My Hunt for a Small-Space Entryway Cabinet
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My apartment is set up such that you walk through the front door and into a loosely defined entryway that’s sizable but not especially useful. The area is fully open, with a set of stairs at the back and flanked by the living room to the right and the dining room and kitchen to the left. This means there’s minimal wall space. In fact, the only wall space is right next to the door, where I have hooks for coats and, underneath that, a slim shoe rack.
On the other side, there’s a flat-sided panel where my kitchen cabinets end. It’s wide enough for a small piece of furniture to sit up against it without being or looking obtrusive and to hold the other items it’s generally sensible to keep near an entryway: keys, wallets, sunglasses, headphones, etc.
For years, I had aclassic Ikea cartthere. It worked fine, but over time, it started to bother me. While I love having a fairly open concept downstairs, I’m sensitive to the items that sit out in plain view. Though the cart’s compartments are basketlike, there are no tops and no doors. Coming in and out of your house, dumping the contents of your bag, bringing in the mail, shedding gloves and hats — all of that causes a bit of chaos. Even at its tidiest, I would call the cart visually cluttered.
So finally, a few months ago, I decided I wanted to replace the cart with closed storage — something just about the same size, as its best feature is how compact the overall footprint is. It’s just-below counter height, two feet wide, and only a foot deep. Turns out, finding a small space-friendly piece in similar dimensions is a challenge.
I began casually, stopping in local furniture stores and antiques markets for something unique, tape measure in hand. (I was willing to spend a chunk of change if it was extra-special.) I found nothing. Frustrated, I began browsing big-box stores online, in the hopes they might have a solution — and, in this case, one that didn’t break the bank.
The starting point
I started my search with the obvious: “entryway cabinet.” Though there were some nice-looking options, everything I found was simply too large in every direction.
From there, I turned to Pottery Barn Teen, thinking a store geared toward young adults might be the ticket, since the furniture it sells tends to be built for smaller rooms and dorms. Instead what I found was mostly modular storage (like Ikea systems), and though close to what I wanted in depth, short to the point that they’d look like a dinky bedside table in the space. Not to mention, both options here are expensive and aesthetically not my taste.
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Closer but not quite
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I wondered if Urban Outfitters — a little more grown-up, definitely trendier — might be more promising. Though I’ve had mixed experiences buying furniture from the store, which I think is often overpriced for what you get, Idohave a few long-lasting relics from when I used to shop there more often. There were a couple of cabinets I liked the look of overall, but the only one that came close dimensions-wise was this, which felt a bittootrendy (no more arches, please). And still, it was about four inches too long anyway.
Even closer
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At this point, the algorithm was feeding me many cabinets, so I wasn’t all that surprised when this piece, from a spring collaboration between West Elm and Emma Chamberlain, popped up — especially given that it’s billed as being for small spaces. I had previously seen it while looking at the whole collection and liked the lacquer finish and avocado-green color of this piece. Indeed, I liked it enough that I would have paid the quite steep $550 for it. But length strikes again. Even at a couple inches less than the one above, it would have jutted out a tiny bit too much.
The winner
I’d almost given up (or at least lost some enthusiasm) by the time I thought of the search term that led me to my winner. I decided to look for a “bathroom storage cabinet,” since bathrooms are often small — and, indeed, that was the key. I immediately landed on this piece, which has the perfect measurements in every direction. While, of course, not everyone needs an entryway cabinet just like mine, it’s a bit of a unicorn in its size and might work well in various kitchens or living rooms or, as intended, bathrooms. It’s surprisingly roomy inside, too.
Looks-wise, it’s inoffensive but certainly not stylish. Still, it’ssocheap, I knew I would feel comfortable doing some light DIY to make it nicer and less generic-looking.
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For those curious, I had the paint colorCord by Farrow & Ballon my mind since I saw it on kitchen cabinets in aHouse & Gardenhome tourjust a bit ago. I immediately looked up a Benjamin Moore dupe —Sandy Brown— since that’s what my local hardware store sells. A sample can that covered the entire cabinet cost me $5, plus another $20 or so for tools. I also bought somesweet knobsto replace the ones the cabinet came with.
For the most part, I try to avoid buying cheap furniture like this — mass produced from places like Amazon andWayfairandTarget. Indeed, all three of those retailers sell this exact cabinet under different names. But I actually love the way it turned out, which is especially satisfying in the wake of winding hunt.
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