Stupid fantasy books with people getting killed with stupid fantasy weapons by stupid fantasy characters. Tolkien rip offs and worse.

That is a streamlined and beautiful closet now. High functioning and optimal use of space. I get why her heart skips a beat!!

Are you talking about shoes for guests or shoes for you as well? If you come in through the garage your main provision for shoes etc needs to be located there. If you need somewhere for guests to leave their shoes when they enter then something near the front door makes sense. Bargainhunter's suggestion looks lovely and is practical in terms of both storage and somewhat to sit to assist with putting shoes on and off. I've seen shoe racks on front porches but if you have the space I think something inside the door is better. I don't see why a nice cupboard should detract from appearance of the entrance. On a more practical note I'm more concerned about the effects of having a void on noise and energy efficiency, I know they are trendy right now but I think sometime in the future there will be a trend to fill them in and convert empty wow factor into useable space.

Our new entrance area, almost finished. Just need a few final touches on the curtains, skirting boards installed and painted as well as hooks for the kids' school hats. This area was designed to make the morning with school kids easy and things put away nicely after school to avoid the house from looking messy. The boxes fit the school and sports bags, the shoe racks has enough space for their school and leisure shoes and once complete, hooks on the blue wall will take take of the hats. I'm in love with this small, but fully functional space. And the light in the afternoon is just adorable.