Hello everyone!

This is the second blog in a series that I started two weeks ago. I wanted to focus on what it was like living in a loft with children. If you missed the first post, just click here and you can get caught up. Today I wanted to focus on how we tackled the issue with the foyer. I know that this is an issue no matter what kind of place you live in and it is a difficult one to solve….especially with children. Below is a picture of what I have done with the shoes and coats.

To the right is our front door from the hallway and to the left is our slider door to our little porch and courtyard. The coat hanger on the brick wall was already there and I love it. At first I thought it was too high but I really like the height now that I have the bench below for putting on shoes.

The height is also great because the space allowed for me to put up  shelves where it is possible to put wet/dirty shoes for drying and storage. I got the metal shelves at IKEA along with the rug underneath. The bench was an amazing find through craigslist. The white bin is for Annick’s shoes and the brown is for hats, umbrellas, balls and other random stuff that we use. The antique bucket was a find at a yard sale and it is where I keep sunblock, my gardening gloves and other outdoor stuff.

On the wall immediately to the left of the door I decided to put some hooks in for our 2 year old daughter Annick. Since she can’t reach the other coat rack, I figured this would be a great place for her things, that way she can hang up her coat herself. I keep her backpack and other things here for when we are going out.

To the right of the door I have a small table that I keep a dish that we can throw keys in, change or whatever.

We also have a place for our keys above the table on the wall but when we have guests I always put keys in this dish just so they are in an easy accessible place. The table is also there for sunglasses and other small valuables. I keep a pad and a cup full of pens/pencils for notes and lists for running errands. Our door is metal so as you can see we put a lot of magnets there and it actually is a great way to put up pictures and also reminders so they can be seen before going out the door.

I do like the chaotic feel of front foyer but it is still somewhat organized. The shelves are a great addition. They were made by my husband out of old palettes. I keep my cookbooks, some vases and other odds and ends like candle holders. We don’t have a lot of useful wall space because of all the brick so I try to use what we have with as much shelving as possible.

So there you have it. I think my favorite part of the space is my bench for putting on shoes. It is so unique and such a great find ($15)! I also really like how it turned out because it forces me (us) to be aware of how we put away our things. It can get pretty messy very fast and it is all right there for all to see so it forces me to tidy up pretty often but it is designed to be simple and easy. We have always taken our shoes off when we come into our house so now we have a clear place to put our things. We have even gotten our 2 year old into the habit and she is happy to put her things away. She has her own place for her things that makes her feel pretty special. The space has the personal touch with all the pictures but also very functional.

What do you all think? Can you think have any improvements? Let me know how you tackle your entrance way?

Stay tuned for the next post in “loft living”. I will post another one in a week or two. Thanks!