Before and After: $140 Turns a Cramped Closet into a Super Organized Entryway

What worked for the previous owners—or renters—of your home may not work as well for you. At the home of Jaclyn Quinones, of Crazy Life with Littles, that was the case with the entryway setup. Although there was a coat closet near the front door, it wasn’t often used. What Jaclyn and her husband wanted to get more mileage out of was the space on the other side of the front door, where the laundry room—and entry from the garage—was. That’s where you could see the back of the coat closet, plus a small nook filled with wire shelving. “Living in Florida we don’t really have a need for an entryway coat closet,” Jaclyn says. “We decided to make better use of the space by creating a landing spot for our kids’ backpacks, shoes and soccer cleats.”

So Jaclyn and her husband incorporated the entry coat closet into the laundry room, adding drywall to the front of the closet to wall it off before demo-ing the back to make room for a small built-in bench. They lined the back of the nook with beadboard accented with rails and stiles for a cottage-y look.

Underneath, they added four cubby spaces for baskets; above, they hung sturdy hooks to hold hats and bags. The shelves on top provide a spot to stash off-season items and display some decor. A navy rug gives extra shoes a place to land. In all—with both materials and decor—the project cost about $140.

“We can enter through the garage and drop shoes, backpacks and soccer uniforms straight into the wash and mudroom storage bins,” Jaclyn says. “We finished this project in February 2020 and it has been so wonderful to use! My kids and I love having a bench to sit on to put on our shoes (and take them off). It’s been such a relief to not walk in the front door to clutter!”

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