When you come home for the first time, your idea of the interior begins to take shape in the hallway. Therefore, the functional design of the hallway is one of the advantages for you from picky guests. In general, making the right workable design in the hallway is quite a difficult task. Most often, this room is small in size, deprived of natural light, and a large amount of things and furniture need to be placed there. And the first thing that owners sacrifice when furnishing a hallway is seating.
But in vain! A place for comfortable changing of shoes can be found in any hallway, even the smallest one. Let's look at the possible options.
Is it possible to decorate a hallway seat in a closet?
If there is a closet in the hallway, you can select one of its parts for a seat. The wardrobe can be composite, then it usually consists of a bedside table or an open shoe rack with a small seat, and hangers for outerwear or shelves are added on top.
In the built-in closet, you can also arrange a place for shoes. For example, make a niche in which to put several decorative pillows, and add a hanger or some kind of decor to the wall that remains free.
You can illuminate the niche, adding originality to the hallway.
DIY pouf idea
There are many videos and instructions on the Internet on how to create ottomans for the hallway with your own hands.
One of the most popular ways is to make an ottoman using plastic bottles.
It is necessary to prepare plastic bottles in a volume of two and one and a half liters. If you want to make the ottoman higher, then choose two-liter containers, if lower, then stop at one and a half liter.
Manufacturing stages:
- Arrange the containers so that they touch each other tightly.
- Secure with wide adhesive tape.
- Prepare strong cardboard, soft padding and thread and needle.
- Make a pattern from two cardboard circles of any diameter, and place them above and below the bottles.
- Secure with adhesive tape.
- Cut out two circles and a strip from a soft pad.
- We compare the blanks with the base.
- Sew the top to the bottom.
- We sew or buy a cover made of fabric. The case can be complemented with bright decor: buttons, beads or stripes.
- The budget pouf is ready for use!
Seating space in the hallway in a niche
In a cramped corridor, you can arrange a niche, and in it already provide a place for changing shoes. You can arrange shelves or drawers above your head, hang hooks, and place a narrow shoe rack or bedside table next to the seat for the necessary small items. Thus, almost all the tasks offered to a passerby are solved in a small area.
If there is a window in the corridor, then its window sill can be extended and used as a seat, and under it, if there is no radiator, storage space can also be organized in an open or closed form.
Varieties
A shoe cabinet for the hallway can be selected as a separate element of the interior or as part of a furniture set. Today, manufacturers do not limit the flight of imagination of designers, creating shoe racks that are very diverse in appearance and size. The cost of shoe cabinets varies widely. Let's consider the main types of such furniture for the corridor, which are popular in the domestic market.
| Criteria for dividing into groups | Types of shoe racks | Characteristic |
| Based on placement method | Wall-mounted, floor-mounted | Wall-mounted shoe models allow you to save space in small rooms, but they should be mounted on strong walls that can withstand such a load. Floor products with a seat are more practical and reliable, since in their case there is no need to worry about the instability of the furniture. |
| Based on the design features | Linear, angular | Linear shoes are found on sale more often. They are installed along one of the free walls. Corner models allow you to properly use a free corner, adjusting it for storing shoes. |
| Based on the presence of doors | Closed, open | Closed shoe racks are practical and allow you to hide dust and dirt from your shoes. Open ones look lighter, more attractive, and do not overload the space. |
Corner
Open
Floor
Closed
Separately, we note that cabinets for shoes in the hallway can have ordinary shelves mounted perpendicular to the walls of the product. There are models in stores with oblique shelves that are installed at a certain angle. In addition, modern designers create original models of shoe racks with drawers that look very modern and stylish. But, as practice shows, drawers are not very spacious, since their walls eat up some space, and in a narrow corridor it is very valuable.
Elements of closed shoe racks such as doors differ in their design. They can be folding, swinging, sliding.
The most relevant option for a small hallway is the one with sliding doors, but it is not very convenient during operation. There may not be enough space to install the model, since the doors require a certain amount of space when swinging open. This is the most comfortable option for the user, as it allows you to get shoes out of the cabinet as quickly as possible and without difficulty. There is no need to move apart only one door of the bedside table or dismantle both of them; you just need to open the doors and take out all the contents.
A shoe rack often has a seat, which increases its comfort several times. The seat can be soft or hard. The soft version is more in demand among users, but poor-quality upholstery can quickly become unusable. If the product was purchased without a soft seat, but its relevance still arises, you can make such an element and install it on the tabletop with your own hands.
Hanger-seat for the hallway
If the space is very small, you can opt for a metal hanger with a seat. Due to the free space between the seat and the hanger itself, the design will seem weightless, which gives it an advantage over a full-fledged closet.
And due to the material, it will be quite stable, even when fully loaded. You can provide a shelf for shoes under the seat by wisely choosing the material for it. After all, wooden products are not suitable for wet weather.
Recommendations before purchasing
- Before buying an ottoman for the hallway, check the serviceability of the wheels and opening mechanisms (if any).
- Check the environmental friendliness and safety of manufacturing materials.
- Take accurate measurements of the hallway before purchasing furniture.
- Follow the same style when choosing an ottoman.
- Check the pouf for defects.
It is necessary to take a responsible approach to choosing an ottoman so that it pleases the eye and serves for a long time. Follow our recommendations and happy shopping!
Hallway cabinet with built-in seat
The designer came up with an option for seating, how to combine it with a bedside table. There are plenty of options to choose from.
The seat can be located in the middle or on the side; the cabinet can have several small drawers or hinged drawers, or can only be used as a table.
Such a piece of furniture can be called multifunctional, and it takes up less space if you install a separate cabinet and a separate seat.
Manufacturing materials
Today, the shoe cabinet has become entrenched in the minds of buyers as a convenient, practical element for the entrance area. It is very often purchased for city apartments and country cottages of various designs.
The materials from which such furniture is made these days are varied, differing in different operational parameters, cost, and availability. All of them are certainly moisture resistant, practical, durable, and attractive in appearance.
The main ones are described below:
- natural wood - wooden cabinets are very beautiful, environmentally friendly, and durable. They look very natural and are perfect for classic interiors and spacious rooms. In most cases, such furniture is large and takes up a lot of space. Cabinets of this type are expensive and require certain skills to assemble with other interior items of the hallway with your own hands;
- wood panels - plywood, chipboard, MDF. They are used more and more often for the manufacture of bedside tables in the hallway, as they are characterized by affordable cost, original design, practicality, and wear resistance. Often, to save money, the frame of the cabinet is made of plywood or chipboard, and the doors are made of MDF boards. The latter allow the designer to create an original interior in a narrow space, as they are very diverse in color and texture;
- plastic - a plastic shoe rack is a budget option that is more suitable for a country house. The aesthetics of plastic are not very high, although the color options are quite varied. If treated with care, such a piece of furniture will last for quite a long time, but scratches and chips that appear on it will be clearly noticeable;
- metal - a metal shoe rack often has a very impressive weight, so such interior items are made to have an open, airy appearance. Such pieces of furniture are characterized by high resistance to impact, durability, but also high cost. However, they are more relevant for large-area entrance groups of country cottages, where there is quite a lot of space. In addition, they are not suitable for every design style. But rather for interiors in high-tech or loft style.
Wooden
Metal
Chipboard
MDF
You can also often find combined shoe racks in furniture stores made from several materials at once. For example, wood + metal, glass + wood and the like. To decorate the facades of shoe storage cabinets, all kinds of rhinestones, decorative overlays, and patterns are often used. Today, metal, glass, plastic, and rarely natural wood are mainly used for the manufacture of furniture fittings.
Bench in the hallway
A simple wooden bench can also be a seating option in the hallway. This is the most functional item to use as a seat. You can choose the right size and shade, order a bench with or without a back.
Such an item can easily fit into any existing design style. You can leave it in its original form or add elements in the form of pillows or a blanket, adding comfort.
Arranging a seat in the hallway using a bench with storage drawers
An interesting design option for seating is a regular bench with storage drawers underneath. The highlight is the boxes, which can be replaced with other objects in which you can put something: baskets, buckets, boxes.
The seat can also be changed to your liking and adjusted to your own interior: any length, color and design. The option of a seat that is wide at one end and gradually narrows towards the other looks original.
Upholstered furniture in the hallway
For a large hall in the house, you can choose a sofa or armchair as seating.
If you often have several people take off their shoes, this will make the process of changing clothes much easier for everyone. You can use a whole soft set if space allows.
And choose one of the items in a style that stands out from the main one to add zest to the interior.
But it is also necessary to choose the right material for upholstery, remembering that dirty and wet clothes and shoes are changed here.
Tips for choosing an ottoman
- Choose a pouf in accordance with the dimensions, interior of the room and your own taste preferences.
- Consider the flooring of the room. For example, laminate does not accept heavy models, as it will quickly lose its appearance under load.
- Evaluate the integrity of the hallway style. The pouf should be the “cherry on the cake”, but not the “highlight of the program”.
- Evaluate not only the cladding material, but also the quality of the seams and decorative fastenings.
Chair or stool in the hallway
For a small hallway, a small stool is suitable as a seating area.
If the size of the room allows, you can use a chair, the back of which will also have a functional use as a hanger for bags or packages.
The chair can also be reclining to save more space.
