What do you think about a bench and hooks at the front door instead of a foyer closet? Linked is an inspiration photo. Our floorplan is small and there is really no other place for a coat closet. We will have a big mudroom off the garage and nice closet space in the bedrooms upstairs for our off-season coats.

Our lifestyle is very casual. When we entertain, our friends automatically stoop and take off their (usually) snowy boots at the front door. They might hand me a dish to share while I talk and greet their kids--getting heavy coats on a hanger is a hassle. So I think a bench and hooks would work well for our lifestyle.

I wonder if there is a way to do it so it could be easily converted to a closet for resale? For instance, building it into a wall alcove the dimensions of a closet?

Many thanks, Liz

We are pretty casual too, but I wouldn't put the main "catch all" bench and hangers inside the front door. Especially if the are is small. Once you get a bunch of coats, snowsuits (we have 4 kids), boots, shoes etc gathering together, it seems like it would be in the way.

We have a laundry room right inside our back door. We have a big shelf with hooks on it. The kids hang their coats and snowsuits there. It is tile floor in there, so the water doesn't hurt. I would worry about putting wet boots and such on wood flooring, which is what we have in our front entry.

We have a front entry closet, but we don't use it for coats. It houses all of our electronic connections. When we have company, we either put their coats on the bed in one of the front bedrooms, or we toss them over the stair railing or the back of the sofa, or even hang them on the back of the kitchen chairs. We are casual like that.

Since you are planning on staying in the house for at least 20 years, give or take, I would focus on building it for what you want, and not worry so much about resale.

My dream would be to have the foyer and the mudroom separated by a wall containing a large walk in closet for coats. Then you can have a door on the foyer side and a door on the mudroom side to put coats. So this would be for overflow, but for everyday use when just a few people are over and using the foyer, you could have a bench and hooks.

Shelly k, I love the idea of a walk-in closet separating foyer and mudroom. Very flexible. Too bad it won't fit in our plan, but I'll put the idea in my long-term file.

trudymom, I like the peg rack at the site you linked. I think I will look for something in a craftsman style.

It seems like some people love the casual bench and hooks while others feel it is best to hide the clutter. I love the bench and hooks while my husband has some mixed feelings. I'll share your feedback. Thanks!

When I think about it, I realize that when visiting friends I have NEVER once in my entire life opened the entry closet door to hang up my own coat! Opening a closet door in someone else's house would feel way too much like snooping. So if my host/hostess doesn't take my coat and hang it up for me, it inevitably winds up draped across the back of my chair.

And, if a guest arrives with a dish of food or a bottle of wine or flowers or anything like that, then the host/hostess winds up with full hands and can't very well juggle coats and hangers. Even if the host/hostess beat a hasty retreat to take the gift to the kitchen, the guests inevitably follow right behind. So taking coats and hanging them up in the entry closet it just too awkward in such situations. And, if you have several guests all arriving at once, standing there trying to hang up everybody's coat gets in the way of greetings as well.

Guess what we all really need is a butler who would ask in a most charming British accent, "Madam, sir, may I take your wraps please?" and then would hand those pesky coats and mittens and muddy boots to the downstairs maid who would take care of storing them away properly (but only after an under-servant had cleaned the mud off our guests boots and properly polished them). Meanwhile Jeeves would usher our now properly unwrapped guests into the best parlor where we would rise from out seat by the fire to greet them and accept their hostess gifts. LOL!

But, absent the butler, downstairs maid, and under-servant... visible coat-hooks and shelves where guest would feel comfortable hanging up their own coats and hats seems like a perfect solution! I know I'd would rather hang my jacket there than across the back of my chair - and, as a guest I'd be MUCH more likely to use the pegs than a closet.

As for clutter, if your family normally enter and exit your home via the garage door and mud-room, it seems to me like their coats, hats, boots, and mittens would wind up in the mud room. Only your guests' boots stuff should ever wind up in this area so it shouldn't ever get so cluttered that you would feel the need to hide the area behind a closet door.

Thanks so much for sharing your inspiration pic!