By Natalie Shell

With so many of us living in open plan spaces, or apartments with shared hallways, the entrance seems to have disappeared and as such, our stuff lands everywhere: our keys, your wallet, bags, shoes, coats, bills etc … usually on and under the nearest flat surface. Usually places we don’t want things to land. When things aren’t where they should be, they just feel like mess, like clutter.

So here are five easy tips that experts use to create an entrance in even the smallest of places. You can use one, two or all five …and never lose your keys again.

1. Add floating shelves near the door

You can start small. Even the smallest space can handle a little shelf or drawer with a bowl for bills and keys. If you have a larger space, floating shelves can also create the feeling of space, allowing you to be creative and create a boundary for shoes to hide underneath.

2. Add a bench or chair

A simple bench or chair offers something pretty to look at, but is also a practical and convenient place to sit near the door (to put on or take off your shoes, for example). It also serves to create a place for shoes to congregate underneath.

3. Add hooks

Like above, a few hooks are an easy trick to keep things off the ground or from piling on the nearest sofa. You may have noticed the Eames Hang It All and Muuto Dots appearing everywhere in interiors land. Not only are they pretty but they look good when nothing is hanging on them as well. You don’t need to bust the budget; simple, inexpensive and cute hooks are available from places like Target too.

4. Add closed storage

Hate seeing everything out? Have you been cringing at the“stuff out everywhere” pictures above? You’re probably what we call a‘concealer’ (as opposed to a revealer). Adding storage that closes, at least at the sides, is an easy way to create an entrance way that works for concealers.

5. Add some accessories: Add some things that make you smile

Mirrors, art, paint, wallpaper, rugs, flowers and plants are a key part of our Happy House Rules and are all tricks of the design trade that make spaces, and entrances or hallways, feel better. You could just dip your toe into accessorising by using washi tape to stick some postcards up on the wall, placing a small vase with a flower on your table, or go all out by hanging an oversized statement piece of art, laying a ‘wow’ (runner) rug or painting your walls in deep jewel tones. Don’t get overwhelmed. Start by adding one thing that when you see it, makes you smile. And go from there.

All of these ideas will have the transformative power of creating an entrance where there wasn’t one and setting a positive mood for you and anyone else that walks through the door.

–Natalie Shell is one half of HappyHouseRules.com, a lifestyle coaching practice that uses design thinking to help clients make space to focus on what really matters. She teaches clients how to create the homes, work and lifestyles they love and that support their true desires.