It’s funny how stepping onto your home entryway has become such an important act in 2020.
Last year, I and many other interior designers, decorators, and home bloggers were just mostly concerned about making our and your entryways pretty.
Now that we’re all in the middle of a full-blown pandemic, how you fix up your home’s entryway has become such an important factor in keeping yourself and your loved ones safe and healthy.
Primed-for-safety entryways
While I’m not suggesting that you soup up your home entry with all the latest disinfecting accessories (no, you’re not required to buy that all-in-one disinfectant mat, body-temp reader, and foot-pedal-activated alcohol dispenser gizmo—unless you live in a commercial store and get heavy foot traffic throughout the day), there are some things that would be incredibly beneficial for you to have.
This post lists down all the things that every home entryway needs, whether you live in a big house with a large yard, or a tight condo with a shared hallway. I’ve listed down suppliers and retailers too that sell these items. This way, you can check them out yourself, or you can find similar items that fall within your budget.
And while I do think that, at this very unique time in our lives, function should precede form, it doesn’t hurt if we still make our entryways look pretty, even with all the added stuff. You still want your home to bring a smile to your face after that hurried trip to the grocery, right?
So here it is: essential items your home entryway should have in 2020—and beyond.
Home entryway basics: The usual suspects
These first few items include all the basics that have always been part of entryway must-have lists. Let’s start with the biggest piece:
A container where you can park your shoes.
Taking off our shoes before entering the house is something that my family and I have been practicing way before COVID-19 happened. It just didn’t feel right to bring in shoes that have stepped on way dirtier surfaces into our home.
To be honest, there really is no definitive study that says the novel coronavirus can be brought into your home through your shoes (so far, only one study from China has shown that the soles of shoes belonging to medical staff tested positive for the existence of the virus). Heck, even the World Health Organization goes so far as to say, “the likelihood of COVID-19 being spread on shoes and infecting individuals is very low.”
But it just makes common sense to park your shoes before or upon entering your home. You won’t just possibly find viruses on it, but also a plethora of other germs and bacteria that could make you sick. Including fecal matter.
Yes. I do mean poop. 🤢 🤢 🤢
For this purpose, I suggest having a shoe cabinet or a shoe rack in your entryway. A shoe cabinet is great because it can doubly serve as your entryway console.
If you have the space, look for shoe cabinets that also have drawers, so that they can be used to store other home entryway essentials. The shoe cabinets in the photo above are from Dimensione.
Otherwise, just having slim shoe cabinets is a great addition to your entryway, so you keep it clutter-free. Seeing shoes scattered inside your door isn’t exactly a welcoming sight.
Another alternative is having a shoe rack in place of a shoe cabinet beside your door. Simply organizing your shoes so they’re not all spread out on the floor is already an improvement, vs. that time when you entered and almost fell over all the shoes and slippers littering your entry.
This simple, Japandi-inspired wooden shoe rack is great with any home style, and even in the tightest of condos.
A tray or basket to organize essentials
Having a tray or a basket on your entryway console keeps your entryway essentials from moving around on the surface, which lends to the cluttered and disorganized feel.
A mirror with this extra feature
A plain and simple mirror for the entryway is always nice, but let’s take it up a notch by using a mirror with a built-in shelf.
This item is especially useful in tight condo entryways, where putting a table or console is not an option. This way, you have a surface to place your spray jar of disinfectant, and other small items, like a portable UV sanitizer.
The #NewNormal essentials for your entryway
Now let’s get to the additional “features” your entryway must have in 2020—and beyond.
A disinfectant mat to wipe your shoes in
If your condo allows it, have a complete tray and mat set right in front of your door to give you more peace of mind before bringing in germs into your home.
A pump or spray jar for hand sanitizer
We’ve made it a habit to always have a hand sanitizer handy in our bags whenever we head out of the house.
But sometimes, we forget. Or, we leave it in the car. Or, it’s deep inside your bag, and your hands are full with grocery bags.
A pump jar or spray bottle right next to the door will be your best friend in your entryway.
You can also put a spray bottle of your preferred disinfectant—70% ethyl alcohol, or an organic cleaning solution.
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A box for your face masks
Whether using disposable or reusable face masks (always best to go for the latter though!), have a box ready near your entry so that you can just grab and go.
Hooks for hanging reusable masks
Have the option of having hooks in your entryway, so that you can hang up your reusable face masks. Even just basic adhesive-strip hooks like 3M Command will go a long way.
Additional germ protection for yourself and your things
One thing I’m thankful for that we live in a time where technology is at our disposal is that fact that things like UV sanitizers have been invented—and are commonplace. Which means they’re so affordable now (and just the right size!) than they were a decade ago!
Or how about these all-in-one entryway solutions?
An all-in-one entryway furniture piece like the rack below gives you shoe storage and hooks for hanging hats, face shields, and tote bags in one place.
If you have a small condo or studio unit and can’t accommodate an all-in-one unit like the one above, then you can opt for something wall-hung.
Prep your home’s entryway for germ- and virus-free living
It goes without saying that now is the time we change the way we fix up our entryways, thanks to the #NewNormal we all have to grow accustomed to.
With just a few additions, this can be done.
I hope this post was useful to you in any way. If you need pro advice on how to do this, or how to style other areas in your home, I’m just an online consult away.
You can also sign up for my mailing list and expect to receive useful—and free!—homestyling advice from me every month, sent straight to your inbox.
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