Great Ideas to Declutter Your Home's Small Entryway | Reviews by Wirecutter

By Dorie Chevlen

Dorie Chevlen is a writer covering home design. Her subjects have included scented candles, makeup mirrors, and—her favorite—popcorn makers.

We’ve rewritten this guide and added several new picks including Scout Regalia’s SR Wall Rack, Ilan Ilan’s The Control Panel, IKEA’s Perjohan Bench, and more.

An entryway is by nature a transient place: It’s the portal between home and away, between inside and outside, and, as such, it carries a certain burden of utility. This burden becomes even greater when you’re short on space: Where do I hang my keys? Where do I shove the mail? Where do I put my shoes? And moreover, how do I do so in a way that doesn’t look cluttered and chaotic?

No matter how small an area you’re working with, your entryway is where your guests make their first impression of your home, and, even more important, it is the last space you see before leaving and the first you see upon return. Luckily, we’ve spent weeks researching and testing the very best ways to make your small entryway a space that feels special, looks beautiful, and still serves its purpose.

I am a staff writer on the home decor team here at Wirecutter, where I specialize in small spaces. Not only have I worked on our guides to small bathrooms and small bedrooms, I have also spent my entire adult life in studios or small apartments. I know firsthand the struggles — and joys! — inherent to living tiny.

For this guide, I also asked three interior design experts for advice on how to create a beautiful, functional entryway. They were:

We have tested dozens of products, over several years, updating this guide as needed by removing or adding recommendations. And finally, we were also able to use much of what we’ve learned from researching and writing about small bathrooms, closet organizing, hooks, and coat racks to inform our advice on entryways.

“Whenever you can, use your wall,” said Jill Singer, co-founder and editor in chief of Sight Unseen and co-author of How to Live with Objects. Of course, any old hook or rack can hold coats and keys — but finding smartly designed options that combine functions allows you to consolidate your stuff, all while making your entryway feel more open and spacious. Colin Chee, creator and creative director of Never Too Small, points out that if you’re really tight on space, you can even hang a floating shelf above your door with baskets for other objects. Here, we’ve focused on the slimmest of wall-mounted organizers (for full-size options, see our guides to coat racks and wall hooks).

Made from powder-coated aluminum, with whimsical, loopy hooks, this rack is available in several colors to add joy to your wall and organization to your entryway.

The Scout Regalia SR Wall Rack is both a hook rack and a narrow ledge — at just 17.5 inches wide and 2.5 inches deep, the ledge is spacious enough for mail and a little bud vase but small enough to stay out of the way. We’ve owned our wall rack since 2019, and we appreciate how each two-pronged hook is generously curved to reliably hold on to our coats and bags and will not get bent out of shape. (Scout Regalia also has individual wall hooks that you can mix and match if you want to hang things in other small nooks.) The rack can hold up to 50 pounds when hung on drywall; if you tend to really load up your hooks, mount the rack on a wood stud, which will always be more secure than drywall anchors.

The Mollie Hook’s small frame fits as much gear as significantly larger coat racks, and it can squeeze functionality out of the tightest corners.

For a place to hang your go-to jackets and everyday bags, make the most of your vertical space. The compact Schoolhouse Mollie 6 Hook holds a whopping 110 pounds of stuff (that’s more than any of our coat rack picks, including larger ones) and is just under 8 inches wide. Hardware for mounting on wood or drywall is included, but if you think you’ll load it to max capacity, we recommend mounting it to a wood stud for added security. Ours has been holding up heavy bags and coats since 2019 and continues to be a favorite.

Though its magnetic hooks can hold only very light items, this handsome walnut and metal panel is perfect for essentials.

Simple yet ingenious in design, The Control Panel is made from solid walnut with powder-coated magnetic hooks and has a very flat profile for the narrowest spaces (it’s just a smidge over 4 inches deep). The floating magnetic ledge, mirror, and four notched hooks can be arranged in any configuration. I’ve placed sunglasses and earbuds on the ledge, keys and masks on the hooks, and my UV umbrella on the large fixed hook, which is capable of holding heavier items. (I tested it with 10 pounds of canned goods in a tote bag with no issue — the magnetic hooks can handle only about half a pound before they fall off.) The Control Panel arrives with the required nails and wall anchors, packed in recyclable corrugated cardboard, with a paper template showing you where to drill.

Thanks to mesh walls and ball-end hooks, this small organizer won’t let your stuff slip off or fly away as you dash out the door.

If you want a bit more storage than just a narrow ledge, the Umbra Estique Organizer has a small attached basket and five little hooks. Each knobby hook feels solid and can hold up to 5 pounds, but they’re mainly meant for keys, light totes, and umbrellas instead of bulky coats. The 12-inch-wide basket is about 3.5 inches deep and can fit mail, phones, or even a bud vase. Umbra also has a larger organizer option with more hooks and one with a mirror, but we haven’t tested those versions yet.

This steel rack has a simple, clean design and comes in several colors and sizes to fit your space and your needs.

Made from powder-coated steel in seven earthy colors, the efficient Most Modest Walter shelf holds mail, keys, and whatever other item you need to grab on your way out the door, from a wallet to a work ID badge. Each shelf protrudes only 5 inches from the wall and is available in lengths of 11 inches, 22 inches (shown above), and 36 inches. I hung the rack on drywall, and it didn’t budge at all when I loaded my 10-pound tote bag on it; yours may hold a bit more if you’re attaching the rack to a wood stud. Magnets (not included) stick to it, too, so you can also tack on receipts and business cards. This shelf comes with the anchor hooks and hardware needed to secure it to the integrated cleat in back, keeping it flush against your wall.

This key rack was the only one we found with either magnetic or screw-in mounting, and it offers storage for keys, mail, or a slim wallet.

The Yamazaki Rin Magnetic Key Rack comes with screws and anchors for wall mounting, but, perhaps more helpful is its magnetic back, which can stick to a metal door (or the side of your fridge). The magnet is strong enough that ours has stayed put despite always being fully loaded (it has a 4-pound weight capacity). Best of all, the rack is just 7 inches wide and has five hooks and room for a few letters.

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” but if you’re smart about space, it’s exactly where you’ll put your storage. Corners are often overlooked (especially when a door swings open onto it), but our super-efficient picks will make the most out of them, both functionally and aesthetically.

This rack’s heavy base makes it more stable than other coat trees. And with nine hooks that can each fold up when not in use, it can hold a lot of coats and bags — or not.

The Umbra Flapper Standing Coat Rack features nine fold-out hooks that can be rearranged depending on your setup — you can fold down hooks as needed while leaving others up to accommodate bulkier items. This rack won’t budge even when loaded up, thanks to its heavy base. Each hook can hold up to 5 pounds (for a total of 45 pounds). And even though the base is not particularly petite, because the rack can hold so much it really squeezes a lot of efficiency out of a small corner (and doesn’t look visually cluttered while doing so).

These cheerful stools make the perfect perch to put on shoes, and they stack up for storage when not in use.

A small stool or bench by the doorway is wonderfully useful, especially in a no-shoe household like mine. But it’s also a handy landing place for whatever needs to be put down. (Indeed, at Wirecutter we believe the best stool is one that can perform many jobs: a seat, a plant stand, a side table.) A tad over 13 inches in diameter, the compact Domsten stool from IKEA does just that, in style and on a budget. It comes together in minutes (simply screw the two leg pieces into the seat and you’re done), and it has a weight capacity of 220 pounds. It’s also a classic design — the stool was designed by IKEA’s first female designer, Karin Mobring, and released in 1972 under the name “Jerry.” It comes with either light green, lilac, or orange powder-coated steel legs and a solid pine seat.

Sculptural, slim, and stackable, these storage tables come in three sizes and a broad array of colors to sneak into even the tightest of corners.

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Retro cute and endlessly versatile, the 12-inch-diameter Kartell Componibili storage table is available in an array of colors and three sizes (with either two, three, or four cubbies, all of them opening via a curved, sliding door). Their iconic appearance, storage efficiency, and sturdy hard-plastic construction stood out to us during testing for our guide to nightstands — and we love the same qualities for a chic small entryway, too. What’s more, you can also stack them to take even more advantage of unused vertical space.

Don’t forfeit precious space to unwieldy benches or bulky shoe racks. The picks below make clever use of height and angle to store the absolute most with the absolute smallest possible footprint.

This wood and steel shoe rack is more compact than others we looked at, yet it does more: It has space for 15 to 20 pairs of shoes, two accessory hooks, and a shelf.

At 26 inches wide and barely 10 inches deep, the Yamazaki Home Tower Shoe Rack is one of the most compact multitaskers we found while testing models for our shoe rack guide. Besides acting as a console and a rack for a family’s worth of shoes (though tiny kids shoes may slip through), it’s also an umbrella and shoehorn holder, thanks to miniature hooks included on the side. Despite its skinny silhouette, the steel frame stands firm no matter what we park on it, and even after five years of use shows no dents or damage. If you don’t need a place for your shoes, Yamazaki offers the Narrow Entryway Console Table, which has a similar, but even slimmer, silhouette, without the racks; it’s just roughly 7 inches deep with an airy look and hooks to hang umbrellas.

This ultra-slim cabinet hides shoes cleverly and offers a little place for knickknacks up top, too.

For entryway shoe storage without the visual chaos, the IKEA Bissa cabinet is the best (and most reasonably priced) option from our shoe rack guide. At just under 20 inches wide and 11 inches deep, the Bissa is available in two heights — with either two or three compartments — each holding about four pairs of shoes. (It can also accommodate taller shoes, when you remove the drawer’s adjustable center divider.) This piece is best anchored to the wall, given that it can sometimes tip forward when shoes are removed from the upper compartment, especially when the lower compartment isn’t full. But we think that’s a worthwhile trade for a piece that’s easy to build (only took us about 45 minutes) and capable of holding not only shoes, but also a decorative bowl, mail, or other tsotchkes on top.

(The Bissa is also endlessly customizable; some DIY-ers have joined two or three Bissas together for an extra-long console, added decorative knobs, or covered them in colorful contact paper.)

If you simply need a spot to park a couple of pairs of shoes and a hat, this minimalist bench makes an adorable entryway addition

Part storage bench, part shoe rack, this sweet (and aptly named) Pottery Barn Lucy Mango Wood Shoe Rack with Bench slips gracefully by your door. Editor Caitlin McGarry and her partner use it in their Bay Area home, where they keep the shoes they wear most often (the bench fits only about three pairs). At only 30 inches wide and 13 inches deep, it’s just the right size for you to drop off two Trader Joe’s paper bags or that FedEx package you keep procrastinating on sending back. It is technically not designed for use as a seat, but Caitlin has been sitting on hers to pull shoes on and off with nary a wobble or crack.

Made from unfinished solid pine, this lightweight bench takes up nearly no space and travels easily from room to room whenever you need a seat.

IKEA’s Perjohan bench has a tiny foot print (just 11 inches deep and about 40 inches wide) but works overtime as both a seat and sneaky storage provider. Because the wood is untreated, it can easily be painted or stained whatever color you’d like, or left bare for a simple look. The handle at the top makes it easy to lift around and move to wherever you need extra seating. The bench’s open lower level can hold anything from hats, scarves, and gloves in the winter to all of the library books you’re late on returning — though probably too small for bulky shoes. Our tester has been happily using her Perjohan for about a year and a half; she puts her purse into it every day when she returns home, and also stores a flashlight, an extra Baggu bag, and other random objects she needs on hand that week. Despite its daily use, the bench is impressively free from any dings or wobbles. Its screws are flush against the wood but visible, which doesn’t bother us but could bother some. The Perjohan is also available in a smaller storage stool for extra-tiny nooks.

The best way to keep your entryway clear is to declutter on a regular basis. As Chee explains, “The entryway is a space with storage, not just a storage space. Big difference.” Keep only what you need. Even then, a small entryway will still feel cluttered if you have everything out in the open. Hide things in containers that feel beautiful and unique to you. “Small spaces are a fun opportunity to be a little bit more wild and experimental than you would be in the primary living space,” said Singer, the editor-in-chief of Sight Unseen.

With their colorful stripes and interchangeable lids, these canisters — available in three sizes — conceal clutter in the cutest fashion.

Small objects that would otherwise waste space and ruin your aesthetic lying flat can be held upright in these adorable lidded mix-and-match canisters from Dusen Dusen. Each powder-coated steel canister has the same 4.2-inch diameter (allowing their colorful, knobbed lids to be swapped) but comes in varying heights (5.25 inches, 6.25 inches, and 7.25 inches). I use the medium one to hold my spare glasses, cleaner spray, and sunscreen. And the smaller canister is perfect for storing dog treats or poop bags. The biggest option is great for other vertical objects you’d like to conceal, such as pencils, pens, scissors, hair combs, and flashlights. They look equally cute perched on a shelf or stashed under a low storage bench.

With their structured sides and stackable design, these baskets make everything look organized and polished.

The Muji Rattan Rectangular Storage boxes have stiff sides and a lip around the base, which makes them stackable. Editor Daniela Gorny has been using hers since 2017 and says the smooth 100% rattan weave has stayed intact and rarely catches on anything. They may look delicate but actually feel sturdy and substantial. For small entryways, we especially like the tall (but still narrow) sizes. Muji also sells baskets with handles and separate lids.

She’s very relaxed but will hang onto your stuff for you.

A bowl for dropping your keys, earbuds, and any other small knickknacks is an entryway essential. Almost any bowl will do, but we like ones that have a wide mouth or open edge, to make finding things easier. I first received this pretty glass dish several years ago; and across several moves (geographically and professionally), she has proven herself valuable to me time and time again — as everything from a soap dish to a snack bowl. But these days, I plop my rings into her when I come home for the evening. She’d also be great for keys, hair elastics, chapstick — whatever little objects you want to drop off and then pick up again later. In all of her uses, this little lady always receives flattery, making her especially great in an entryway where she gives guests a very chic first impression of your home.

For a negligible price, these mesh metal baskets are impressively adaptable, making a great see-through vessel for scarves, mittens, wallets, and mail.

IKEA’s Risatorp Basket is sweet-looking but serious in its work; the breathable metal mesh prevents snow-dampened gloves from getting mildew-y, and you can also see through it to know whatever else you’ve got stored. The tall basket with compartments is only 9.5 inches deep, which means it should fit tucked under a slim bench. The smaller square baskets are about 10 by 10 inches, and for around $13 you can get several to manage all kinds of entryway clutter — at the moment, mine is tucked under a storage bench and holding fuzzy socks.

Available in a multitude of colors and shapes, these simple tins take up little surface space but adorably conceal tiny knick-knacks.

Not everything in your entryway should be on display; these lidded vessels from Hay come in a variety of shapes and sizes to perfectly harbor your non-aesthetic essentials. And the tins look cute mixed and matched — if you put dog treats in the small tin, writing implements in the narrow one, and electronics cables in the round tin; well now you’ve got a little triptych display instead of a messy pile. And because most of them are quite slim (between 3 and 4.5 inches deep, depending on the size you choose), you can easily fit them on a narrow shelf or credenza. We’ve been using ours (in different colors, from a past release) since 2021 and have noticed no dents or unusual wear; the lids are secure, but not too tight that they’re difficult to remove.

Add a pop of color to your entryway with this fun but compact mail organizer. It holds as many kinds of mail as larger organizers we tested but is small enough to fit on a narrow shelf.

The Poppin Fin File Sorter is the cutest, most colorful mail organizer we found. Made from smooth plastic, it comes in five hues — with neutrals and brights — so you’re bound to find something you like. Roughly 6.5 inches deep and 6.5 inches long, it easily accommodates letters as well as notebooks, large envelopes, and magazines yet takes up less space than others we considered. Its three compartments make it great for households with multiple mail recipients, or just for a single person in need of more organizing.

This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Joanne Chen.

Jill Singer, co-founder and editor in chief of Sight Unseen and co-author of How to Live with Objects, phone interview, April 18, 2025

Jamie Hord, founder of Horderly Professional Organizing, email interview, April 21, 2025

Colin Chee, creator and creative director of Never Too Small, email interview, April 22, 2025

Dorie Chevlen

I cover home decor, but I'm rarely stuck inside. I also write frequently about outdoor gear, personal technology, and health products for Wirecutter.

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