Foyer Coat Closet Makeover

Today I’m thrilled to join the hosts of the series Project Design – Mary Ann of Classic Casual Home, Cindy of Cindy Hattersley Design and Annie of Most Lovely Things. Each month this inspiring trio invites a few bloggers to post about a design topic and this month is closets!

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One of the projects I needed to tackle as part of my stalled foyer makeover is the coat closet. It’s a small closet that, like many of it’s kind, gets stuffed with odds and ends until it is ridiculously overflowing. In addition to the organization of the closet, it was time to address the door and hardware too. 

The foyer closet situation didn’t look too bad with the door closed……

…but open it and SURPRISE!! You risk seventeen things falling out that you have to smoosh back in to close the door. Can you believe this is where we hang our guests’ coats when they visit????? So embarrassing!!  

BEFORE

I don’t know about you but I’m ready for this pandemic to be over and to be able to have friends and family in my house again. Time to fix this situation!

Since we have a little mudroom in our garage for our family coats, I really wanted to transform this closet into a space we could fit a couple of our daily necessities, guest coats and bags, and my camera tripod and accessories that I need access to often for photography.

 

Okay…are you ready for the cute after?

I know what you’re thinking – of course it looks nice and tidy – it’s empty!! 

The idea is to use this little closet a little more intentionally and not let it become a dropping zone, and making it pretty is a great motivator! 

On one side Mark and I have these sturdy hooks for the quick stash of our coats, and I ordered more for my handbag/laptop bag that I’ll hang down low (they come in sets of 3). All these items used to live on the inside door hooks and were the reason the door was hard to close!

The floor basket and basket up on the shelf are for my photography supplies. There’s room on the shelf for my camera bag too. The other side with the hangers are for our guests. 

This project prompted me to purge a ton of our cold weather clothing and clean out our mudroom, so now there is plenty of room in there for everyone’s winter coats and boots, and this little gem can stay guest worthy.

The Closet Makeover

Start with a good old fashioned clean out. Daughter’s prom dresses from four years ago? Time to go. Empty boxes that I’m saving for what? I’m not sure. Recycle.

Hang the peel and stick wallpaper. This wasn’t too hard, especially since it’s going in a closet so I wasn’t too worried about imperfections.  This is the peel and stick wallpaper I used. I’m sure there are plenty of peel and stick wallpaper tutorials out there but here are some basics:

• Remove shelves and closet rod before you begin. While you’re at it, give the wooden rod a quick sand to bring it back to it’s former glory. I thought about painting mine but then considered how it would look after getting beat up by hangers and opted out of that idea quickly. 

• For the first piece, mark about where you want to cut, giving yourself a few extra inches, then fold the paper over onto itself, lining up the sides and making a crease that you can cut along.

• I found it’s easier to peel the whole backing off a strip and then carefully transfer to the wall. Be care to not allow the paper to fold over on itself but if it does, slowly peel the adhesive apart. The paper that I used is pretty forgiving.

• With subsequent strips, line up the pattern, then use a straight edge or ruler to cut at the ceiling/floor with a utility knife. 

Tackle the door. We loved the black interior doors for the past seven years but I’m ready for a change. The wood paneled door needed a bit of work, including removing the cheap door hooks that I was worried might impale someone one of these days. A good scraping, sanding, caulking and repainting inside and out gave this door new life. 

Install new door hardware. One of the big upgrades I gave to all the foyer doors was new door hardware. It’s an investment but what a difference quality doorknobs make! 

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The peel and stick wallpaper was really the star of this show! Here are a few more self adhesive wallpapers that would look amazing in a closet, bathroom or laundry room!

 

Just for fun, here is our foyer back when we bought this house. I’ve spared you the 80s tiled floor!

Stay tuned for our new front door that will be installed in April!

 

Do you have a closet you want to make a little prettier?

A Few Tips To Give Your Coat Closet A Facelift

• Start with a clean slate and figure out ideally what you want to use your closet for.

• Painting the interior a fun color or adding peel and stick wallpaper are great ways to make a closet interior pop.

• A fresh coat of paint on the door, ceiling and shelf goes a long way too.

• Consider new hinges and door knob if yours are outdated or have seen better days.

• Baskets on the upper shelf and floor can coral your items and keep everything from piling up! This sturdy basket with handles that I stash my camera tripod in on the closet floor is also great for a big plant and I use one for the dog’s toys in our family room.

• Sturdy wooden hangers are a great finishing touch for your pretty new closet.