One of the things that I found myself way more excited about than I should have been when we first moved in was that we had a coat closet. An actual proper official space to hang coats, jackets, hats and scarves that could be closed off to the rest of the world.
Living in more flats than I care to count, I never seemed to land myself any proper storage near the front door so coats and jackets were always either stuffed in my wardrobe or on display where they greeted guests as soon as they walked in. Neither option was particularly ideal considering I never had enough room in my wardrobe for all my clothes, never mind bulky winter coats and it didn’t make a great first impression when it was next to the front door.
So having a coat closet has been a wonderful little bonus. The problem with it, not surprisingly, is that it’s always been a bit of a mess. Close the door and you don’t even see it but open it and all that evil mess is revealed.
It was only once we started working on the cellar that I realised the space needed a bit of attention as the door to the coat closet leads to the door to the cellar. Slowly, slowly, I’ve been chipping away at the work it needed. It’s not done yet – don’t get excited – I did mean it when I said I’ve been working on it slowly. But hopefully, it’ll be ready for it’s big reveal soon.
In the meantime, I’ll give you a little sneak peek of what I did this weekend. There was a horrible beige laminate on the floors originally and a couple weekends ago I pulled it all up to reveal a rather fetching blue and cream tile that was filthy and horrible as shown below. Well, after cleaning it up best I could, I stuck the new laminate down right on top. I love our wood floors but for a tiny area like this, laminate is such an easy and inexpensive fix!
I’ve done all my painting and now that the flooring is done, all I’ve got left is to put up the shelving and hooks so hopefully I’ll have a coat closet that I’m not embarrassed to open when I’ve got guests’ coats to hang.
In the meantime, I thought you might want to see some rather clever and lovely ideas for a tiny space where your coats, jackets and all manner of outdoor paraphernalia might live.
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What I loved about each of these is the unexpected burst of colour or pattern that’s revealed when the door is open and I’ve tried to incorporate a bit of that in my own closet. I also like the mix of organisation – shelves and baskets and hooks oh my!
More to come soon but have you seen any ideas you’d like to steal?
Ohhh no I like the blue and white chequered flooring. Did you know that you can chalk paint flooring? that would of looked amazing black and white. I am that convinced that I will paint my own floor soon. lovely post your room is looking fab. Tracy
I've been doing my research and Annie Sloan chalk paint can be painted on any floor. I'm thinking forget tiles and stencil them on. Yes watch this space. Tracy x
Your 'new' floor does look better, looking forward to seeing it once it is done.
girrrrrl, the inside of my cabinets are naaaaaaaasty. anything would be an improvement over here. i'm one of those shove it in the closet and fuhgetaboutit.<br /><br />bravo on your flooring upgrade–looks like the real thing!<br /><br />smiles.<br /><br />michele
Oh, I so needed coat closet inspiration, since mine is a mess, doesn't even have a door and is right across the front door, so it's basically the first thing you see when coming in!
I love the idea of clips to hold boots! Before today, I would have sworn there is literally no good way to store boots. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hiya! Thanks so much for popping by my little blog! I had a little nosey around yours and love the before and afters in your house! I long for the days when we can do some remodeling, but our little semi-detached will do for us now. :) We're not terribly far from each other as we live about 35-40 minutes from Manchester, although I know that is 'far' in English terms. :) I appreciated
I love the idea of opening an unassuming door off the hallway to reveal a secret jewel box of a room. I'm not sure I'd be hanging my filthy Jack Russell walking/toddler puddle splashing wellies up against the freshly-painted wall, mind!
You lucky thing! A coat closet is such a luxury of a space in British homes. Love your inspirational ideas and I am definitely all for an unexpected burst of colour/pattern in a space like that, so can't wait to see what you've done! <br /><br />Meera xx