If you could reverse the door, at least you could get to the kitchen; of course then it would block the living room.

Is there another door you could use-- side, garage?

Then this one could just be for guests.

I can certainly understand your dilemma -- our front entrance opens directly into our living room/dining room space ....

1)First -- remove the hall stand. I have a wonderful old hall stand too -- but your hall stand really takes up vital floor space ....

Consider:

a)long mirror with double hooks on each side
b)an expandable coat rack (if needed)
c)a tight rectangular grid of photos with a long shelf under it -- with double hooks ....

2) Paint the inside of the door to blend into the molding color ! We did this as soon as we moved in -- and the whole front entrance looks SO much more visually cohesive -- and therefore larger to the viewer's eye ....

Here is a link that might be useful: Grandin Road -- white expandable coat rack

I would empty out your entry, reverse the door if you need to get into the kitchen. Put a colorful rug on the floor. That is all I can think of to do until you can make some front door structural changes.

This post was edited by grandmaof3 on Wed, Nov 6, 13 at 14:03

With the door jambs gone, does the door open all the way now?

Thank you for all the suggestions so far.

I agree that the "hall tree" needs to go -- it will be difficult to talk DH into it, though, as it was an antique refinished and gifted to us by his mother. I'll try to see where else I can move it to. This is an old wannabe-farmhouse and we don't even have a garage. :-(

bpathome, the door opens a bit further now but not all the way. It was hitting the molding that hung down at the top of the entry into the kitchen. Now it opens just a bit wider than shown in the last photo before it hits the corner of that wall.

Are there quick structural changes that could be done by us in a weekend??

Other than moving the furniture, the only other option I can think of would be a narrow double entry door. Less energy efficient and less secure, but at least you'd have more room to get around the doors when they were open.

Angelcowgirl, you might attack the groceries problem a little differently.

My entry is pretty big and has a desk, chair and windowseat, plus a bench right outside on the porch, but when I come in with groceries, they are hanging from my hands in cloth or plastic bags, and I don't set them down at all until 20 feet farther at the kitchen island. The door's pushed closed with my foot. You just need room to maneuver past the door.

As for your charming nostalgia piece, at 53" deep there's probably room for it right there (if you don't find a better place), and it'd be perfect for decorative use, especially for seasonal decoration. I agree that's a terrible place for the unsightly mess of coats and hats, but if you took it out of there they'd have to go somewhere else anyway, right? Maybe just repurpose this as a welcoming piece for charm only?

I don't think you'd be happy with the little French door. We have one and it's fine for a patio but I wouldn't want it on a door that is used all the time. It takes both hands to open both doors. You can squeeze through just one but probably not with groceries.

This is the only door? Is that the dining room to the right? Living room to the left? Can you get to the kitchen by going left and around?

I can't think of any cheap and easy fix for your door problem. Not with that wall behind the hall tree.

If there's no other door, I think I'd take out a window and put a back door in its place.

Your porch looks like it would be large enough that you could change your door to an outswing door. When we replaced two sets of French doors we decided on outswing. I would never go back to a door that swings into the room.

There is a back door but it's on the opposite side of the house and you have to unlatch a gate to enter the yard first. It's inconvenient and the dogs in the back yard would jump on anybody coming through the gate. So... this front door is the one that everybody comes to.

The wall behind the hall tree cannot be moved as it supports the stairs. I am just so frustrated with the poor floor plan and limited options. I really appreciate y'all trying to help me out!

I use a door that enters in to my family room so I put a bench next to the door outside, unlock the door and then bring the items inside. Works for me.

Consider removing the hall stand -- and taking a photo so we can see the difference .... sometimes a décor experiment is just the ticket to see and try out a change .....

AS for the problems with folks using the current back door -- a great DIY project might be the creation of a secondary fenced area for the dogs -- and create an outdoor "hallway" with a pathway to the back door ...

Change the door hardware to turn it into an outswing door. But add an automatic close to it so that you don't have to put the groceries down to reach back to close the door.

Here is a link that might be useful: Outswing door

The article about an outswing door is great. I would consider this option. It also states that doing so resolves issues with maintenance. Storm doors open out and no one seems to have an issue with them. Friends and family would become aware the door opens out. Strangers can just deal with it.

Love the idea of the door swinging out as well as adding a bench outside if you have room. I vote to keep the entry hall stand but take most everything off of it. Looks like you need a coat tree for once you're inside. Perhaps you can make an entry area in the room next to your entry. If the entry flooring can extend a little to the space next to it, it would define it as such and look purposeful. Can you share more pictures so we can get a better view of your space next to the entry?

Can you think of it as just an entryway-- just a passage to get in, but without any other function? Then, look for the nearest place in one of the adjacent rooms for actual storage, a table to put the groceries down, etc.