Project: Entryway Closet Makeover - The Reveal!

Drum roll please..... It's finally done!

Our once small, useless, overly-cluttered-builder-grade coat closet has officially turned into a functional, prettier, more organized entryway nook!

If you've missed out on our Entryway Closet Makeover journey, you can check out parts 1 & 2 first, to see how this crazy-awesomeness came about!

It's been such a fun, challenging, LONG journey to get from a boring closet with a door that basically blocked our entire entryway, when opened... to an airy, fresh, larger space that definitely brings personality, visual interest and comfort into our home.

I knew that the finishes in this space needed to be ones that could stand lots of traffic, dirt and well... kids! So we decided to paint the beadboard walls with a color called Wood Smoke from Glidden in a satin finish. The trim is just a plain ultra-white, straight from the can semi-gloss. I wanted a higher sheen so that the white parts could be wiped down easily if they get scuffed or bumped by anything.

Pillows were purchased from: Vibe Home, Kimoley Deco, Willa Skye Home and from Home Again. I had my super talented sewing-nerd-friend Katie whip up a slip cover for my cushion out of this awesome, heavy-duty gray circle fabric from Waverly.

I found the hanging star from Joann's and the intricate white frames and organizational baskets (for light bulbs, batteries, extension cords, flashlights, etc...) from Pier 1 Imports. Instead of using the white frames for pictures, I found little mirrors and put them inside. Also, the star came in silver, so I painted it with white spray paint and hung it by a piece of twine.

The cute print hanging on the wall beside our nook is from Brightsides Designs and the frame is from IKEA. It originally came with a cream colored matte, so I used the same Wood Smoke gray from Glidden and gave it a quick coat of paint. That way I wouldn't have to spend money or time on getting a new matte!

I'm sure you recognize the DIY wood crates from our previous tutorial, but just in case you  missed them, here they are again! Honestly, these are the PERFECT solution for shoes, gloves and hats! Just make sure that you use some sticky felt pads or small wheels for the bottoms of your crates, to keep them from scraping other surfaces when you pull them in or out.

We always have random papers flying around, so I thought I'd create a little "paper center" for our nook as well. I purchased some of these cute metal baskets, printed out our kids names and a mail label on my computer, mounted them on cute cardstock, rounded the corners and attached them with twine.

We are seriously excited to have this space all done! It was SO fun to design, and I can't tell you how nice it is to have this beautiful nook, instead of a space-sucking closet in our entryway. This little cove is really comfortable and Cason finds me often times sprawled out in it, chatting on the phone or checking my email. I've become a bit obsessed with making unexpected spaces in our home, a LOT more purposeful and cozy. 

Over the past few years we've come to realize that our house doesn't have to be the biggest, or filled with the nicest, most expensive, trendiest decor... it just has to make us FEEL happy. And we've found that being more organized, adding lots personal touches and utilizing every inch of our given space, the best we know how...is what makes us really love our home.

Questions Update:

Okay, I've had a LOT of the same questions about our nook, so I thought I'd answer them.

Everyone is mostly concerned about where all the coats went. ha! Obviously I staged this photo so it looked all "pretty", but really, the kiddos usually each have a coat up on a hook, with their little backpacks over it. The other sweatshirts that were in this space just got hung up in the closets in our room :)

- Yes, it STILL looks cute, even when things don't 'match' with the space. (I'll take a photo of that and post it if you all want)

- The kids' snow bibs that we had in the closet before are actually folded in half, and inside one of the crates.

- Gloves, hats and a pair or two of school shoes, for each kiddo are in the other crate. These crates are HUGE, they fit a ton of stuff!

- No, my little kids can't reach the hooks without climbing on the bench. Yes, I'm sure my bench fabric will get a bit dirty. Usually the kids have taken off their shoes and put them in the crate, before they climb up... BUT they ARE kids, and so that's not always the case. Hence the reason that I picked a darker, thicker, more durable fabric! I also had the cover sewn with a zipper on the back so I could slip it off and deep clean it if necessary. (aka: dry clean it)

- No, this nook does NOT always look like this. LOL. Of COURSE there are sometimes coats on the bench, or still backpacks on the floor. We ARE just a normal family with three little kids. Please don't be fooled that just because it looks like this for the 'reveal' photos that it's always this tidy. No matter HOW organized you get or how cool your space is, it's just a fact... KIDS ARE MESSY! :) But at least now having a space where I can quickly put things back in their proper place is really nice!

- Our vacuum that we had in this closet before is now just right outside our laundry room door in the garage. We also built a little shelf out there that houses all the hoses and attachments as well. (I'll show you that later). I liked the idea of keeping cleaning products and 'dusty things' outside, instead of inside.

- Our entryway rug is from IKEA. It was only $20.00. Again, I went with a darker gray, because it hides dirt well.

Whew! I hope I got them all! Really, I just hope we got across that this space was really more of a "dumping ground" then a coat closet, before. Sometimes we'd have stuff in there, sometimes we wouldn't. It didn't serve much of a purpose, so that's why it was easy for us to decide to make it into something else.

If your family uses every square inch of your coat closet for storage, then you might think of some different ways to makeover your space! Maybe you need more hanging capabilities, so you add additional hooks, or leave the coat bar up, don't do the bench, and just make cubbies for storage baskets along the sides or bottom! Really, the great part about DIY projects like these, is that you can customize them to exactly what you need to store in YOUR space!