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Hall closet organization ideas


17 Hall Closet Organization Ideas

Style It Pretty Home

Do you know what's inside your hall closet? Hiding inside are probably a few old coats, some shoes, a rusty umbrella, and maybe even your vacuum, crammed into a narrow corner. Either way, it's probably a mess.

Don't stress—we put together 17 hall closet organization ideas that will help get your coat closet back in tip-top shape, whether you use it for storing winter gear, Windex, or whatever else needs to be hidden away.

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Breathing Room Organization and Styling

Hall closets are often narrow, cramped, and tiny. So, it's important to squeeze as much into the space as you can.

One way to do this is to utilize your closet's door. Over-the-door storage racks and hooks can be a lifesaver when it comes to finding a spot for extra coats, bags, or, as in the case of this closet, gift-wrapping supplies.

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Neat Method

Not every home has a hall closet, but these small spaces, despite how unorganized and chaotic they may be, are invaluable. If you're missing one, consider adding a wardrobe to your space instead.

A wardrobe can add the storage you need without the hassle of a renovation. It can be painted to match the style of the rest of your home, or it can be up-cycled to give it some extra flair.

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Mika Perry

A hall closet, especially if it's near your entryway, can often be a catch-all for all kinds of things, from keys to mail to extra face masks. Keep the clutter from piling up by utilizing small labeled storage bins.

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Casa Watkins Living

Your hall closet doesn't need to be boring or basic. With a few easy additions, your closet can reflect your favorite style choices in the rest of your home, and it can be personalized with fun mementos.

A small patterned rug can keep the floor clean while adding a pop of color. Wooden hangers provide an elegant touch, while hanging photo frames remind you of your favorite memories.

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A Fresh Space

Easy-to-find and affordable plastic shoe boxes save the day when it comes to finding exactly what you need in your hall closet. With the help of a label-maker and an afternoon, you can have a functional and organized hall closet.

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Breathing Room Organization and Style

Now is the time to put your basket collection to work. C'mon, we all have one—you can only resist buying so many beautiful baskets.

Bring out the fabric bins too: there's no reason your storage containers need to be boring. For an extra put-together look, try to coordinate the bins.

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Neat Method

If you live in a warmer climate or have another space for winter coats and shoes, your hall closet can be a helpful organizational space for other items too: like cleaning supplies. Small bins with handles can hold all the cleaning supplies needed for a room, minimizing the search for that one bottle of Windex you swore you left in the bathroom.

Your hall closet can also hold pet supplies, sports gear, or anything else you need to store. Remember: it's your home, and only you can decide what the purpose of each space is.

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Breathing Room Organization and Style

Your hall closet will look better and will function better if you organize like items together. There's a pleasing visual effect that happens when you group all the toilet paper, winter coats, or rain boots together.

Additionally, it will be so much easier to grab what you need when similar things are kept together. You'll be able to reach for that shelf full of paper towels with just a cursory glance.

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Breathing Room Organization and Style

Sometimes, your hall closet's single shelf and curtain rod just won't cut it. When that happens, it's time to break out the power tools and add a few shelves.

Adding shelves allows for easier storage of smaller, compact items like books, cleaning supplies, and whatever other knick-knacks you need to store away.

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Casa Watkins Living

There's no rule that says your hall closet door must remain the same builder-basic shade of dull white. Instead, mix it up a bit with some one-of-a-kind color.

Bright and brilliant color is an easy way to draw eyes to an oft-forgotten space, and if your hall closet is in your entryway, a colorful door is an exciting way to welcome guests into your home.

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Breathing Room Organization and Style

There's no need to fit everything you possibly can in your hall closet. Why? Your stuff will get lost, and your space will stress you out. Instead, go for the pared-down approach.

Keep only what is seasonally needed in your hall closet—don't let your winter parka take up precious space come mid-July. Instead, go through seasonal declutters for relaxing and functional space.

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Neat Method

If you've been blessed with 10+ feet-tall ceilings, don't waste that precious storage space. Take your hall closet beyond a shelf and a clothing rod by adding on extra-high shelves.

Of course, these shelves will probably require a step-stool to access them, so only put things on them that you don't need to access often, like out-of-season gear and clothing.

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Finding Lovely

If your closet is tight, don't fret. Instead, look for storage solutions that will make the most of your teeny-tiny space. Tall and skinny bins or baskets can maximize height while minimizing wasted space.

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Pure Salt Interiors, Photography by Vanessa Lentine

For a custom hall closet look, build a bench. A small bench provides the perfect place to put on and take off shoes, and it creates a cozy nook in an oft-forgotten space. For bonus points, use the space under the bench for storage. A few baskets will do the job nicely, as will some drawers.

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Neat Method

If you're in the middle of a mudroom reno, consider adding in some built-in hall-closet-style storage. Built-ins can be customized to fit your needs, and they can often seamlessly match the style of the rest of your home. Use baskets and bins to store what you need, and utilize shoe cabinets to hide away dirt and mud.

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Style It Pretty Home

If your hall closet holds your prettiest linens and your favorite baskets that you can't bear to hide away, show them off. Remove your hall closet door for a bold look and call it the open shelving of the hallway. As a bonus, an exposed hall closet will force you to keep the space organized, as it will be open for all to see.

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Neat Method

For a perfectly put-together look, consider color-matching the contents of your hall closet. This is easiest to do when you're storing linens or matching bins, but it can be done with coats and shoes, too.

For coats and shoes, arrange items by color for a fun and unique color-gradient look. Because nothing says rainy-day cheer like a rainbow of outerwear.

This Organizing Hack Helped Me Finally Appreciate My Narrow Closets

17 Brilliant Tips & Hacks

Take your hall closet from crammed to decluttered with these hall closet organization ideas. They are simple, cheap and creative. You’ll be saying “Why didn’t I think of that?”

What’s in your hall closet? Can you accurately answer this question? Really?

Traditionally, the closet in the front hall was intended solely as a place for coats, jackets and other weather-related items. However, times have changed.

Today, the hall closets in many homes and apartments are filled with an astonishing number of things not even remotely related to coats, hats, or umbrellas. Sporting goods, ironing boards, vacuum cleaners, last year’s Christmas decorations, a dozen spare extension cords–the list goes on and on. If this describes your hall closet, you might be searching for the best way to organize this small, yet crucial space in your home. Wouldn’t you love to get organized and reduce the clutter?

Today we’re sharing helpful hall closet organization ideas for all kinds of closets–whether you’re storing linens, utility items, and cleaners or traditional coats and outerwear. Let these 17 closet before-and-afters motivate you to declutter and straighten up your hall closet space. 

Hall Closet Organization Ideas to Save Space (and Your Sanity)

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What Should Be Stored In A Hall Closet?

It may seem like a no-brainer, but the very first step in organizing your hall closet is simply asking yourself: What should I store in my hallway closet?

It’s true that you can store anything you need to in your hall closet, from outerwear and bags to shoes and extra cleaning supplies. But this question is helpful to consider before you head off to the store to purchase new closet organization shelves, invest in an organization system, or even bust out your DIY tools, because it can be helpful to pare down what you really need to store in your small hall closet. Maybe some of your shoes can be moved into the garage, or maybe you have enough basement storage to store winter coats, hats, and scarves during the warmer months. 

What you store in your hallway closet is ultimately up to you, but ensuring your closet isn’t stuffed to the brim with unnecessary items will help make your life easier when it comes time to implement these organization tips.

The Coat Closet

The coat closet always seems to be an overstuffed mess. Organizing shoes, coats, bags, hats and mittens will help ease the winter morning routine.

1. Hook it up.

A coat closet stuffed full of hangers is always a mess. Those coats never seem to stay put! Swap out a closet rod for a hook hanging system. These coat closets look so much more neat and functional. Plus, kids and adults are more likely to hang their coats on a hook than a hanger.

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After:

Via Holly B Baking

This version from The Real Housewives of Riverton accommodates everyone in the house, big and small.

2. Pitch the piles.

Getting your stuff off the floor instantly eliminates visual clutter. On the other hand, shoes thrown at the bottom of a closet create an instant mess.

Try a peg wall for shoe storage. Simplify the morning routine by making sure shoes are right next to their partners and easy to grab. This solution from Saw Dust Girl keeps all footwear in its place.

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If you aren’t much of a handy DIYer, add shoe bins to keep kids’ kicks in order. Gina at Camp Clean used clear plastic drawer storage and personalized each drawer with a photo. That’s certainly an easy and adorable shoe organization method.

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Do you need some ways to store those winter boots? Here are three simple ways to store boots and save some space.

3. Use every available inch.

Adding behind the door storage adds to your closet’s square footage. Placing bins, baskets or even just simply a hanging shoe rack will give alternative storage space for smaller items.

Chelsea from Two Twenty One added storage to a blank space in her closet by hanging rods with command hooks to the inside of the closet door.

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Angela over at blue i style keeps hats and mittens properly placed with an over the door shoe rack.

The combination of baskets and hooks on the door of this closet by Made 2 Make is so functional. This simple addition to her coat closet keeps mail out of the way but also in plain sight.

4. Add shelves wherever you can.

Create more spaces for bins and shoes by adding shelves and cubicles where there would normally be wasted space. Look under or above the space where you hang coats for space for a new shelf.

This coat closet makeover from Green Street has extra storage at the top and bottom of a closet, creating a more functional place to store shoes and other items.

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The Utility Closet

There’s nothing like having to dig out cleaning supplies from an overstuffed closet to make you lose all motivation for cleaning before you even begin. If your hall closet doubles as a utility closet, we feel for you. Here are some tips for keeping this shared closet orderly and your supplies right at your fingertips.

1. Pretty up a pegboard.

Placing all your cleaning utensils on a pegboard keeps things off the floor and easy to spot when you need them. Check out this utility closet Missy put together on her blog Lookie What I Did. Such an attractive method to organize her tools.

2. When in doubt, use a basket.

Corral all cleaning supplies into one basket for an easy grab-and-go solution. These designated, room by room cleaning baskets from Home Made by Carmona’s hall closet house specific cleaning items for certain rooms or areas of the home. You can grab and go to the room armed with all the utensils you need to specifically clean bedrooms, bathrooms or your kitchen. Ursula suggested hanging them from a tension rod with hooks. She has even tucked a cleaning checklist in each basket.

Want to include cleaning checklists in your hall closet baskets? Here are some printable checklists to get you started: Daily, Weekly and Monthly Cleaning Checklists for your Whole Home

Via Revamp Homegoods

3. Add a tension rod to hang brooms, mops and dusters.

Keep your cleaning supplies from falling all over the place by keeping them up in a handy spot.  Hooks on the back of a door or a tension rod with hooks is a successful storage solution. When in doubt, adding hooks on the back of a door is space saving.

Via Sew Many Ways

4. Think outside of the box.

Organization is all about working with what you have to find creative solutions that work for your specific needs. This shoe rack turned into a paper towel holder has your paper towels ready to clean up spills in a jiffy. Maybe not the most necessary organization idea for you, but it is certainly creative!

The Linen Closet

If your hall closet is home to linens, we have some ideas for you, too. Linen closets are usually a small space in every house, so it becomes very easy to just stuff in sheets and towels and forget about it. Once that door closes, the mess is out of sight and out of mind–until you have to find what you’re looking for the next time you go in there.

Having items in bins and baskets creates a more organized space and a linen closet where anyone can put away linens easily. Here are a few linen closet organization ideas to try.

1. Roll instead of fold.

In a home with children, and even for some adults, folding towels and fitted sheets into the perfect square is a chore in itself. So why not roll your linens? Just as it does in a suitcase, the rolling method creates more space and you do not have to worry about an imperfect fold. Carmel from Our Fifth House rolls fitted and flat sheets and sticks them into fabric bins.

Via Simply Organized

2. Did we mention baskets?

Whether you roll or fold your linens to organize them, grouping similar items in baskets will add extra space to every shelf in your closet. Try placing small items in a basket or an under shelf crate to maximize your shelf area and keep you organized.

3. Invest in item-specific organizers.

Add space for unique and hard-to-organize items in your hall closet by seeking out specific organizers sold online or at a home goods store. For example, you’ll never misplace your gift wrapping supplies again after buying one of these mounted wrapping paper caddies.

Via Interior Candy

Bonus: On the topic of gift wrapping, here gift bags are organized by being suspended under a wire rack with hooks. If you have wire shelving in your hall closet, have you ever thought to hang hooks from the bottom for extra storage? Inventive!

Via The Old Park Homestead

4. Divide and conquer.

Tricia and Jason at Simplicity in the South use dividers in their linen closet to keep sheets organized and in place. Dividers like this would also be perfect for towels, too. A stack won’t fall out of place when a divider has got its back.

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Read Also: 8 Linen Closet Storage Hacks to Help You Stay Organized

How to Organize Your Multi-Purpose Hall Closet

What happens when you live in a small space and only have one closet that has to store everything? If you live in a home where your hall closet is a small, but mighty multipurpose storage space, here are some solutions from my own closet makeover to keep everything organized and easy to find.

1. Unify the space with a color theme.

Here is my family’s hall closet. It serves as extra pantry space, the pet supply area, a linen closet, a utility closet, and a game storage space. As you can see, the before was a mess of everything all over the place.

Creating a color scheme sounds silly, but here is my “after.” Since this closet is a drop zone for so many different items, creating a unified color scheme helps it look less cluttered. Do you agree?

I rolled linens into attractive baskets, placed similar pantry items into cute bins, and organized all of the paper products together. This color-coded bin method isn’t only more efficient, but it also simply looks like the closet is well organized and helps my family find what they are looking for.

2. Create zones.

I dedicated zones in my hall closet–basically corners and shelves–to a certain purpose. I now have a game/kids area, a pantry space, a linen area, and a space for cleaners. This closet organization hack helps me find what I need quickly because I know what section of my multi–purpose closet to go to when looking for a specific item.

3. Eliminate the extra.

Is there anything in your closet that can be consolidated or gotten rid of completely? As we mentioned earlier, try to rid yourself of unnecessary items, bulky boxes, or storage containers that take up too much room during the closet organization process. For example, removing the games from their boxes added more shelf space in my closet. Having them stored in smaller containers makes them easier to pull out and put away, and it also rids the closet of a lot of extra clutter and chaos.

This method of eliminating the excess in your hall closet also extends to items like batteries and paper products. Why keep the bulky and oddly shaped battery packaging when I can fit the batteries into a concise bin that matches the rest of my closet? Changes like this help the space look much more organized.

Need some guidance on getting rid of unnecessary items? Our article on The Konmari Closet Method is a great place to get started.

4. Add labels!

There’s nothing worse than taking the time to purge and organize a closet space if your family is just going to destroy it again after a week or so of use. Adding some easy-to-make labels can keep your sanity and your family members in the loop once you’ve finished organizing your hall closet. If you can’t see what is in the basket or bin, label it. This helps you find what you need quickly and also helps other members of your household keep the closet as orderly as they found it.

Are you organizing pantry items in your closet? Get free pantry labels here.

5. Organize board games with office supplies.

Instead of only looking for bins and baskets in the organization area of the store, a great organizational tip is to search in office supply section or the bathroom storage aisle, too. The perfect resolution for an organization problem may be where you normally wouldn’t look. For example, these document folders ended up being the best storage solution for board games and puzzles.

Small office storage bins keep tiny pieces within reach while these mini file folders were practically made for Monopoly money.

Hall Closet Organization Systems to Keep Stress at Bay

An organized hall closet can be the first step to keeping the rest of your home in order. When you have an orderly and attractive storage space that organizes everything you need, it may inspire you to keep up with your scheduled chores, and get other family members inspired to declutter, too–making it a win-win all around.

All organized? The next step is maintaining your new organizational system. Check out our article on How to Clean a Closet and KEEP It Organized for some helpful tips. 

This post was first published on 8/9/2017, was revised on 4/30/2020, and was updated on 9/23/2022 to provide new information.

8 best tips - INMYROOM

Small apartment

Why a closed closet is better than open shelves, where to hide the necessary little things and how to organize the storage of shoes - designers revealed the secrets of competent hallway arrangement

Even a compact hallway can create a pleasant first impression of the whole house. On one condition - if it will be in order. Tips from the Uyutnaya kvartira design studio will help you turn a corridor into a functional place to store clothes, shoes, and useful little things. Read and take advantage!

The creative life of the design studio "Uyutnaya kvartira" began in March 2003. Over the years, the studio's specialists have implemented several hundred different design projects throughout Russia and abroad.

1. Choose closed wardrobes

In a small hallway for storing clothes, provide a closed wardrobe or a built-in wardrobe with mirrored doors - this way you will visually expand the space. But open shelves and mezzanines would be inappropriate: storing things on them looks untidy - the room becomes even cramped than it really is.

2. Opt for a rack with drawers

A more budget-friendly solution is a rack with spacious drawers inside. Choose models with a bright design - instead of laconic boxes, use colored plastic containers or cozy wicker boxes. So you save space and organize additional storage space for hats, scarves and gloves.

3. Provide clothes hooks at the entrance

A bulky closet in the hallway can also be easily replaced with compact and practical hooks. This option is especially relevant if there are children at home. And your guests or household members will not have to wait for you to bring coat hangers - just reach out and hang your outerwear yourself. Bags and packages can also be conveniently placed here.

4. Get wall or floor hangers

Floor and wall hangers are suitable for square hallways instead of closed cabinets. So you free up space and get enough space for seasonal outerwear. Instead of the classic wall construction, you can install several hooks at different levels. So you avoid the traditional problem - a visual "lump" of clothes on the wall.

5. Install shelves or cabinets for accessories

Accessories in the form of hats or gloves, folders and bags also require their own space in the hallway. You need to free your hands at least in order to take off your street shoes. Therefore, key holders, decorative shelves and cabinets at the entrance are not only decoration of the hallway, but also a useful, functional purchase.

6. Organize storage space for small items

For small items and accessories, small drawers, hanging boxes or trunks in a chest of drawers are suitable. Also, the "organizers" can easily hide on the inside of the cabinet door. A small tray or a shallow vase on the very cabinet where you leave your bag and gloves can also become a hiding place for small things.

7. Consider a “shoe zone”

In order not to carry street dust and dirt around the apartment, organize something like a “shoe zone” in the hallway. Alternatively, place a separate rug at the entrance to accommodate shoes or boots. Be sure to think over the place where you put the basket for guest slippers - your loved ones will certainly appreciate your care!

8. Find a place for umbrellas

Even in a small hallway there is a place for a narrow and high basket for umbrellas. In our country, the weather does not indulge in constancy, so the umbrella turns out to be a faithful companion for at least six months of the year. Therefore, it is worth providing a special place for it, especially since designers offer interesting solutions for every taste.

25 good examples — INMYROOM

Guide

Wardrobes, chests of drawers, hangers and drawers – some people already have a favorite way of storing in the hallway, while others are just looking for fresh ideas. Sharing current options from Russian designers

The hallway can be narrow or wide, roomy or uncomfortable: in any case, it should have storage space. We made a selection of ideas from Russian designers. Hanger on the wall, chest of drawers or several storage options together - the choice is yours.

1. Mirror cabinet

The good old mirror wardrobe does not lose ground: it saves space and makes the space wider and brighter. And in general, the mirror in the hallway is the place. By the way, it is not necessary to make cabinet doors completely mirrored: combine the mirror with wood, plastic, opaque glass.

And for those who can't fit a large closet in the corridor, a mini-locker with a mirrored door is suitable: it will be convenient to store small things, cosmetics and some clothes in this.

Design: Co:Interior

Design: Tatyana Kuptsova

Design: Zhenya Zhdanova

Design: Anna Ilyina, Anton Ramazanov, A-Remstroy

Design: Olga Ulyanova, Yury Gritsenko, design organization "Unicum"

2. Built-in wardrobe

Built-in wardrobes with hinged doors will suit owners of spacious hallways, conservators and lovers of eco-style. Such a cabinet will successfully fit even into a narrow niche, which is beyond the power of a wardrobe, and its appearance can fully match the interior of the hallway.

By the way, cabinet shutter doors are gaining more and more popularity: they are responsible for ventilation and look great thanks to their unusual design.

Design: Margarita Repina, OM Design

Design: Margarita Melnikova, Tatyana Nikitina, Marion Studio

Design: Anna Serskova, YOH architects

Design: Irina Legotkina, Boris Komarovsky, Timur Abdrakhmanov, Studio 0. 03

Design: Lyudmila Krishtaleva

3. Spacious dresser or narrow shoe rack

If there is no place for a closet in your hallway, a chest of drawers can live there. Wide with drawers is suitable for clothes, umbrellas and even documents, but, like a closet, it will require space. But a narrow and high chest of drawers for shoes can be placed even outside the front door, and more than one pair will fit in it.

Design: Nadia Zotova, Enjoy Home bureau

Design and photo: apartment owner Alexei Gurkin

Design: Yulia Chernova

Design: Nadia Zotova, Enjoy Home

Design: Maria Makhmudova

4. Console

The console is good because it will fit even 20 extra centimeters along the wall. It is convenient to use for storing keys, money and cosmetics. In this case, a mirror in a pair of consoles will come in handy. And although you can’t call a roomy console, its advantage is in design: original models will decorate your interior.

Design: Natalia Sorokina

Design: Valeria Stennikova, Insomnia studio

Design: ID project studio

Design: Evgenia Matveenko, architectural bureau FlatsDesign

5. Clothes hangers

An open hanger is convenient because it takes up minimal space with great functionality. There are also models with hidden cabinets where you can store jewelry or money.

The main advantage of the floor hanger is that it can be moved as needed or removed from the hallway for a while. Everything is easy to put on and take off.

Design: Design Bureau 21

Design: Yulia Chernova

Design: GM-Interior Studio

Design: Anastasia Tuganova, Studio 25

Design: Denew Interior Studio

And don't forget storage accessories: modern organizers make any closet or chest of drawers more spacious, and hooks easily fit into a narrow or small hallway and successfully solve the storage issue.

* On the cover: project " studio 3.

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