28 Small Entryway Ideas That Instantly Make Your Home Feel More Put Together

Posted 2025-10-02 17:00:28

28 Small Entryway Ideas That Instantly Make Your Home Feel More Put Together

It's easy to overlook the entryway, since you don't spend a lot of time in the space, compared to a bedroom or living room. However, this transitional area is where you walk in and out of the home each day, and where you often drop off your purses, shoes, jackets, and mail. The best small entryway ideas combine storage and style. When done well, an entryway can help you stay organized and make a positive first impression on all who enter.

Your entryway is also where you introduce the personality of your home, so it's worth putting some thought into the design. Create a strategic, stylish space that’s both hardworking and beautiful by choosing furniture with built-in storage, bold paint and wallpaper, and functional decorative elements. We're sharing our best small entryway ideas to inspire your next home refresh.

Small Entryway with Statement Artwork

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Jeff Herr

Draw the eyes upward in a small entryway to create the impression that the space is larger. You can achieve this by hanging a large, bold piece of art on the wall to serve as the focal point of the space.

Houseplants for a Small Entryway

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Read McKendree

Place an oversized tropical houseplant in a lovely planter on the floor to warm up a small entryway and make it more inviting. This works exceptionally well in entryways that receive natural light, such as this one with its large glass door and side window.

Small Entryway with an Area Rug

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Dustin Dorr

An area rug will protect the floor from foot traffic and dirt that comes through the entryway. A rug will warm the room and unify the space, giving a small entryway a cohesive look.

Mix Bold Patterns

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Tamara Smith

A tiny entryway doesn’t have to be tiny in style. Big, bold patterns can liven up the space if done the right way. Mix patterns but stick to a limited color palette, like this wallpaper, area rug, stair runner, paint, and accessories in black and white. Even the black wall hooks against the white wall keep to the black-and-white scheme.

Small Entryway Bench

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James Nathan Schroder

Tuck a narrow bench into an entryway too small for a table or hall tree. You’ll provide a place to sit while taking off your shoes and to display pillows, art, and plants.

Add Multiple Storage Options

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Blaine Moats

Place built-in cabinets along the wall of a small entryway to provide a place to stash coats, books, and other clutter at the doorway. Install wall hooks between and a counter on top, so you have a spot for every item, from art to book bags, without a single wasted square inch.

Choose a Front Door with Windows

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Adam Albright

A front door with windows will let in natural light, brightening a small entryway and making it appear larger. This entryway also has a transom window and a sidelight that will wash the small space in the sun.

Small Entryway Hall Tree

Credit:

Brian McWeeney

Hall trees tend to be gigantic pieces of furniture that won’t fit in a small entryway. Look for a small one with an open design, like this one made of bamboo, to hang hats, satchels, and purses. Put a dish on the hall tree shelf to hold keys, change, and sunglasses.

Small Entryway with Repurposed Furniture

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John Bessler

Use a chest of drawers instead of a hall tree to provide lots of storage in a small entryway with limited wall space. Style it like an entry table and use its drawers to store the items you need to keep by the door, from jackets to shoes.

Small Entryway with Statement Mirror

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Annie Schlechter

Hang a statement mirror on the wall to make a small entryway feel larger. You can also use it to check your look before heading out the door. This one is in a dramatic gold frame, so it has the heft of a piece of wall art.

Small Entryway Ideas for Stairs

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Lisa Romerein

A pint-sized daybed tucked against a wall by entryway stairs provides a pop of bold pattern thanks to its black-and-white upholstery, as well as a place to sit down and take off your shoes when you come home. Hanging a gallery wall full of art along the stairs up the space’s design power.

Mount a Wall Shelf

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Kim Cornelison

Use a wall shelf like a table in a small entryway. Suspend it from the wall in the middle and place art, a vase of flowers, and a bowl or two for catching car keys, sunglasses, and mail. Tuck a coat rack in the corner, and your small space does big work.

Set up a Desk

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Blaine Moats

Who says your desk must stay in a home office? Put a writing desk in a small entryway, along with a pair of stools, so the piece can be a desk or a foyer table. Add dramatic art and accessories to create a stylish space for doing tasks by the door.

Small Entryway Nook

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Greg Scheidemann

Most entryways are designed for maximum efficiency in navigating the room. Flip the script and set up an entryway for staying put by placing a comfy daybed by the door. Baskets under the daybed do the heavy lifting of storing shoes, dog leashes, and other items that need to be readily available for quick grabs on the go.

Small Entryway Wallpaper Ideas

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Jay Wilde

Hang bold wallpaper in the alcove of a small entryway to define the space and add a jolt of style. Black paint on the doors, baseboards, and black frames on the art echoes the black in the wallpaper print, tying the elements together visually.

Japandi Style Entryway

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Carson Downing

The Japandi design style—a hybrid of Japanese and Scandinavian styles—has clean lines and a minimalist aesthetic that’s ideal for small entryways where a larger or more ornate style would overpower the space. A slat wall, simple wooden bench, and single vase of greenery add style and storage by the doorway.

Add Playful Wall Storage

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Maria-Carla Atencio

Bring a touch of playful cottage style with a wall shelf painted a bright color and equipped with pegs for hanging everything from art to hats. Suspend houseplants from the ceiling in macrame planters and add a nubby rug to complete the look.

Small Entryway Furniture Ideas

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Tria Giovan

Combine unexpected pieces of furniture in a small entryway to create a cohesive space that serves as both storage and seating. The black, white, and cream palette brings elegance to the first space you see when you walk in the door.

Make a Small Entryway a Living Space

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Annie Schlechter

Transform a small entryway into a functional living area by incorporating a bench for seating, a side table, and a chest of drawers for drop-zone storage near the door. An area rug adds the finishing touch to the decor and invites guests to sit down.

Small Entryway with Furniture

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Helen Norman

Place a loveseat in a small entryway that can double as a place to drape a jacket, put down a purse, or sit down and take off your shoes. Add a floor lamp and it can double as a reading nook.

Repurpose Furniture

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Helen Norman

Dropleaf tables are usually put in breakfast nooks, but their space-saving abilities can also be advantageous when used in a small entryway. Add a bowl for keeping keys, sunglasses, and change, a mirror to open up the space, and an area rug.

Small Entryway Color Ideas

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David A Land

Don’t be afraid to add deep color to a small entryway. This alcove is drenched in a rich shade of deep blue paint that imparts a sense of calm without feeling heavy or dark. Brightly colored accessories, furniture, and wall art liven up the space and provide storage.

Small Entryway Storage

Credit:

Blaine Moats

Hang wooden bins on the wall beside the door in a small entryway where floor space is limited. Maximizing vertical space makes a small entryway work harder. You can put shoes, mail, plants, keys, and other odds and ends in the. Put wall hooks in between the bins for hanging jackets and satchels.

Front Door Color for Small Entryway

Credit:

Helen Norman

Liven up a small entryway by painting the door a bold color that will be the star of the space. Add a chair, a plant, a mirror, and a neutral-colored area rug to pull the look together.

Small Entryway with Grandmillennial Style

Credit:

Annie Schlechter

Just because your entryway isn’t grand in size doesn’t mean its style can’t be grand. Mix bold patterns, colors, and textures for a maximalist effect. The key to not overpowering the small space is to stick to a limited palette when mixing those patterns. Here, orange is the primary color with accents of blue and pale green. There’s a lot of storage incorporated into this bold space with baskets, an umbrella holder, and a marble table.

Maximalist Small Entryway Ideas

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Dustin Halleck

A repurposed church pew, a colorful rug, a bold accent wall, and a gallery wall bring a warm, collected look to a small entry while maximizing the use of the space. A basket placed on the floor can catch shoes, purses, and other items in the drop zone by the door, and a side table with a lamp adds a layer of light, complementing the pendant overhead.

Add Storage for Kids

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Carson Downing

Turn your entryway into a hardworking drop zone by hanging a wall shelf at kid level that features bins and wall hooks where they can store their book bags and take off their shoes. A pair of bins on the floor provides places to stash toys, books, dog leashes, and any other items shed as your family enters or grabbed as they leave.

Small Entryway with Bold Color

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Ann VanderWiel Wilde

A bright accent wall makes a small entry look larger and creates a striking first impression. Painting wide, horizontal stripes on the wall opens the space and makes a bold contrast with a brightly painted front door.