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In this post, I wanted to share some kid friendly entryway ideas that will help keep your house organized. While many of us yearn for a clean, clutter free space, there are times when its just not practical. In this post, I wanted to share with you some ideas on how you can reduce the clutter while also ensuring that things have a home.
The foyer and mudroom is the first place the family dumps their bags, backpacks, takes of their shoes, and pretty much everything they have in their hands. Designing a functional yet beautiful lived in space doesn’t have to take a lot of imagination. Adding a few baskets and designating a place for the most common things can make all the difference in the world.
Family Entryways from Lived In Homes
With six of us in the home, we have TONS of shoes! One of our main problems functionally was keeping shoes paired up together. In our mudroom, we have built ins that allow for shoes to be neatly stacked next to each other. But it is absolutely impractical to keep shoes straight on a shelf. For some reason, my kids love just leaving their shoes in the middle of the room (they get it from their dad).
For families with kids, it can seem like there is a daunting heap of items that need to be stored near the door so that you are always in arms reach during a last minute outing. This can include coats, sports shoes, jackets, backpacks, toys, beach towels, and so much more.
Baskets for Every Day Shoes and Extracurriculars
In the entry way, I love having shoes that are organized by every day shoes versus sports shoes. It allows us to quickly grab shoes on the days the kids have practice easily. Also, there’s less of me yelling about how they need to “pair up” their shoes nice and tidy. They just throw their shoes in the basket, and it allows it to be out of sight.
I prefer these wire baskets, but you may want to be careful in the event that they scratch your hardwood floors. Again, one basket is for every day shoes and the other is for extracurriculars for the kids – like dance, soccer and swimming flipflops! It even houses their soccer socks, shin guards and ballet shoes! This has been an absolute dream in terms of function. No more worrying about keeping it nice and tidy. The kids can throw their shoes in there and go.
Seating in Foyer
In the entry way, having space to put on shoes or set backpacks is really important. I can’t stress this enough. Often times, I find backpacks set on the floor along with lunch boxes. Benches can serve double duty as a place to temporarily store things as well as a place to put on your shoes!
Here’s a pulled away view of what our foyer looks like.
You can also add banquette seating in a foyer that has hidden storage so you can hide all of the backpacks and toys inside the storage bench.
Home Decor Accents
You can also blend function with design. On our linen bench, I really wanted some farmhouse style pillows. After searching everywhere, I found this sweet real grainsack case that I also turned into a pillow! Let’s just say that was a messy project. Cutting burlap – old burlap – is not fun to clean up.
I think they turned out okay for being a novice seamstress!
The buffalo check pillow was an awesome find on Etsy! They are amazing material. I got a few for our kitchen nook!
Function and Design
Adding faux plants (or real ones if you dare) can brighten up a space. By adding low profile benches with accents that match the rest of the house, you can set the tone of what your guests can expect coming into your home.
Accent Tables
Accent tables serve as a way to personalize your space with home decor. I got this round galvanized metal table that I’m in love with at a local home decor store. I added a basket underneath to catch the kids dirty socks. That way, dirty socks are stored in one place instead of finding them underneath couch cushions.
This basket is pretty sturdy, and we pull it out every week to wash. The kids get the fun chore of sock matching every Sunday.
Catch All Baskets
We also have a basket that we use to keep all of the toys that go with sets so that when we actually have time to store and organize, they can all be done in batch.
Catch all baskets are also great if you have a multi-level home where things that come downstairs often need to go back upstairs. You can place this in unused stair landing spaces.
Foyer Organization Categories
Here are the most common things that will need a designated home. This includes:
- Seasonal Storage
- On the Go Essentials (bug spray, sunblock, glasses, hats)
- Shoe Storage
- Coat Storage
- Mail Storage
- Electronics
- Bag Storage
- Command Center for Eletronics
Other Products for a Foyer
We’ve added in our mudroom kids coat hooks. As they got older, we had to remove them, but they were great for the time as they would come in and we’d have to remind them to hang up their jackets.
Summary of Family Friendly Organization
You don’t need a fancy entryway or mudroom to keep your stuff organized. Having a lived in home is a blessing, and no matter the size, adding a few baskets and home decor can help you manage the disarray that comes with living life to it’s fullest. I hope these tips provide you with some design ideas for these high traffic spaces.
