A Closet Makeover

When we moved into this house and I began to think about decorating, I told myself that I wouldn’t have those couple of areas in the house. You know what I’m talking about…the black holes, where things get stored, never to be seen again. Well, for me, that has always been the coat closet. And wouldn’t you know, I started putting all the random junk (box fan, cleaning supplies, vacuum, old DVD players that will never get used again) into the coat closet in our new home.

 It quickly becomes a spot that you never want anyone to see but yet it’s front and center when guests arrive. Then you have to deal with that awkward moment when you need to put their coat away or retrieve it on their way out. You strategically open the closet door as little as possible so that you can 1) accomplish your task without anything falling on top of you and 2) do so without letting anyone see what you actually keep in there.

Well, no more!

Here are my steps to a beautiful entryway coat closet you’ll be proud to open the doors on:

1. Clean it out

You have no idea how embarrassing it is for me to post these photos! Anyway, the most tedious step, taking all that junk out of the closet. Most of this stuff probably belongs in the garage, or in a garage sale, so be honest with yourself and what you actually need to keep in this closet. For us, it is coats, hats, gloves, scarves and shoes.

2. Prep

Once you’ve cleaned everything out, it’s time to decide what type of shelving you need. I knew that I wanted a custom shelf built into the wall so the first thing I did was remove the base board inside the closet. Once that was finished I built a frame for the shelves out of 2×4’s. Now, if you aren’t quite at the point of building your own shelving, no worries. You can find great shelving in all different finishes and sizes at places like Home Depot.

3. Insert your shelving & paint!

Now, the reason I put my shelving on a frame is because, once the new flooring goes in, I wanted to be able to put base moulding up against the shelf. Next, I painted the walls in the closet the same color as my foyer, Valspar Lyndhurst Timber from Lowe’s in an interior flat finish. The trim and shelving I painted with Valspar Ultra Paint & Primer in White semi-gloss.

4. Finish with the details

Now for the fun stuff, the finishing touches! I got new hardware from Home Depot for the closet doors, the same thing that was on it before but a nice brushed nickel finish as opposed to the scratched gold finish. Next I got rid of those plastic hangers, the ones that you have in about 20 different colors, hanging in your closet right now. I got these great, dark wood hangers from Home Goods, they come in a pack of 5 for about $5. And finally, I added some cute black baskets from T.J. Maxx to the shelves to hide all the shoes, gloves, etc. and give it a nice, clean, finished look. Now these came with different colored fabric liners inside them, I just cut them out for a uniform look.

And that’s it, you’re done! Now let’s go have a cocktail party in the foyer to show off your new masterpiece!