How to survive in an apartment with a tiny or non-existent hallway

Although the hallway is considered a non-residential space, it still plays a very important role in the house. It’s especially sad when the front door leads directly to the living room, and sometimes even to the kitchen. After all, whatever one may say, in any apartment there should be a place where a person undresses, takes off his shoes, puts down a wet umbrella, and just gets ready before going out. Therefore, it is extremely important to properly arrange such a space, even if your home has a very tiny hallway or no hallway at all.

In addition, we should not forget that this small piece of reclaimed territory performs another important function: here we leave dirty shoes and prevent germs and bacteria from entering our living rooms. Let's see how you can make a small hallway functional, comfortable and pleasant in every sense.

Determine the minimum required

In fact, all you need in the hallway is a spacious closet in which you can put clothes, shoes, and other things. When there is such an opportunity - to build in at least small furniture - feel free to use it. If not, you will have to find at least some way to find comfortable furniture.

Regardless of the size of the entrance area, you need to think about the optimal arrangement of structures that will help relieve the rest of the space:

• a hanger rack for basic items - ideal if up to 2 people live in the house;
• a small shelf for shoes - will fit even in a tiny hallway (for dirty shoes - an excellent solution);
• compact box for accessories;
• key holder for small items - there are hanging products that are equipped not only with hooks, but also with small shelves for other small items;
• an ottoman, an armchair or a bench - of course, this is the ultimate dream for tiny hallways, but if there is an opportunity, be sure to use it! (if you take a pouf with a folding seat, then you can put other strategically important things there: umbrellas, gloves, hats and scarves, shoe polish, etc., which are usually found in this area).

Set boundaries

Let's say you open the door and immediately find yourself in the living room (this layout is often found in new buildings). In this case, it is only permissible to delimit the space of the hallway. You can do this in several ways:

1. Place a door mat. Better - with rough rubber bristles. This simple item is an indispensable attribute of any hallway, especially in the autumn and winter seasons. To clearly define the boundaries of the “dirty zone”, choose a larger rug, and do not waste time on small items. Sometimes you look: someone comes and stands at the door - he’s afraid of bringing dirt into the house. When purchasing, visually assess the size of the mat: to make it comfortable for everyone to take off their shoes, it should be enough for a couple of steps.
2. In apartments where, in principle, there is no hallway, you can limit the space with a glass or plastic partition. Glass also looks very impressive if you choose a matte surface or stained glass.Such zoning can be done either at full height or at half height - it all depends on the preferences of the apartment owner. You can also install an ordinary nice screen, sliding doors or any other structures that clearly mark the boundaries of the hallway and other rooms.

Using the cabinet as an additional surface

Let's say you managed to fit a closet into a small hallway (albeit not as large as you would like). But now another problem arises: where to hang wet clothes? Okay, on the hanger. And where to put it if there is absolutely no room. Then a slightly non-standard method will come to the rescue: we mount small hooks on the closet door and use them as additional hangers. You can also hang a wet umbrella here to dry, a scarf, a bag or other things for temporary storage.

Deciding where to put the shoes

Our climate is so harsh that sometimes, coming from the street, you might think that we were kneading mud with our shoes. And often it has such a terrible appearance that you can’t immediately hide it in the closet. Of course, the ideal option is to wash it immediately, but let's be realistic - rarely does anyone do it right away. So she remains standing at the door on the rug. Now imagine that two adults and a child live in the house - the floor immediately becomes cluttered with shoes and boots and the room looks even more tiny and, moreover, untidy.

Fighting this natural state of affairs is often useless, and sometimes downright lazy! But the situation can be corrected by purchasing a special tray for dirty shoes. In appearance, this is an ordinary product, only it has small sides and is often made of rubber.Such a pallet will be an excellent solution in slushy and rainy weather - we put dirty shoes there and enjoy the decluttered space.

In addition, you can put a wet umbrella in such trays. And the tray is quite easy and quick to clean.

Accessories also require attention

In some families, scarves, hats, caps, umbrellas, bags and other accessories take up more space than outerwear and shoes. And sometimes they are the ones who clutter up an already small space. Therefore, finding a storage place for them is a strategically important task. There is a way out - and not even just one. You can place hanging pockets and additional hooks.

Important little things - and we will find a place for them!

In this case, everything is extremely simple - for small things you can hang a shelf that takes up minimal space. It is convenient to put keys, receipts, important checks, a comb, cream and shoehorn and other small things there.

With a tiny hallway, it is very important to use every millimeter of space. For bags there is a hook on the wall at the entrance, for hats there is a basket above the intercom, for keys there is a special small key holder. Of course, all these methods will not make the “dirty area” more spacious and spacious, but they will significantly relieve the pressure on a small room.