Add an Entry-Way to your Apartment and Make your Rental Feel Like Home

One big advantage houses have over apartments is the wonderful sense of an entrance they tend to provide.  When you step inside a house you are generally greeted by a receptive and welcoming hall that accommodates your shoes and outerwear, and acts as a welcome decompression chamber from the outside world.  Apartments, more often than not, open directly from the outside world onto one’s living space in an abrupt and jarring manner.  However, apartment living need not do without the soothing middle ground of an entry-way.  Here are a few tips to help you set up your own grand entrance.

The challenge in adding a good entry to your apartment is to maximize the feeling of a separate area, and to minimize the space you take up in your apartment while doing so.  A good first step is to provide a space for coats.  Depending on your space you can either arrange and mount several decorative looking hooks—antique markets sell old hooks, door knobs and other interesting items you can use for this purpose—or mount a proper coat rack.  Some coat racks come with a row of hooks, as well as a series of little cubbies to store hats, gloves, and push button umbrellas—these are great.  Another option is to install and adapt a thin book case.  By removing the shelves and installing some hooks, you can create a wonderful, space-saving wardrobe, complete with room at the bottom for boots and shoes.  A place for coats and outdoor things is a wonderful way of establishing a sense of entrance into your apartment.

After building in some space for you and your guests’ outdoor wear, you will want to add a little piece of you to your entry-way.  An entrance is, in a sense, a first impression of your home, and you want that impression to clearly reflect who you are.  The addition of a few small signature items can really help pull this off.  One or two objects, like a chair, a photograph, an umbrella stand, a painting, or an end- table work wonders in conveying who you are in your entry-way.  These little furnishings transform your door way into a distinct entrance into your own space.  Furthermore, the functionality of these furnishings gives your guests a place to take off their shoes, stow their coats, or throw their keys. 

Whether it is a shoe rack, an umbrella stand, or some photographs or a painting, by adding an entry-way you can better convert your rental into a home.