Decorating magazines and home style websites talk a lot about the importance of the front entrance to a home—from curb appeal to a dramatic front interior foyer. So we’ve all attentively created (or are in the process of creating) atmospheres inside and outside our front doors that usher visitors to our home and give them a glimpse of our personal style.

That’s all well and good, but is that the entrance we use daily? Probably not. Most of us use our back, garage or side doors far more often. So what does your everyday entryway do for your home? Is it welcoming? Does it work hard to get everyone off to a great start every morning? Or does the clutter make you want to run the other way?

The back entrance should also have great internal “curb appeal” and bring a smile to our faces. Of course it’s not always as easy to nail down the function of this space. A quick poll of your neighbors would reveal a myriad of tasks for this area—mud room, laundry room, storage for everything from pantry items to tools, even a pet place.

So, how do you go about improving your back door curb appeal? First determine how you need the area to function. Obviously if you have a 4-foot by 8-foot wall space in the corner of the kitchen, a full blown home recycling center isn’t really practical. However, if you’re constantly thinking, “I wish that we had a place to charge our phones right here by the back door,” don’t automatically discount the idea just because there’s no electrical outlet.

Next make some decisions about how you want the space to feel. Calming? Energizing? Regimentally organized? Creatively chaotic? Pick colors and designs that match how you want to feel every time you pass through.

Now for the fun part. Use your creativity to come up with the ways and means for an entry that both works well and looks fabulous. If this space also functions as a laundry area, some organizational tools like the Laundry 1-2-3 pedestals or laundry towers might be handy for more than laundry storage. (One person here at the Style File uses her dryer pedestal to store pet supplies.) A decorative basket tucked under a bench is the perfect place to store those magazines you’re collecting to recycle at your son’s preschool. Keep papers or mail sorted and ready to go with a magnetic board or some clear office pouches attached to the wall with hook and loop tape. You could even hang a small purse or bag on the wall to keep keys or even a set of “goes with everything” accessories for the times you forget to put on earrings and a necklace.

However your design ends up, just remember that the key goal here is not to put all your effort into the front entrance of your home. That’s like creating a perfect living room that sits unused while everyone “lives” in the family room with hand-me-down furniture and a paint color you hate. The beautiful spaces in your home shouldn’t be “reserved” only for company.