DIY Entry Way Shelves

Our home, like many others, lacks a lot of storage space. One spot in particular that we were lacking was a coat closet. The previous homeowner was nice enough to build a lovely little sunroom addition to the front of our house, but lacked the foresight to add a closet for storage - not to mention make the sunroom wide enough to actually become a usable space for anything other than walking through. Ok, enough complaining...moving on....

Last November, when the hubs was on a business trip I got the itch to solve our coat storage problem. Or, at the very least, lessen the problem and make the sunroom look a little nicer. In came pinterest. Followed by countless hours of searching for the perfect way to make our room look like a mudroom, complete with board and batten, beadboard, and built in cubbies for everyone. Then I stepped away from the computer long enough to remember that I have a 3 foot walkway to work with, one that has the front door opening into most of it. Dreams.Crushed.

Ahh...dream space! source

Yes, I could still have done the beadboard or board and batten, but our home is very southwestern in architecture, inside and out. It in no way resembles a craftsman, victorian, or even traditional style home. So I kept it simple. I wanted hooks to hang coats and backpacks and I wanted shelves deep enough to hold small pots of succulents and some artwork for display.

Off to Home Depot with 2 small kids in tow! (really, that should not have an exclamation point at the end, but I have to keep you positive here...or I had to keep MYSELF positive about it at the time) My shopping list included several 1" x 6" boards (I think I got 6 foot long? Depends on your project wall length), Wall hooks, long screws, and a good primer and paint in white.

Before the project (cell phone pic)

I measured my pieces, made my cuts and primed and painted the boards on day one. Then on day 2 I started by finding the studs so I could secure the bottom boards, placed the board and leveled it, drilled pilot holes into the studs, and finally screwed in using a nail long enough reach into the stud well. Then I placed the top boards and drilled from the top back edge (where the two boards meet) into the bottom board, and placed screws. After that I touched up any paint and evenly spaced my hooks. DONE.

I've enjoyed decorating the space for the seasons and holidays, and my succulents love the southern indirect light they get all day. As long as we only have the coats we use on a daily basis out in the area (the rest are tucked in a bedroom closet upstairs) then it serves as a clutter free space to enter the house.