Would You Construct a Coat Closet Here?
This mid-70's house was constructed with the coat closet located near the front door which is farther behind me in the photo below. We enter and exit the house using the door to/from the garage 99% of the time (shown In photo). I am considering replacing the railing with a partial wall and hope I can explain this well enough.
Im thinking the wall can include a full height coat closet that extends about 36" from the wall. I'm picturing a half wall would run from the closet to the steps and be the same depth as the closet to have space for shoes on the garage door side. I'd cap it with a slab of stained maple. The railing on the right would be replaced by a standard depth half wall capped with matching stained maple.
The depth of a closet-wall would encroach on the living room which is currently 13' at that side of the room.
Would you do it? If so, would you make the closet deep enough for hangers or hooks? How would you use the space on the living room side under the "closet"?
Comments (17)
houssaon
3 years agoNick
3 years agoRelated Discussions
How would you construct this? Need brick experts here
Comments (1)I'm no brick expert nor a zone 6 expert, but I'd use paver brick for the wall. The deciding factor should be the contact with wet soil. As for construction technique, I'd go safe rather than sorry in your zone. I don't think you need concrete, but a trench at least 6 inches deep, with crush gravel (compacted) in the base and then sand, is probably wise. But in addition to a good base, you need drainage for a wall to hold up. Probably holes at the base of the wall, maybe some drainpipe... my imagination runs out right about there....See MoreCoat Closet
Comments (6)Low hooks on the side walls. Wire shelves (the very shallow ones meant to be put on the inside of a closet door) inside one door. A shoe bag - with all the pockets - on the inside of the other door for hats, gloves and scarves. I love the idea is having a shelf come out to double as a step. Put hinges on it so you'll have concealed storage under it for out is season items. Since its deep, I would do the shelf/ step then 12" deep cubbies in the back. With hooks on the side, it would be like a walk in closet for the little ones with things they need at their height. I love your woodwork! I love unstained wood with just a clear finish. The beauty of the wood can really shine....See MoreHelp with First Floor Remodel (coat closet stay or go?)
Comments (1)If you don't want a coat closet, you don't have to have one. It's that simple....See MoreCustom closets: what do you love in yours or what would you change?
Comments (18)It sounds like you made really good choices. I was in your position a year ago and we moved into our house 8 months ago. We also used California Closets and I was very happy with the experiences. Having your shoe shelves be non-angled is very practical in case you want to use that space for storing other things in the future (which you couldn't do easily with slanted shelves). I also upgraded to the soft-close dovetail drawers, which I love. The only thing I sort of regret is letting my designer talk me into a few frosted glass door fronts. She wanted it to feel more open and for me to be able to "display" beautiful handbags, etc. but the reality is that it's a closet and not a display space and I would rather have had totally concealed storage. I am happy with the accessories I chose: a jewelry drawer, safe, tilt-out hampers, ironing board that tucks into a drawer, full length mirror, pull-out rod and belt rod. For my kids' small walk-in closets, we got full-length mirrors (that fold away) and pull-out hampers. For my youngest daughter's (10 years old) closet, I did not pay close enough attention to the height of the hanging sections. One section is too high for her to reach so I ordered extra shelves to put in that area until she gets taller. Same thing for the drawer sections. She can reach the top 2 drawers to open them but she isn't tall enough to see what is in them. I also wish we would have been able to have pocket doors for the smaller walk-in closets but our room design did not allow for this. For the benefit of other readers looking at closet options, yes, CC is pricey but they really do handle EVERYTHING from the design to the installation and the clean-up. I wanted/needed help to design our spaces to maximize storage space and could not do that without the help of the designer. I did look at The Container Store's custom system (not elfa) but when I went to the store to open drawers, see the finishes, etc. to get a sense for the quality, they felt flimsy compared to CC. I did notice, however, that they have recently revised their custom closet offerings so maybe they have improved....See MoreNick
3 years ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago 
decoenthusiaste
3 years agotdemonti
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agodecoenthusiaste
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoNice for a reading nook or small home office. Use the long wall right of the garage entry door for your closet. Then replace the railings with pony walls. Depending on what you plan for use of the lower room, pony walls can be pre-wired for TV installation. You could do your TV area where you now have the dining table, put the dining table in front of the bow window and do a small conversational sitting area at the other end of the room. A couple of inspirations!
acm
3 years agotdemonti
3 years ago
Amy Allred
2 years agohoussaon
2 years agotdemonti
2 years ago
Nick