The entryway, or mudroom, in our home is the drop zone and also mood setter for the entire home. It is awesome to have a beautiful and inviting entryway, but it doesn’t have to be magazine worthy aesthetically to be functional. The goal of an entryway or mudroom is to have a place to drop and grab vs. store long term. (Unless you have a coat closet then that may be a different story.) Our mudroom was OVERFLOWING with things being stored. I took some time and did a deep cleaning and organizing in this room, take a look at some of the solutions I found for our everyday traffic jams coming in and out of the house.
BEFORE
When we built our house, I was more concerned with how it all looked. It was a luxury, but as I added kiddos to the family we needed more space for the drop. Sports gear, backpacks, and jackets galore! We are starting the entryway talk with entryway furniture.
Entryway Furniture
Lockers are a luxurious way to organize and add function to any space, but they are typically seen in entries, garages, and laundry rooms. They tend to be individualized and give each family member a designated spot to drop their things. I found some lockers and entry cabinets that range from $ to $$$. Lockers can be created from hall trees or just using hooks and baskets to create the same function.
Pottery Barn offers a variety of really beautiful lockers and entryway solutions at the higher end of cost. The pieces will be solid and hold up over time which is important in an area like an entryway that sees lots of traffic.
Amazon offers some more basic options and even metal lockers in different sizes. Metal lockers would be a great option for a more industrial look or in the garage.
Other options include bookshelves or metal stands, really anywhere to have a designated drop area for each family member. A hook with a basket if sufficient because the main storage will be out of the main entryway.
This option offers just basic shelves with no drawers or doors. With baskets neither are necesary and this option is more price efficient.
Shop Entryway Furniture
Tension Rod Trick
Tension rods are an awesome semi permanent way to add more function to a space. I have used them in drawers to organize ribbon and other odds and ends types items, but using them in our lockers added the best type of organization. The kind that makes mornings smoother, and keeping things tidy one step easier.
After installing tension rods into drawers.
I grabbed TENSION RODS from Walmart and they are sold in a set of 6.
The rods are placed in the drawer and then twisted to tighten into place. They could be installed using a more permanent method, but I like that they can be reconfigured at anytime, they function kind of as a hold my shoes loosely idea. Our shoes were thrown in on top of each other before. Now they are much more organized and easy to access.
Baskets
Baskets are a great go to even without a more structured system like lockers. Even a simple basket per family member system could be enough. I love baskets that offer lids and stackable options. Labeling the bins and baskets is also an important step.
Shop Lidded Baskets
DIY Shelf Pull Out
The final step I took to really organize in our mudroom was pull out shelves in an area that was hard to reach. I added a pull out shelf using a shelf from Lowe’s and a drawer slide.
- Shelf
- Drawer Slide
- Handle
- Baskets
The shelves (SHOP SHELVES AT LOWE’S) come in a bunch of sizes and colors. They can be cut to size or may find the perfect one. Drawer slides (SHOP DRAWER SLIDES AT LOWE’S) also come in lots of sizes, I prefer soft close varieties. I used a side mount 20″ soft close drawer pull. I used an eye like hook (SHOP HOOK AMAZON) for the handle. Any baskets will do, I plan to use velcro to attach them so they don’t slide.
Wooden Closet Rods
One thing I went back and forth on for a while was adding closet rods to the lockers. I love the look of hooks, but I knew a rod would hold things more efficiently. Efficiency is winning here, these wooden rods are easy to work with and can be cut to any size. They are very strong, but add a nice warmth to the space. I didn’y add any finish, just left them as is.
Now that this space is organized, I want to get some fun wallpaper and finish it off with a bang! Stay tuned!
XOXO
Kellye
