My first small entryway idea is a tape measure, not a mood board. For a narrow hall, I'd start with a console about 14 inches deep, a bench clear of the door, and hooks and a mirror on the wall. The width you walk through, the arc the front door swings and the bare wall beside it decide what fits.
An entryway is the strip of floor and wall just inside the front door where shoes come off and coats get hung. On Vancouver Island there's one more thing to plan for: somewhere for wet boots and a dripping coat through a long rainy season.
I work at Merit Home Furniture in Duncan. The measurements come first here, as they should before buying any piece for a narrow hall. Then come the pieces we list with sizes and prices, and where it's worth spending more.
What fits in a small entryway?
What fits in a small entryway comes down to the clear width of the hall, the floor the door sweeps and the wall left over. The BC Building Code sets minimums for newer homes. A hallway inside a home has to be at least 860 mm wide, about 33.9 inches, with 710 mm allowed in a bedroom wing that has a second exit. The required entrance doorway has to take a door at least 810 mm wide (31.9 in) and 1,980 mm high (78 in). Older Island houses can be tighter, so measure your own.
Those numbers show how fast a hall fills. A console 14 inches deep against one wall of a 33.9-inch hall leaves under 20 inches to walk past. An 18-inch hall tree leaves about 16, so I'd keep deeper pieces for a landing or a wider foyer.
- Width at floor level. Measure wall to wall above the baseboards and again at any heater, and use the smaller number.
- The door's arc. Open the door fully and tape the floor where its edge travels. A door sweeps a quarter circle about as deep as it is wide, so a 32-inch door claims about 32 inches beside its hinges.
- The usable wall. Measure the wall outside that arc, from the door trim to the next corner or switch.
- What's on the wall. Note outlets, heaters and studs. Health Canada's guide to moisture and mould asks for baseboards and heating vents to be kept clear of furniture.
A hall tree also has to come through the front door, and measuring a delivery route through a BC doorway has a guide of its own.
Console tables for a small narrow entryway, measured
A console table for a small narrow entryway is about 14 inches deep, with room for a tray of keys. Merit lists eight sofa and console tables for our Duncan store, and all eight print their size. Here they are from shallowest to deepest, with prices read on November 1, 2026, before applicable taxes.
| Console | W x D x H | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Ashley Freedan | 44 x 14 x 30 in | $352.00 |
| Mako Brandon | 42 x 14 x 30.5 in | $849.00 |
| Ashley Luzmanacy | 52 x 14 x 30 in | $1,048.00 |
| Ashley Dontayne | 66 x 15 x 30 in | $699.00 |
| Ashley Johurst | 48 x 18 x 32 in | $592.00 |
| Ashley Realyn | 48 x 19 x 30 in | $526.00 |
| Ashley Tyler Creek | 46 x 22 x 33 in | $598.00 |
| Ashley Bolanburg | 46 x 22 x 33 in | $702.00 |
The Freedan and the Brandon each have two drawers for keys and dog leashes. The Brandon is solid wood from Mako, which the Province of BC calls a furniture producer in Surrey. What Mako builds and the wood it uses is covered separately. The Realyn is a demilune, a half-round top, so it only reaches 19 inches out at the centre. At 22 inches, I'd save the Tyler Creek and Bolanburg for a roomy foyer. The rest of our tables are in the table collection.
Hiding shoes in a small entryway cabinet
A cabinet with a door hides shoes and gives a short wall some height. The Ashley Roybeck accent cabinet, listed for Duncan at $541.00, is 34 inches wide, 16 deep and 36 high, with drawers, a door and open shelves. Its listing gives no inside sizes, so I'd ask us to check the shelf against your tallest boots.
Entryway ideas without a table
With no room for a table, the wall does the work: hooks, a narrow key shelf and a mirror. A freestanding rack takes a little floor. The Sunny Designs Sedona hat rack at our Port Alberni store is 72 inches tall on a base 23 inches square.
Small entryway bench ideas for pulling boots on
A bench in a small entryway is for sitting to pull boots on, and storage under the seat earns the floor twice. Watch the depth: a 14-inch bench fits where a console would, while a hall seat with a tall back runs closer to 19.
| Bench | W x D x H | Store and price |
|---|---|---|
| Sunny Designs Hall Seat | 31 x 19 x 39 in | Duncan and Campbell River, $849.00 |
| Ashley Wainner | 52 x 21 x 24 in | Duncan, $623.00 |
| Ashley Heron Ridge | 36.38 x 14.13 x 28.13 in | Port Alberni, call for our best price |
| Sunny Designs 36 in bench | 36 x 14 x 28 in | Campbell River and Port Alberni, call for our best price |
The Hall Seat has a planked back and a woven basket under the seat, and its listing calls it sized for a foyer or mudroom. The Wainner is upholstered in polyester. It suits a dry front hall, but I'd keep fabric away from where wet boots land. The Heron Ridge seat sits 17.88 inches off the floor and lifts to storage about 3 inches deep.
Small mudroom entryway ideas for wet Island winters
A small mudroom entryway on the Island is mostly a plan for water. Environment and Climate Change Canada's 1981 to 2010 normals record rain on about 151 days a year at North Cowichan, just north of Duncan, 18 of them in November. Nanaimo Airport averages 170 days of rain a year. Robertson Creek, near Port Alberni, gets 2,074 mm of rain in an average year.
Health Canada's moisture and mould guide suggests having family and friends take their shoes off at the door. It recommends moisture-resistant materials where things get wet, and indoor humidity between 30% and 50%. It notes that wet laundry hung indoors raises humidity, and I'd count a row of soaked rain jackets the same way. So the drop zone I'd plan has four parts:
- A rubber or metal boot tray, so rain collects somewhere easy to empty.
- Hooks spaced so wet coats hang without touching.
- A basket or open cubby for damp boots, with closed cupboards kept for dry shoes.
- A dehumidifier nearby if the hall stays damp. Health Canada suggests one once humidity passes 50%.
What damp winters do to wood furniture is set out in our guide to humidity and solid wood.
A hall tree puts hooks, seat and storage on one footprint. The Sunny Designs Marina hall tree, listed for Duncan at $1,049.00, is 40 inches wide, 18 deep and 76 tall. Four metal hooks sit on a planked back above a bench, with two doors to cubbies below. Its listing says it's on display at our Duncan store, so call to check it's still set up. At Campbell River and Port Alberni, the Carriage House hall tree is 38 by 17 by 78 inches, with a lift-top bench and a centre mirror.
How high should coat hooks go in a small entryway?
Coat hooks belong where the people using them can reach, and two rows suit a family with children. The BC Building Code sets no hook height for a house. For accessible washroom stalls, though, it puts the hook no more than 1,200 mm (about 47 in) above the floor. It also limits the hook to 50 mm (about 2 in) out from the wall, a handy limit in a narrow hall. A rail of wet coats gets heavy, so I'd screw it into studs.
Small entryway decor ideas that leave the floor clear
Small entryway decor ideas work hardest on the walls and ceiling, because the floor is taken. Light comes first: a brighter bulb or a ceiling fixture makes a dim hall feel bigger than any accessory does.
A mirror comes next, bouncing that light around. The Mako Soho mirror, listed for Duncan at $399.00, is 34 inches wide, 38 high and 2.5 deep in solid pine. It's made to hang over the Soho dresser, but at that depth it sits nearly flat on a hall wall. Merit's mirror collection has other frames.
Then one thing that's yours: a print, a basket, a bowl for keys. Paint or peel-and-stick wallpaper on one wall costs far less than new flooring. If the floor is due for a change, tile or vinyl copes with wet boots better than carpet. The wall by the bottom stair or under a window can take a shelf or a short bench.
Small entryway closet ideas
A coat closet holds more once off-season coats move out and a shelf goes in for hats. Health Canada's guide suggests keeping closets free of clutter, especially near an outside wall. A wet coat in a full closet stays wet longer, so I'd let it dry on a hook first.
Where to splurge and where to save on small entryway furniture
The splurge belongs to whatever takes the wet and the weight every day. Savings can go on pieces that only hold things. The Freedan and the Luzmanacy are both 14 inches deep, and one is $352.00 while the other is $1,048.00. In a hall nobody lingers in, either one holds the mail.
Entryway pieces worth spending on
The bench or hall tree you sit on daily, in solid wood or a hard finish that stands up to drips. Hooks screwed into studs. A boot tray big enough for the household.
Entryway pieces fine to save on
The console, if it only holds a tray. Baskets, bowls and paint, which you'll change long before the furniture wears out.
When entryway furniture is the wrong fix for a small hall
- It sits inside the door's swing, so the door knocks it every morning and never opens fully.
- It turns the hall into a squeeze for a walker, a stroller or an armful of groceries.
- It covers a heater or vent that Health Canada's guide asks to keep clear.
- It's tall and not anchored. Health Canada warns that top-heavy furniture can tip when children climb. It recommends anti-tip straps or angle braces fixed to a wall stud, or heavy-duty drywall anchors made for that furniture.
- It's upholstered and sits where boots drip.
Getting small entryway furniture home from Duncan
From Merit's Duncan store, delivery is $150 across the Island with setup and assembly, and pickup is free. The Marina comes in two parts, so having our crew assemble it saves you the job. We can take an old bench away at delivery, usually for $25 to $50 a piece. What happens on delivery day is written up in full. Ashley pieces take 4 to 6 weeks and Mako pieces 8 to 10, then they're ready for pickup or delivery. For Sunny Designs timing, ask the store.
Where the small entryway numbers come from
- Province of British Columbia, BC Building Code 2024, Division B, Articles 9.5.4.1 (hallway width), 9.5.5.1 (door sizes) and 3.8.3.12 (coat hooks), checked November 2026.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1981 to 2010, North Cowichan, checked November 2026.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1981 to 2010, Nanaimo A, checked November 2026.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1981 to 2010, Alberni Robertson Creek, checked November 2026.
- Health Canada, Guide to addressing moisture and mould indoors, checked November 2026.
- Health Canada, Furniture, appliance and television tip-overs, checked November 2026.
- Province of British Columbia, BC Gov News, Supporting hiring, boosting production in southern Interior (Mako Wood Furniture), checked November 2026.
- Merit Home Furniture, live console, bench, hall tree and mirror listings, prices and sizes read November 1, 2026.
- Merit Home Furniture, Delivery and Setup, checked November 2026.
Bringing small entryway measurements to the Duncan store
Bring the hall width, the door's arc and the usable wall to Merit's Duncan store on Ingram Street, with a photo if you have one. Call ahead and ask which consoles, benches and hall trees are set up. The store is open Monday to Saturday, 9 to 5, and nobody will push you toward a piece. Ask for me if it helps.
Call the Duncan store, (250) 746-5527
More guides on measuring and choosing furniture sit on our buying guides page.