Entryway Storage Problem Solved! (and a Sad Goodbye)

By Sara

Wow. So this is it, friends. Our last week of posting (for now). It has been a pleasure to see you here every week for the past few years, and I'm really going to miss you. Before I say goodbye, I wanted to share something I've finally checked off my To Do List. Let me take you back to 2010 and my desperate plea for help in dealing with our complete lack of storage in our entryway. Here are the photos I posted to show you what I was dealing with:

You'll notice a lack of closets, hooks, pretty much anything that resembles coat/shoe storage. It was a...problem. I improvised these past few years with an over the door rack on the basement door but that was cumbersome and provided hooks for only a few coats. On New Years' Eve a few weeks ago, my husband and I sat down and came up with a House To Do List for 2013 and at the tippy top of that list was "entryway storage plan". I'm proud to say we actually came up with a plan, executed it, and are now enjoying a much more welcoming and organized entryway.

First, my husband and I installed faux board and batten on the short wall separating the living room and dining room and parallel to the stairway:

 

I say "faux" board and batten because we cheated and didn't actually install the "board" part which would sit behind the "batten" or vertical pieces of wood. We attached the vertical wood trim pieces directly to the wall and painted it all in a semi-gloss white to match the existing trim. I won't go into detail on our process since there are already great detailed DIY tutorials on the web but suffice to say it required triple measuring, quadruple leveling and a loud nail gun. 

The hooks and bench are from Ikea and the basket for shoes is from HomeGoods. The new front door is from Home Depot and we installed that sucker last winter ALL BY OURSELVES. Why yes, I am feeling rather smug and proud of us. To combat the influx of mail and give us a place to drop our keys, I moved a console from the living room into the entry:

The bottom baskets hold our hat, gloves and scarves in the winter and then sunhats, sunscreen, and sunglasses in the summer. A console like this is really functional in the entryway and if you have the room, I highly recommend one. 

I have a few more improvements coming for this space and I hope you visit me over at my personal blog Belle Plaine to see the final reveal. Again, thank you all for making Style Lush one of your daily reads. It's been a fun three years and I look forward to seeing you all again!

xoxo.

Comments

[HereWeGoAJen]

That looks really great! I am very impressed.

Thanks for writing here, I always loved your posts.

[Caitlin]

It looks great! I've always wanted board & batten in my house, and I love that front door and window! We're in the market for some doors, because we're adults and that's exciting.

I'll miss your posts, and miss writing here! xo

[man with van@tony]

Woods design always give a traditional and trendy look to home.