Closet "Mudroom"

Lauren Z
by Lauren Z
4 Materials
$50
5 Days
Medium
Living in a small, uninspired ranch house means you have to add personality where you can. One way I accomplished this was by converting a small closet by the front door to a little 'mudroom' for coats, shoes, boots and storage.
Here it is -- beautiful, right? This right as you enter the house by the front door and is a closet that had just become a junk collector! After emptying it out and removing the old carpet and hanging rod, it got a coat of paint. I did remove the door which meant removing the hardware in the frame of the doorway as well. This was simple -- just unscrew the plates and remove. I chose to fill in the gaps with wood putty, sand and paint to remove any sign that there was ever a door there to begin with!
To give any small space some personality -- add wallpaper! Wallpaper on just one wall or one part of a space is a great way to really make it stand out. I simply applied this retro paper to the back wall of the closet.
Does this look familiar? A bare bulb - how attractive. Again, I couldn't afford to get a new fixture or have this re-wired with a switch, etc. so I came up with a way to camouflage this ugly fixture.
I spray painted the porcelain part (obviously not too well the first time!) and then added a lampshade . . . turned UPSIDE DOWN. The bulb holds the shade in place -- easy peasy! I added a nice, long, decorative pull chain as well.
For added storage I used scrap wood to create two shelves. The frames to hold the shelves are just scrap wood applied using wood glue and nails. No fancy mitered edges. Just cut to fit the space. The shelves then just rest on top of the frames. Purchased baskets at Big Lots hold things like winter gloves, candles, or whatever things need to go in a 'catch-all' bin.
I had a bunch of these old cupboard doors so I added two of them to the sides of the closet and added old wire hooks for hanging coats.
I thought about building a bench or seat but I had this old toy box from when my kids were little and thought it would be perfect. I DID have to totally take it apart and re-assemble it INSIDE the closet to get it to fit but it was worth it. It was painted and distressed and I made a simple foam cushion for the top. The lid opens and is a great place to store wet shoes and boots.
Now this closet is no longer a useless place to toss junk but instead, a cute, little space to hang coats, store things and collect shoes and boots when guests arrive.
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Lauren Z
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  • Silvertiger Silvertiger on Apr 29, 2018

    Love this idea! Thank you for sharing it. Simple, cheap and creative!!

  • Teresa Teresa on Apr 30, 2018

    This is brilliant! And you did a terrific job!

    Thanks for sharing.

    • Lauren Z Lauren Z on Apr 30, 2018

      Thank you Teresa! We've gotten a lot more use out of it this way then when it was a regular closet.

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