We all have an entrance area or a foyer that could use some tiding up. It’s the place where everyone walks through and leaves their coats, shoes, gloves, backpacks, briefcases, mail, and so on and so on. You can tidy it up on the weekend, but by the end of the week, you know you are searching for a place to hang your coat, place your shoes and store your umbrella. So how can you keep this area in order while still maximizing the space of your entrance area?

Ideally, the solution would be to get a coat rack bench. However, these large pieces of furniture tend to take up more room than you have. The foyer isn’t generally a large room to begin with, and if you live in an apartment, you are going to need to make the most of the space you have. In addition, large pieces of furniture like this tend to be pretty expensive and may cost upwards of $500!

So instead of spending your money on one large piece of furniture, you can instead mimic the idea of a coat rack bench with a few cleverly placed coat hooks or coat racks, and pair it with an inexpensive bench, hall table or even a small bookcase.

Your first step is deciding what will work best within the space you have to work with. If you can fit a bench and still comfortably walk back and forth through the room, than you may want to select one that includes storage space. If you do not have as much room to work with, then you might want to invest in a hall table. Hall tables tend to be shallower in depth, but still provide drawer space for keys, mail, gloves, and hats. If you require more storage needs, then you might want to try a small bookcase measuring roughly 30” to 37” in height. This should give you at least 2 shelves to place storage boxes filled with your items. If you are planning on placing shoes on the shelves, try lining the shelf with a matching or decorative material that will help protect the piece from moisture and dirt. Try using shelf liner or even an outdoor rug cut to fit the shelf.

Now that you have the bottom half of your own coat rack bench complete, it’s time to move your attention to where you will hang your coats. Before you decide what type of coat hooks or coat racks you will use, you will need to know what types of coats you will generally be hanging. If you generally wear trench coats, or longer winter coats, then you will obviously need more room to allow it to hang without draping over your bottom unit.

With that said, an easy way to figure out how much room you will need to work with, is to grab your longest coat and place it on your wall. You may need a friend to help you measure and visualize about where you should place your coat hooks or coat rack. This step may actually help you decide if you need a bottom unit or not. However, if you really do need that extra storage space, we have a bonus tip for you further down.

Once you have the general idea of where you are going to place your coat racks and hooks, then you can decide on which type you will move forward with. For extra storage space, wall coat hook shelves give you the luxury of coat hooks for multiple coats as well as an extra storage shelf for additional items. You can use this shelf for your everyday items such as purses, briefcases, hats, and winter gear. Wall coat hook shelves come in many different styles including different wood types, or metal and plastic. Most also come with coordinating hooks as well. You choose depending on your personal style!

Another option is to go with the standard coat hook. Coat hooks offer you more versatile possibilities. With so many styles of coat hooks available, you can arrange them on your wall in different ways. You can have as much fun with placing your coat hooks as you can placing picture frames on a wall, so be creative! Additionally, for an eclectic look, try mix and matching colors and styles of coat hooks for something that really fits your persona. Just be sure to give yourself enough room for the coat to hang and to easily be taken off. You will also want to make sure you are hanging the coat hook on a stud or secure spot to ensure that it is stable and will hold the weight of your coats without damaging the wall.

Bonus Tip! Remember when we said we had a bonus tip for those who really need the extra storage and a place to hang their long coats? To get the best of both worlds, try placing 2 extra coat hooks on your wall. Just place one just off to the right of the bottom unit and one off to the left at the same level as the other hooks. This way, you have the look of a coat rack bench, but you are also giving yourself extra room to hang your longer coats. You can do this by using all coat hooks across, or you can mix 2 coat hooks with one coat hook shelf for the same effect.

Setting up your own coat rack bench like this gives you many options and ways you can maximize your foyer space while giving you the best solution. Putting different pieces of furniture also gives you the option to move pieces in and out as you see fit, which can come in handy when you have guests over and would like to add more room in your home. Additionally, using smaller pieces to create the illusion of a larger piece can possibly save you hundreds of dollars.

Most importantly, you should have fun and piece together the right pieces that will welcome you each day and provide you with the best storage solution while maximizing the space you have. After all the foyer is the first place you and your guests will see, so it’s important to keep it tidy and set the tone, so enjoy creating the entrance area to your home!