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Original poster

Is your hallway tidy?

52 replies

Grimshadylady · 26/12/2024 22:26

How do you keep your coats from looking like a gigantic mass of coats hanging on hooks? Do you only keep one coat for each person on the hooks in the hallway? What do you do with the other coats? Where do you store them?

Does you hallway look sleek and tidy? Care to share a pic?

OP posts:
maudelovesharold · 26/12/2024 23:53

My hall is tidy because we have a porch with a shoe cupboard and coat hooks, but the porch looks untidy, because we have too many coats and shoes. We also have a hall cupboard… Were you to look inside the hall cupboard, however, you would discover the huge untidy jumble of random things which I have stuffed in there to enable my hall to stay tidy!

UnderTheStairs51 · 26/12/2024 23:55

Definitely not tidy despite the fact I endlessly pick up shoes.

We have coat hooks with far too many coats and a box each for shoes then a small rack in the alcove as you come in. Trouble is my husband has size 12 feet and they are just so bloody massive.

Then shoes don't get put away. Then you can't open the boxes (although they hold more than a rack) so shoes get dumped, then the kids friends arrive and I find an extra four pairs of trainers and several coats added to the pile.

I don't have anywhere else to put them through. It's all the shoes and coats we own.

I'm happy if they are vaguely in the boxes and coats are on hooks but it will never be sleek.

EveryDayisFriday · 26/12/2024 23:59

Coats are hung up in a cupboard out of the way. Shoes and bags are in a 2x4 kallax in boxes under the stairs. We need a better looking solution but this fits so much in compared to "shoe cabinets" practicality is winning in our house at the moment. However it looks neat and tidy.

Chasingsquirrels · 27/12/2024 00:05

Mine is too narrow not to be tidy, stairs running up the length with the same width to walk down. Full width at both ends, with understairs cupboard opening with full height door at the opposite end to the front door.

Understairs cupboard has coats, shoes, ironing board, sack of dog food, various other crap pushed to the back where you can't get to it.
Console table at end of hall facing doorway, usually with a plant, wooden bowls and ornaments, and currently Christmas cards.
Matching cupboard for shoes next to the door, again with a plant and wooden bowl.
Wall hung double cubby hole thing above the shoe unit.

At the moment the clothes airer is also currently in the middle against the radiator blocking the space.

BeachHutsAndDeckchairs · 27/12/2024 00:13

Ours isn't the hallway, it's an area next to the side door where the downstairs loo is one side and the kitchen is on the other. In this vestibule-type place, there's three fridge and the kitchen bin, which always looks messy, and the under-stairs area filled with drawers and baskets filled with shoes, boots, hats, scarves, carrier bags, the mop bucket, the hoover, the spin dryer, the extension reel, the sewing machine, the fuse box... It's full of clutter and there's nowhere else to put it and no way of hiding it. We just close the door and ignore it.

ViciousCurrentBun · 27/12/2024 02:01

DH is about to build coat and shoe storage under the stairs. It’s a complete refit and I’m looking forward to when it’s done.

MarkingBad · 27/12/2024 02:14

We put our coats on coat hangers and on a coat stand it's much neater and less bulky when there is no space for a cloakroom or wardrobe. Also we only have coats that we actually wear at that time of year so it's not all year coats all on coathooks.

Ruthietuthie · 27/12/2024 02:34

We have a cloakroom off the hall from the front door, and a boot room at the back for muddy boots. (In the boot room, we also have a dog wash - BEST THING EVER for muddy walks).

Comedycook · 27/12/2024 12:26

Can I just say to get some perspective....lots of these descriptions don't sound messy. It's just life. We have been fed via social media a narrative that anything except an absolutely immaculate show home, must be absolutely filthy and disgusting. A bowl of keys and coats hanging up is not messy or hoarder territory. It's just a house you shock horror have the temerity to exist in.

TuesdayNameChangeArama · 27/12/2024 12:28

We have a badly kept rule that every person can have two coats and two pairs of shoes in the hallway.

This keeps it under control. Though we never keep to the rule.

TinyMouseTheatre · 27/12/2024 12:28

Coats go in cupboard under the stairs, shoes in rooms.

And yes it's looking tidy and festive today. Just wish every room was Wink

Original poster
Grimshadylady · 27/12/2024 12:30

Your replies have been lovely to read. I can see for most of us it is a struggle. It is the first area we encounter when we enter our homes but the way houses were built (and are being built) storage for coats, etc wasn't and still isn't a priority.

Maybe it is a case of slim lining what we own. Maybe we don't need so many coats and shoes and all the other stuff that builds up.

The downstairs toilet is a squeeze so definitely no where to put even a baby's coat. It would have made a wonderful coat cupboard though but then we would have not had a downstairs toilet.

OP posts:
DustyMaiden · 27/12/2024 12:33

I have a shoe cupboard and a coat cupboard. My DH loves building cupboards.

Ted27 · 27/12/2024 12:37

No porch, no boot room, no utility room, narrow hallway which is a mess of shoes and brollies. 4 coat hooks outside the down stairs bathroom which are always falling down. Bags get dumped in the dining room.
So I have invested in a magic cupboard, ie a made to measure coat/shoe cupboard which will go in the alcove in the dining room directly opposite the door.
Woe betide anyone who leaves a coat or shoes out.
Can't wait for it to arrive

TinyMouseTheatre · 27/12/2024 12:41

The downstairs toilet is a squeeze so definitely no where to put even a baby's coat. It would have made a wonderful coat cupboard though but then we would have not had a downstairs toilet.

We are planning on converting ours to a loo. Will have to have a serious weed out of coats first! Wink

DazedAndConfused321 · 27/12/2024 12:45

We have a cloakroom because I cannot stand messy hallways. Also hate visiting other houses and stepping over shoes and brushing past coats

AutoP1lot · 27/12/2024 12:47

Our hall is an utter shit tip. It's really narrow, we have a dog and several sports and hobbies between us, and there's nowhere else for all the crap.

So it's a constant battle with coats, shoes, dog coats, leads, balls, cones, skates, skateboards, scooters, helmeys, pads, boxing gloves, riding gear... 🤯🤯🤯 It's the bane of my life and I'm hoping we'll be able to afford some good fitted storage at some point...

TheHallmarkedMan · 27/12/2024 14:12

We have kind of two hallways. The first is narrow and has nothing in it apart from art on the walls. The back hallway has all our sins behind cupboards, but they tend to explode out sometimes.

I wouldn't want non family members wandering down there 😀

stayathomer · 27/12/2024 14:14

No it’s not! (Sobs!) there’s bags of pellets, shoes everywhere etc. I’m trying to get out of getting hung up over it but then I look at it and it looks lived in etc so feck it!

Dodgydodgydodgy · 27/12/2024 14:18

Zero in my hallway. Everything in the cupboard under the stairs. Loads of IKEA shoe storage and plastic boxes. It is amazing what you can fit under the stairs.

Ihateslugs · 27/12/2024 14:24

After 10 years of not having anywhere to hang coats in the hall, I decided to buy a modern style coat stand. Luckily the square shaped hall is just about large enough to fit this although one side is up against the wall so not much use - I’ve hung rarely used umbrellas up there. It took a bit of getting used to but I’m happy with it now and it’s been well used with all the visitors over Christmas.It was a flat pack and took me ages to put together due to poor instructions, I had to redo it twice!

Is your hallway tidy?
Wond3rment · 27/12/2024 14:27

Clutter free hallway here but only because we come in the back door 85% of the time and are able to store shoes in a shoe cupboard and coats on coats racks, both located in our utility room.

Best bit of advice from my MIL when we were planning our house: don’t walk into your house via a utility room (back door) or coat storage (front door). Instead lose a little bit of space by adding a door or closed off storage to conceal the mess. Clever, clever lady! So glad we took her advice. Utility room is often a mess but I can close the door to find everything 🤣

Original poster
Grimshadylady · 27/12/2024 21:57

I guess it depends on where you live. 1930s houses in London don't have much scope for creating mud rooms, etc unless you do major remodelling, including losing some living space to create these additional storage/utility rooms.

OP posts:
AutoP1lot · 27/12/2024 22:39

Grimshadylady · 27/12/2024 21:57

I guess it depends on where you live. 1930s houses in London don't have much scope for creating mud rooms, etc unless you do major remodelling, including losing some living space to create these additional storage/utility rooms.

Yes our house is a London '30's semi. I hate, hate, hate the hall with a passion. I'd love to do a big kitchen extention with utility and toilet but we don't have the funds.

DreamingDaisies · 27/12/2024 22:49

Yes fair, but you will probably have less mud than I do!

We have a two coats rule like many others, off season coats are under beds. I prune / check monthly.

Welly storage can be more of an issue, we have one of those stick holder things that takes 6 pairs which helps but not until they are dry and cleaned (well, mud bashed off a bit).