When thinking about options for increasing the functionality of the front hall closet, I strongly considered converting it to an open nook with built-in bench like Shelley and Cason did over at House of Smiths.
However, the closet is right off the kitchen, and I knew our coats and shoes and outerwear would not always look tidy. Being able to close the doors on any mess appealed to me. Plus, I had a lot of other things I wanted a home for, so a variety of storage options was important, and I felt I could do that better behind closed doors.
Because the closet is behind closed doors, it’s not as pretty as some of the spaces you see on other blogs. And definitely not as pretty as the Smith’s nook. However, it is exactly what we need.
At the top, we have one long shelf that stretches the full nine feet of the closet. It holds mitts, hats, scarves at one end, and light bulbs, plastic bags and pest control (mouse traps, ant traps, bug spray) at the other. The shallower shelves at the one end (made with white melamine, of course) hold flashlights and rags, Baxter items, cleaning supplies and reusable and plastic bags. Cleaning buckets tuck underneath the bottom shelf. The broom and the mop hang from nails tacked into the wall, and a hook board hangs along the back.
At the other end, a short hanging rod goes perpendicular across the closet to hold dress coats. A bin of extra cold weather gear sits on the floor along with my backpack.
Behind the rod, there’s a hanging caddy that holds (some of) my dress shoes. It’s a vintage caddy that my Mom had before she was married. How cool is that?
A row of cup hooks screwed into the shelf/rod support hold extra keys and flyswatters.
If I was truly a blogger, I’d have a lot more pretty baskets to hold all of the hats and mitts and scarves that currently are just folded on the shelf. However, the shelf is taller than I am–too tall for me to see into a basket–so stacks of clothing work best.
Obviously, this was not an intense makeover. Patching the walls, a fresh coat of white paint, a few 1x3s and some white melamine to make some shelves, reusing the closet rod, a handful of cup hooks, a hook board made out of barn board all add up to an organized, functional space that accommodates everything that was on my original list. Even better, we still have room to grow with more space on the shelves and some hooks to spare.
How do you organize your front hall closet? What items do you find hardest to store? Any tips for making sure there’s a place for everything and everything’s in its place?
Home on 129 Acres 
Nice job at accommodating your whole wish list! I bet that goes a long way towards keeping things tidy at chez-129 acres. It all looks really handy and accessible, too. And how many baskets you have isn’t a measure of you as a blogger! More like you as a staging/organizing/interior decorator-type of blogger vs. a nicely balanced farm-owning, DIY’ing, nature-photographing, pet-documenting blogger. (I’m sure I missed a bunch on that list!) 😉
Since we don’t have a coat closet, we bought a big old dresser for $20 at a yard sale, and use it for a multitude of purposes. Pet paraphernalia is in one drawer, kibble in another, placemats/napkins in another, extension cords, the cutting board and a divided container for little things in another, and two are as yet undefined. I have a plan for refinishing it – I want to do it in a colour, probably green, and put a butcher block top on it, and big metal casters to raise it to counter level so it can be an extension of our counter space.
I love the colour of your vintage shoe caddy! That’s the kind I hung in my laundry room, only mine’s a boring white.
I like the way you’ve organized your dresser. I think I could use something similar for a set of upstairs tools, notepads, the grocery list, a spot to set my purse, etc.
I totally recommend it. Our kitchen has only two tiny drawers, and we were in dire need of some more. You can really get a lot of stuff out of sight. That’s a big plus, in my book!
I like out of sight too (in contrast to my better half who has to see everything for fear that it may disappear when put into a drawer/cupboard).
Thanks for keeping it real. Functionality always comes before pretty at my home too.
You did a great job. The extra little rod for a few longer pieces is brilliant.
It turns out, I didn’t need a full-length rod, so rotating it 90 degrees worked out really well. Thanks for your supportive comment.
I think maintaining a home is always a work in progress! 🙂
Absolutely!
Snow boots are the difficult to stow. We have dress boots, snow boots, rain boots – it is a really organizing challenge.
Boots, absolutely. They take up a lot of space in all directions. I consciously made the bench and the shelves high enough that boots could tuck underneath.
Have you tried the pool noodle trick? You just stick a piece of a pool noodle into each boot so they stand up and don’t slump over.
Ooh. I like this tip. My tall dress boots have permanent creases at the ankles and won’t stand up on their own anymore. I never thought of pool noodles. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome! And I forgot to say, if your boots are narrow, or the ankles are narrow, you can slice the piece of noodle in half lengthwise and It will still provide enough structure. 🙂
For me, functionality always wins over aesthetics! Looks great!
Thanks for your support.