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bulldog09

Bench and hooks instead of foyer closet?

bulldog09
15 years ago

Hi--We are in the planning stage of an arts-and-crafts style home in Wisconsin. We have three young kids (ages 3-8) and plan to stay in the house until the youngest drives off to college in a rusty 2006 Volvo (fingers crossed for both the kid and the Volvo).

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

Here is a link that might be useful:

Comments (9)

  • robin2007
    15 years ago

    I would like something similar to that inside my back door, that leads to the garage.

    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.

  • shelly_k
    15 years ago

    I agree not to worry too much about resale. I love the inspiration picture! I say go for it!

    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.

  • cefoster
    15 years ago

    I love it and I am doing a similar thing in our new home. We have a little closet to one side for hanging items. But to me, it is such a great use of space...whether guests or the family comes in the front door, they will (hopefully) place shoes and coats there. I love the idea and it makes the home so inviting!! Do it!!

  • niecieb
    15 years ago

    I love it! I think it goes perfect with a casual lifestyle. I would definitly do it.

  • phoggie
    15 years ago

    I would not like it at the front door, but we did something very similar in by the back door to the garage and love it.

  • graycern
    15 years ago

    I wouldn't like a bunch of coats hanging by the front door. The coat, mitten, boot mess is nicely hidden in a closet. What we did when our kids were little was put hooks inside the closet so they wouldn't have to mess with hangers.

  • trudymom
    15 years ago

    We did something similar at our front door, except we just have large wooden pegs on a board, and no alcove. (The pegs and wood came from an old barn we had, but you can get them at country stores, like at the site below above the wreath). We have a front porch with benches, so if it is nasty outside, people take off their shoes there, then come in and hang their coat up on the pegs. Our family enters through the garage and there is a mudroom with a closet and pegs on the wall there also, so most of the nasty things would be there. But I'm in Texas so I don't get too many coats. It works great for us and I would do it again.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pegrack

  • bulldog09
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for the input. Tile in the front foyer sounds like a good idea--I had initially voted for hardwood only. A friend of ours has a bench in the foyer on hardwood flooring. She has a small rug which is always filled with her own family's boots. I pile my wet or snowy boots on top of theirs and hope they don't fall off on the gorgeous floor.

    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!