All I Want for Christmas Is a Front Entryway That Works
(And Maybe a Few Other Things…)
Our house was built in 1954, and it has a small front hall closet in a tight hallway. I’m glad the closet is there, most of our shoes and coats tend to make their way into the living room - and it’s not even winter yet… This will be Lucy’s first Christmas, and I can already picture our first really snowy day. I’ll come in with Lucy in one arm and groceries in the other, Murphy and Hank will be crowding us at the door to say hello, and I’ll be looking around for one clear spot to set the bags down. Honestly, a more functional entryway might be all I want for Christmas.
Living in a house teaches you things a showing never could. You find out which doors you actually use, which rooms everyone ends up in, and which little annoyances you deal with every single day. By the time you’re looking for your second home, you have something really useful to go on. You know what you’d change about the one you already live in. So f you’re thinking about making a move in the new year, here are three things I’d look at before you write that Christmas wish list:
1. Storage where you actually need it
Yes, this is where my front hall comes in. A big storage room downstairs is great for Christmas decorations and things you only need a few times a year. The boots, coats, diaper bags, and dog leashes need somewhere handy, or they’ll end up on the nearest chair. Ask me how I know? You really start to notice this once you’ve lived in a house for a while (and we’ve been here fore almost 10 years). If putting something away means carrying it downstairs every time you use it, chances are it’s going to find a more convenient home.
So when you’re looking at your next house, picture where you’d put the things you’re always moving out of the way now. Is there a cupboard near the dishwasher for the dishes you use every day? Is there somewhere for extra linens and towels you need to switch out? Could you put away a Costco haul without rearranging the entire pantry? If you can picture where the everyday stuff goes, you’ll have a better sense of how much storage the house actually gives you.
2. A layout that lets two things happen at once
One thing I’ve learned since having a baby and working at the same time is how much I need our spaces to do more than one job. A room might be where I work for part of the day and where we spend time together as a family later. What I didn’t fully appreciate before having a baby was how often I’d need the house to do both jobs at once.
Picture a kitchen that opens right onto the living room. You can see the kids while you’re making dinner, which is great. Now picture yourself taking a work call at the dining table while your partner empties the dishwasher and your kids are playing nearby. There’s room for everyone, but the person on the call can hear every plate going into the cupboard, and every laugh, scream or cry coming from the kids. On the other hand, maybe there’s a whole extra living space in the basement, but your kids are at an age where they want to be wherever you are. At five o’clock, everyone still ends up in the kitchen.
So when someone tells me they need more space, I defintely want to understand why they feel that way, and if more space is really the solution. Because small room with a door could double as a guest room and give you somewhere quiet to take calls. A nook beside the kitchen could be a play area now and a homework spot later. When you’re looking at your second home, picture where everyone would be on a busy afternoon. That’s when you’ll get a feel for how well the layout works for your family.
3. A location that works on your busiest days
Lucy has made me think differently about what it means to be close to things. A nearby grocery store is handy, but so is having someone you trust close enough to help when the day goes sideways. As your family grows, the people and places you rely on can become a much bigger part of the decision.
Think about a day when you’re running late driving home from work, it’s snowing, and you still have to get to daycare, grab groceries, and take the dogs for a walk before dark. What would make that day easier? Maybe it’s being closer to someone who can help with pickup. Maybe it’s a shorter commute to and from work. Or maybe it’s being in a neighbourhood where taking the dogs out after dark isn’t so daunting.
If you’re weighing a bigger home farther away against a smaller one closer to the people and places you rely on, walk through a regular weekday in both. Think about who does pickup, what time you’d get home, and what you’d miss about where you live now. Those are the trade-offs I’d want to talk through before you fall in love with a house.
Before you start saving listings over Christmas break, try this: each of you write down three moments in a normal week when you wish your house worked differently. Then compare notes. You might both say you want more space, but one of you means somewhere to work with the door closed and the other means somewhere to park the stroller without folding it every time.
And if you’re thinking about your next home, let’s talk about what you’d want to do differently this time. I’ll probably end up telling you about my front entryway to save you from making that same mistake…
