I'd not do the 1/2 wall, actually. Generally, those make the room even smaller because a person will not put a chair right up against the wall whereas, in the same floor spot, someone would feel comfortable putting a chair if there wasn't a wall...

That said, have you considered a bench seat with under seat storage?

and/or

A bench seat with under seat storage along the wall and coat hooks above?

Lots of questions for you! Is this going to be the "everyone comes home and dumps their stuff" entrance? If yes, I agree with Kirkhall. Do a bench as long as you can get/make/fit one. Put a basket for each of you under the bench. Put a hook for each of you above the bench, preferably on a piece of wood trim. Make a rule that one (or two) coats at a time are allowed on the hooks. Enforce rule.

Other questions to consider include what is the style of the house? Cottage, Traditional, modern? Do the two of you have carpentry skills and a few power tools or are you willing to learn a few basic skills to do the project yourselves? Do you have the cash to purchase some pieces like maybe a long old church pew as your bench or one of the beautiful ones with custom fabrics offered by BallardDesigns.com?

I did a search for foyers with benches and coat hooks on Houzz. If the link below works, you can browse through 4253 photos of them. You can narrow the search by choosing a design style, if you like. If the link does not work, join Houzz and search foyers and see what others have done.

Here is a link that might be useful: Houzz search for images of foyer with bench and hooks