch).

[crl]

Would something like this from Ikea work for the shoes: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60156121 ? It would hide them entirely. . . . And then maybe a coat rack with two levels of hooks? Like this: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00099789

Catherine

[american_mama]

I have been in many houses just like you describe. My neighors have one with just a landing, no room for anything, and they keep it bare. I think they have a coat closet upstairs or downstairs, they aren't fussing about taking their shoes off and when they do, I think they put them in the coat closet or bedroom. When my girls visit, they put their shoes and coats on the floor or steps and it's a mess. When they have a party, guests put their coats in the first bedroom.

I have a very small foyer in my ranch. I have the shoe cabinet from IKEA linked above, and it is the narrowest I could find anywhere IRL or online, so least impedes the swing of out front door. It's worth it for that alone, but it was a bit cheaper then. IKEA also has e Skar and Trones shoe cabinets, which are cheaper than Hemnes; be aware that Trones is made out of plastic.