Can you show a picture of your hallway.
I would be inclined to put another closet in as you can never have enough storage. It will depend on what the whole area looks like.

Sure! Heres another view that shows the hall closet. The dark door is the front door. You can also see the stairs that go down (you enter the house on the second floor. Thanks for your thoughts!

I'd be inclined to remove the uppers and install a couple of open shelves there, leaving a little more height between the lower cabinet and the first shelf. Just looks a little cramped in your photo.

Now that I see the whole area I think a closet would be too many doors. The cabinet doesn’t look like it suits the space. What room is in behind the cabinet? I was thinking can the space be used in that room instead?
How about a nice bench with baskets underneath

It looks the wall over the stairs is bare so create a dramatic gallery wall descending down as a focal point from the door and invite the eye. The built-in is at the end of a hall so make it the focal point of the hall by removing the glass cupboard and highlight the new back wall within in nice wallpaper and a pretty mirror. Paint the lower cupboad an interesting color chosen from the wallpaper just above. Remove the distracting art on both sides--use it in the new gallery wall. Place unwired candle sconces instead.

You already use it for keys etc. so it is serving that purpose. The mirror will also serve its proper usage in the new entry to check one's appearance. Is there room for a small bench nearby to rest and dry off a bit upon dashing in from the rain? All of these ideas are the essentials in every front entry.

It’s a little tough to tell due to the odd layout of the house, but I think the garage is what’s on the other side. I like the idea of a bench. Do you think a recessed bench in the niche would work or would you suggest drywalling in the space?

Great suggestions, tracefloyd!

The leaded glass looks nice with the front door but the upper cabinets are too low. Remove them and make the lower part functional - convert the cabinets to 3 drawers so keys and mail can be stowed away.

This is a great opportunity to dress up your entire entry. Remove the artwork from the walls on the sides of the built in and hang a beautiful large piece of artwork or mirror in the center once the uppers are gone. Wall sconces can provide soft light, and beautiful hardware on the drawers and a large rug by the entrance door that ties to the artwork will bring it all together. Here is an example with white, you could paint it too.

Wow, those do look nice! I can see that I really need a rug in the entryway and some plants. I didn’t even think of sconces on either side. Will that look fine even though the built-in niche is not quite centered on the wall?

I had several interruptions while composing my suggestions and didn't see that @tracefloyd had already posted virtually the same ideas. Great minds...

Without knowing any measurements, you can consider mounting the sconces inside the niche on each side of the mirror/artwork like in the photo above, or facing each other inside the niche, or on the walls outside the niche. If outside, center one on the left wall and offset the other the same distance on the right wall. Be mindful of the closet door swing, you can get a hinge door stop and low profile sconces. Also, even if you install sconces outside, you'll still want to illuminate the niche with something like a small recessed fixture above on a dimmer switch.

Wall sconces inside the small niche could feel cramped. I'm thinking a small shaded table lamp that would be battery powered. As far as the outer area, just one sconce on the right? That would work because the stairs are there. Or two with one also at the top of the stairs. Mollie you have the final decision as you are the one actually there lol.

Such great ideas! Thank you!!

I agree with JT7; but whether you keep the uppers, or replace with wallpaper, mirror or art etc, it’s your choice….you know how you live. I would, however, remove the lowers’ doors and replace them with drawers, which will be much more useful for “hallway/entry stuff”, such as keys, wallets, a raves, gloves etc. I would not put glasses inside the uppers…..seems kind of out of place outside a kitchen, bar or dining area, no? Happy upgrading!

Looks to me like excess kitchen cabinetry found a home here. I would rather have it reversed to a closet in the garage for sports gear or other such stuff and use the cabinets elsewhere too. Could they work in the laundry or mudroom? Drywall this area closed and add a piece of casegoods with art above it..

For sure no wine glasses in there . Do you love the piece? IMOit does look odd in that area and a benck would be a logical piece in an entry with a nice piece of art above the bench.After looking at the pic again I think a bench fit into the indent might be a good plan or at least remove the top part and hang a piece of art there since it has become a drop zone.

Not sure if my previous comment posted? I don’t love the piece. If I remove it, would you suggest also trying to remove the soffet/header part above the cabinet so the niche extends to the ceiling?

So many pretty ways you could go if the niche were eliminated entirely.

South Hampton Charm · More Info

The Bluffton · More Info

Home Renovation in Villanova, PA · More Info

Park City Showcase Home · More Info

These are lovely options!

To make it look less like a dining room piece, I would suggest you remove the top section with glass doors and install knobs and/or pulls on the bottom cabinet. Or, you can remove everything and buy a ready made unit that fits in your space, lots of nice ones available.

Aother idea to make it look less like kitchen cabinetry is to paint the cabinet, and maybe even the wall as well. I’ve had these before and after photos saved because the change in mood is remarkable.

Looks I Like · More Info

Looks I Like · More Info

You could move the u[[er cabinets higher or remove them and add art over the base cabinets.

I would find a different place for the wine glasses and remove the upper cabinet. It seems a little deep to put a mirror in the alcove, but sconces might make it just right.

Since you are already used to using it as a drop zone, replace the cabinet below with either drawers, or drawers and doors (depending on what you want to store there).

Is there room in the hallway to put a narrow bench in front of the stair railing?