5 Small Hall Storage Ideas You Need To See

selection of various coat hooks

Aargggh! It drives me crazy when I have to battle through shoes, coats and just general clutter in my hall to get to the front door! The hall is the first interior view of your home that most people see. I hate it if all they get is a view of coats slung over the newel post and shoes strewn across the floor. Many houses in the UK have a pretty small narrow hall, so great storage ideas for coats and shoes are key if you want to keep this area clear.

Small Hall Storage Ideas for Coats

So assuming that hanging coats over the newel post is not an acceptable storage option (!), what can you do? In a small hall I always want to try to keep coat storage out of sight if possible. This instantly makes a small hall feel bigger and tidier.

1. Coat Hooks

In a really small hall, coat hooks hung on the wall behind the front door, or even on the back of the door itself, help to keep coats and bags out of sight to visitors on the doorstep, helping with that great first impression.

In my experience, the coat storage space needs to be as near to the front door in the hall as possible, otherwise there is just too much scope for them being dropped somewhere else. Don’t be afraid to have hooks at lower levels if you have kids that need to hang things up too. There are lots of attractive options:

2. Coat Stand

In some small halls, there is just no space for hooks on the wall or door for coat storage – and so another great storage idea to consider is a coat stand. These can be a great option as they come in lots of different designs and styles to suit your decor; they can also provide lots of hanging space for coats and bags at various heights to suit all members of the family! They can also be tucked away neatly in a corner, keeping a messy view to a minimum. I particularly like the wall mounted coat stand by Cox and Cox below, it’s a really stylish and neat solution for a small hall.

3. Hall Stand or a Hall Cupboard

If you are lucky enough to have a little bit more space in your hall, you might be able to incorporate some built in hall cupboards. Ikea’s Pax wardrobe system comes in units of varying depth, starting at only 40cm deep and with lots of different options for the internal storage, so these can provide a great option if you have the space.

Hall stands area also a great option if you have just a little bit more room. These provide not only hooks for coat storage, but also a bench, often with space for shoe storage underneath.

Small Hall Shoe Storage Ideas

In a really small hall where storage space is limited, you really have to be disciplined about shoes. I know I tend to have the same 2 or 3 pairs that I wear most often and the rest just come out occasionally. So the ‘occasionally’ shoes have to live somewhere else as I just don’t have space to store them in our hallway.

4. Shoe Storage Baskets or a Shoe Storage Bench

At it’s simplest, a couple of baskets in a corner near the front door can work as somewhere to pop shoes into and out of the way. There are loads of stylish basket options – though bear in mind shoes might be wet and muddy, so baskets need to be fairly robust! A slightly neater and more attractive option if you have the space in your hallway is a shoe storage bench. These provide a place to sit while shoes are removed as well as space for storage options underneath. You can find them in all kinds of dimensions to fit many different spaces.

5. Small Narrow Hall Storage Ideas – Shoe Cabinets

If you have a long narrow hallway like I do, then a slim shoe cabinet might be more practical for you. The Hemnes shoe cabinet by Ikea at just 22cm deep is an absolute winner for this situation – they come in various sizes but I like the smaller one as you can also use it as a console table and have some decorative items and a box / bowl for keys etc. on the top of it:

Here are some other other shoe cabinet options:

It can be a real challenge in a small hall to find storage ideas that really work and look good. Here are some more hallway decor ideas and inspiration to make one of the most used spaces in your home looking amazing!