I would do like you said and get rid of the plant. I'd keep it simple and just toss up a few photos or pieces of art on the walls, putting anything on the floor, like a shoe rack, in my opinion would be take away from the little space you have and really make it look even smaller than it is.

Not a Pro.

Art on the wall.

Shoe rack in the garage on the wall next to the door.

You will want a flat non-skid rug for the foot of the stairs, both to step on as you come in but also to define the last step as you run down!

A little set of hooks for your keys, maybe with a shelf for outgoing envelopes, and a nice piece of art above.

Given the hard stairs, I'd have your shoe tray/rack/whatever-drop at the top of the stairs. Though if you live wear it snows, maybe in winter a square tray (look in housewares for a melamine or metal tray that fits in that corner, or in a plant store for a tray; you need to be creative for a small space.)

Ikea has wall hung shoe storage, but there is no room behind the garage door for even that. Just a great large colorful piece of art. Look at decorating the area at the top of the stair.

Agree with just art on the wall. Done.

Agree with hanging a nice picture on that wall and adding a rug - perhaps a Chilewich type (or a nonskid) that coordinates with the painting.

Move the plant to another room by a window. Paint the narrow wall against which the doors open your favorite bold accent color -- or paint just one wide stripe in the middle of it a bold accent color -- no art to get bumped by the doors needed.

Alternately, find some wallpaper with colors and a design/theme you like and add one full vertical length of wall paper to the center of the wall.

Like the idea of putting the shoe rack in the garage. If storage space in the garage is limited, have you considered adding a shoe rack to the OTHER side of that garage door -- one intended not so much for expensive dress shoes but just for the dirtiest shoes.

art or a wallpaper or a mirror...that's it. no plant. shoe stuff in garage or on porch. (or you could do a basket for shoes where the plant is)

Wallpaper. Adds a lot of interest but does not take up any room.

What is your flooring? You might want to take it on up the wall for interest, if not for practicality. What kind of lighting is in that area?

I always like a mirror in an entryway.

Thanks for all the helpful input so far!
- Can't do the wallpaper idea because we have an extremely high ceiling that goes all the way up (as high as a 3 floor town home). Would have to figure out where the cutoff is without looking weird or flowing over to the second floor. However, a great idea that I would use for my future homes!
- I think i've decided on the idea of small framed photos / art, or the mirror idea

Big art!

Large art (adds color, character and is interesting to see) or wallpaper (can stop at a floor level). I wouldn't do a mirror because it's just going to reflect the stairs.

Not sure of the dimensions there, but one of the Hemnes shoe cabinets might work there?

We installed the Stall shoe cabinets from Ikea in our narrow space. They only take up 6 inches in depth. They are one of the BEST Ikea products made.

There seems to be only about 2-3 inches space behind the garage door. Just the space provided by the spring door stop. Treat this like a hall, and make the entry mirror and console, etc. at the top of the stairs.

I have seen storage drawers built into the risers of steps.....would that be possible to put a drawer in your bottom step for shoes? When shut, it is not even noticable. Otherwise I would put a pretty rug on the floor with a mirror on the wall....could have a small shelf (1 or 3 inches deep) under the mirror for keys.

Emily, I think that's a great question and I believe that you can't go wrong with a wall-mounted full-size framed mirror. It will be useful, make the space look larger and brighter. Carefully measure the wall space and clearance for the doorknob (prevent the door from swinging too far?) + have a professional securely install it.

Perhaps you could hang Ikea Trones (shoe storage) on the wall running up the stairs? You could get multiple colors and alternate them, or wall paper them, or add initials for each member of the family. They'll also make good storage for mail, magazines, hats, gloves, mittens.

I was also thinking those baskets that fit on the stairs could be handy here:

https://www.houzz.com/products/wicker-stair-basket-prvw-vr~110325547

My daughter had the IKEA Trones in her tiny entryway. She used them for hats, gloves, scarves and shoes. There’s a place on top to drop off keys, sunglasses, etc. Took up no room.

you really have NO walls to decorate except where your plant is. there must be somewhere else for it to go with better lighting. once its moved add a large mirror like the one CITYFRAMES posted. I feel a mirror will help with the lighting and help the space feel bigger it will be hard to find something that narrow to fit on the wall by the front door. you could look for a small storage ottoman for shoes and a place to put them on and add a floating shelf above for a place to set things. and then look for some art to place above it. I did find this though

Emily H Could you measure wall from the garage door hinge to the back wall. It looks like inches. (upper left in the picture.)

Large wall hang mirror, I'd even look if possible make a recessed large niche, install mirror inside and may be recessed spot light above it. And if there no closet than you can put a rack for coats instead of the plant.

If you do end up deciding to put any type of narrow furniture or wall-mounted organizer up against that wall, you can always add door stops to the hinges of the doors to prevent them from accidentally slamming into the furniture. They're adjustable so you can set them to open just the right amount. We have one where a closet door would potentially open into another door.

Put a frame around a pretty piece of wallpaper.

With and extremely high ceiling, one thing you might do is add a visual vertical "stopping place" for decorating that back hall wall.

You could add an interesting "box" shelf to your back hall wall immediately above the height of the two door frames in this hall.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/166070304992395372/

Then paint your bold vertical stripe the width of the bottom of your box.