Entryway...what entryway?!?

Our house is one of the typical style of homes with an entrance from the garage. Our layout dumps you right into the hallway that leads to the bathroom/laundry room (a project on the near horizon), the stairs and office, and into the living room. Why, oh why, can't builders include mudrooms in their plans!?!

Source: Houzz.com

 Keeping all five kiddos and all their goodies together is a challenge as we have not only YMCA camp to worry about, but also gymnastics, dance, and other activities most nights. The current space was a row of hooks in the kitchen for the kids to hang their coats and backpacks and a nice IKEA Hemnes Shoe Cabinet for the kids. Should work just fine, right? If only! The list of what was NOT working in the space was (sigh) rather lengthy:

• Hooks to low to the ground now that kids had gotten older
• Distance from the garage entrance 
• Items not making it to the drop off point
• Kitchen location meant lost kitchen space
• Nearby table space was seen as equal opportunity dumping grounds
• Shoe storage was not in the same location as hooks
• Not enough space between hooks for all the gear
• No paper storage locations for school paperwork
• No location to place lunch boxes or trash from bags

I could go on and on, but suffice to say the list of complaints is long by both me and the LOML (Love of My Life). I can't believe that I am actually going to share this (it really is h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e), here is the nightmare mess we've been dealing with.

For a while now, I have been Pinteresting all my favorite Entry Designs hoping to find one that was exactly perfect for our space and the needs of our family. 

Source: BHG.com

Isn't it gorgeous? It is stylish, functional, and allows the flexibility to modify the space as needed to suit the family as children grow. I love that there is room for multiple pairs of shoes, items accessed frequently using the drawers and hooks, and then for items not frequently used with the baskets above. I also love these layouts as well.

Source: BHG.com 

Unfortunately, most of the designs assume that you are coming in the front door of your home or that you have a large amount of space to work with for the design. For us, we do have a nice entryway with one wall that could work; however, it is the same distance as the kitchen so would not align with how our household operates and how the kids move through the house (not to say that we haven't tried!). 

Since I have this week off from work, it is time to sit down and put a plan into action. What stylish and functional solutions have you been coming up with to address the coat and backpack onslaught from your family?