Entry Refresh: 8 Great Places to Hang Up Your Coat
Take off your coat and stay awhile with outerwear storage that fits your entryway
Brenna Malmberg
November 7, 2016
Big, bulky coats can take up a lot of valuable entryway space. Solve your winter coat blues with one of these eight coat storage options.
1. Free-standing rack. A free-standing coat rack offers homeowners a moveable and compact option. This bright teal, 1960s coat rack from a flea market solved the coat hanging problem in this Los Angeles home. “Because of the staircase, there isn’t an obvious landing area for coats and bag,” says Leslie Landis, a Los Angeles interior decorator specializing in residential design. “The coat rack corrals everything together and adds some height to the room.”
If you find yourself with piles of belongings in the entry, Landis says, that’s a sign that your system isn’t working. To keep stuff from piling up, she recommends trying a new configuration and adding hooks or baskets.
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If you find yourself with piles of belongings in the entry, Landis says, that’s a sign that your system isn’t working. To keep stuff from piling up, she recommends trying a new configuration and adding hooks or baskets.
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2. Wall-mounted coat rack. This type of coat rack resembles the free-standing coat rack but offers a slimmer, more stable design. Mia Karlsson-Matthew, owner of Mia Karlsson Interior Design, chose this antique semicircular hat stand because it saved space in the narrow hallway. For additional entryway organization, she recommends that people find a designated place for shoes, gloves, hats, keys and anything else they drop once they enter the front door.
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See more of this home
3. Peg rail. Wall space also gives homeowners a place to hang their coats without losing a lot of space. This peg rail slides right under the staircase and has a low profile, yet it fits with the traditional style of the home. The pegs also add a decorative accent and define the space for storage and function, says Kelsey Bosselait, marketing coordinator at Brewster Home Fashions.
“They also allow for your wardrobe to become a part of your decor,” she says. “If you’re a fashionista who gets a new coat every season, a peg rail is the best way to show off your favorite outerwear!”
“They also allow for your wardrobe to become a part of your decor,” she says. “If you’re a fashionista who gets a new coat every season, a peg rail is the best way to show off your favorite outerwear!”
4. Next-level peg rail. A shelf above a line of pegs ups the storage capacity of this coat hanging spot. “The more places you can hang and store things, the better,” says Jimmy Crisp of Crisp Architects.
In this entry, he used wooden pegs, or Shaker pegs, to provide coat storage underneath the shelf. He also likes to incorporate a place to sit into the entry so that people can easily take off and put on their shoes.
In this entry, he used wooden pegs, or Shaker pegs, to provide coat storage underneath the shelf. He also likes to incorporate a place to sit into the entry so that people can easily take off and put on their shoes.
5. Scattered hooks. A less structured hanging method might fit your needs. You can add hooks at different heights along the entryway wall so that every member of the family can reach a hook, no matter their size. Plus, random placement lets you cusomize your entry organization to your space. If you want a bench, place the hooks up higher. If you don’t, you can add more farther down the wall.
These giant, round hooks add a playful touch to this Australian home. And it appears that they help everyone maintain entry order, from biggest shoe to smallest.
These giant, round hooks add a playful touch to this Australian home. And it appears that they help everyone maintain entry order, from biggest shoe to smallest.
6. Hall tree. An all-in-one option — the hall tree — quickly brings entry organization to any home. Hall trees come in many shapes and sizes but include features similar to this one made from reclaimed wood. The hooks help organize coats, hats, cameras and more, while the drawers keep small items tucked away. Above, you have a space to display decor, and underneath, you can hide away shoes.
7. Open closet. An open closet operates much like a closet with a door, just without the walls. Interior designer Ashley Darryl found the coat rack at an antique store and knew it belonged in this New York home. The older home didn’t have a coat closet, so this style of rack provided enough space for the family and fit the home’s style, she says. When she can, Darryl also likes to add a bench with storage and wall hooks to maximize storage and maintain organization.
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See more of this home
8. Hidden closet. Not everyone wants their coats on display. If that’s you, a coat closet suits your style. The owners of this farmhouse transformed an unused back staircase in the living room into a closet. This allowed them to pack the space and shut the door, keeping all their coats hidden.
Read more about this Massachusetts farmhouse
Read more about this Massachusetts farmhouse
A small pull along the wainscot paneling reveals a hidden coat closet. This slide-out closet was built into the wall to take advantage of unused space. Now the homeowners can hang up their coats and push them out of sight.
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Your turn: How do you store your coats? Tell us in the Comments.
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Entry Refresh: Door Inspiration Is Knocking
How to Make the Most of Your Entry (No Coat Closet Required)
See more of this home
Your turn: How do you store your coats? Tell us in the Comments.
More
Entry Refresh: Door Inspiration Is Knocking
How to Make the Most of Your Entry (No Coat Closet Required)
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Our house came with a coat closet which we hate for multiple reasons. The closet door, when open, blocks the front door. The closet is too small to fit both coats and shoes for a family of 4, so we have everyone’s shoes in the closet, the kids’ jackets/coats in free-standing preschool cubbies they have long outgrown (too small for their backpacks), and adults’ jackets/coats on an overloaded coat rack. All the sharing of such a cramped entry space creates bottlenecks of having to wait one’s turn to get shoes from the closet and take them to the living room furniture to put on when we are trying to get our family carpool out the door in the morning.
Our remodeler will rip out the closet and move a wall to free up floor space in the vestibule for a built-in hall tree that will give each family member an 18” wide cubby with 2-3 high double hooks (for full-length coats) and three 5” shoe shelves under a bench for putting on shoes. They will also replace the hardwood with LVT so we’ll no longer have to spread old towels everywhere every time it snows!
Here are our “before” pictures - can’t wait until we have the “after” ones to show!
We have the same layout with the coat closet behind the front door, but the smallest bedroom in the house would lose its closet if we tried to enlarge or move it.
When/if we ever replace our sofa I may take space from the living room for a storage bench. As it is, Hubby's jackets fill the closet, mine are in the back bedroom.