Seeking ideas for winter coats/boots storage-no entry closet

[aristocatz]

I love our house, but it has some storage flaws. One biggie is we do not have ab entry closet or mudroom or an identified area to store our muddy and snowy boots/coats/gloves etc... when we enter our house. Most of the year, we do fine with a boot mat for shoes, but winter is just awful. We live on the East Coast in an area where we get a good amount of snow. A durable entry mat & a boot mat still leads to quite a wet & dirty mess everytime we enter the house.

I'm starting to look into storage bench & hall tree ideas-trying to find a solution that is under $400 & would be an organized and tidy solution to store boots, coats, etc when we come in from the cold.

We have 3 in our family, but soon to be 4.

Any brands or websites you might recommend? I don't mind buying a separate storage bench and rack to store coats.

Thanks!

 

[yoopermom]

I feel your pain. My realtor knows not to show us a house without one because our current situation drives me crazy! We do have a utility room, so in the winter we keep a row of boot dryers on a waterproof rug. Wet shoes or boots go right on those and it really extends the life of footwear by drying them quickly. We have rows of hooks in our attached garage for bulky coats. If you want yours warm you take it to your bedroom closet.

Can't wait to move in a month to our new house with large coat closet!

Terri

 

[Poipu]

Have you looked on pinterest or houzzes for ideas?

 

[xlxo]

Instead of a boot tray, I have three entrance rubber mats with deep sipes that inhale water from wet shoes/boots. They look new when I vacuum it in the Spring.

My mats look something like this....
http://www.amazon.com/Durable-Corpo...e-Thickness/dp/B0084XWGUW/ref=pd_sim_indust_4

 

[ksjayhawks]

Look at lowes, home depot, or whatever your home improvement center is. They have free standing wardrobe options. Add boot trays or a shoe rack.

Look at pinterest, too, as they had several options.

Or see if a local handyman could make you a free standing closet--kind of like the lockers that you see on many home improvement shows--that have room to hang coats and then a shelf for shoes/boots below.

Here are some examples from just a quick google search:

http://www.amazon.com/ECR4Kids-2-Se...F8&qid=1412486224&sr=8-2&keywords=wood+locker

http://www.houzz.com/wood-lockers

http://ana-white.com/2013/02/plans/modular-locker-single-locker

http://onecreativemommy.com/storage-lockers-kids/

 

[Happy Snowman]

Do you have an attached garage? What about putting up some hooks in the garage and some large rugs to contain boots and such?

If not, can you install some tile in your entryway. That will lessen any damage to the floor. Then install some wainscotting and hooks to hang coats, etc. Lands End has some Waterhog rugs that are great for winter messes. It's a never ending battle that is for sure!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We brought a pretty hanging rack (would with black hooks) at Target and hung it on a wall for the door to the garage. Then we bought a rubber tray for boots to hang out in.

 

[DebbieB]

My old house didn't have one, we used a coat tree with a tray for boots. Didn't have an attached garage so that wasn't an option.

 

[kirstenb1]

Several years ago we bought a storage bench/overhanging hooks at Target. They only came in black or white, but I sanded it down and painted it burgundy. I think it was around $160. Not nearly as nice as the more expensive stained wood ones, but it gets the job done. Has 5 double hooks, so everybody can hang 2 coats, and boots go in the bench. We have a separate large basket beside it for gloves/hats/scarfs. We do have an entryway closet too, but with 4 of us, it is stuffed full of off-season jackets and shoes.

 

[barkley]

Do you have an attached garage? What about putting up some hooks in the garage and some large rugs to contain boots and such?

If not, can you install some tile in your entryway. That will lessen any damage to the floor. Then install some wainscotting and hooks to hang coats, etc. Lands End has some Waterhog rugs that are great for winter messes. It's a never ending battle that is for sure!

I was thinking attached garage as well.

no one (except guests) enters through our front door in the winter-they come in the garage, kick off their shoes/boots (mat by the door to absorb melting snow), walk through the laundry room where they put their coats, hats... in the laundry sink (melting snow goes down the drain). as for the rest of the year/guests-we have a hall tree right by the front door where people can put coats, shoes and such.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I love our house, but it has some storage flaws. One biggie is we do not have ab entry closet or mudroom or an identified area to store our muddy and snowy boots/coats/gloves etc... when we enter our house. Most of the year, we do fine with a boot mat for shoes, but winter is just awful. We live on the East Coast in an area where we get a good amount of snow. A durable entry mat & a boot mat still leads to quite a wet & dirty mess everytime we enter the house.

I'm starting to look into storage bench & hall tree ideas-trying to find a solution that is under $400 & would be an organized and tidy solution to store boots, coats, etc when we come in from the cold.

We have 3 in our family, but soon to be 4.

Any brands or websites you might recommend? I don't mind buying a separate storage bench and rack to store coats.

Thanks!

We are in a similar situation.

What I wound up doing, after much trial and error, was to let everyone keep their wet boots and gloves on a long rag rug in the hallway, where the wetness can be absorbed, and they can look more neat than falling out of a muddy tray. Once dry, they're moved to an upstairs closet where they're stored, or down in the cellar for less frequently worn things. So consider some type of rug that fits whatever space you do have, with maybe some hooks or a tree nearby for coats (which we have, too).

If you google Bob Vila, he has some good ideas for "mudrooms" and for boot storage, etc. One idea I liked of his, to deal with the "wetness" factor, was to put some rocks in a chest and put the boots on top of that. I imagine it might get messy and smelly though, too. I think the rug is simpler to deal with.

This is something like what my area looks like.

I would like to re-work it to look more like what the picture has, but we currently have an armoire there, and DH made himself (and it has other sentimental attachments) so I doubt we can really replace it.

 

[aristocatz]

Wow, that looks awesome! Unfortunately, we don't have the space for that.

Thank you everyone for your replies so far-I checked out pinterest & houzzes.

We live in a dutch gambrel style house & we typically enter through our kitchen (side door). I wish we had a garage-that would solve everything!-but we do not. Our kitchen has white tile, so no damage caused to the floor, but.... it's white ugh, so no matter how much I clean, as soon as someone enters our house (especially in the winter), our kitchen is a mess. We tried a large utility mat, with a boot mat on the side, which helps a bit, but its just not enough in the winter or on rainy days. Shoes & boots inevitably get thrown on the boot mat, our toddler rearranges them lol or just runs right in the house and onto the floor with her shoes on.

Ideally, I am looking for a bench with a rack to store the boots & shoes-designed so the wetness would drip down to a mat underneath it. Drawers or baskets to store mittens and hats, maybe a coat rack on the wall behind it.

We are expecting our second baby in 2 months though & money will be very tight until Spring, so now I am just looking for a quick, clean, and cheap option.

I'm considering just getting something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-6277-...sr=1-26&keywords=boot+storage#customerReviews

 

[Happy Snowman]

Can you place the boots outside--put a mat or something out there--until they are dry? Is the entryway covered? That would keep the toddler away from them. You could slip her shoes off before you get into the house.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Can you place the boots outside--put a mat or something out there--until they are dry? Is the entryway covered? That would keep the toddler away from them. You could slip her shoes off before you get into the house.

In the winter they stay cold and wet if they stay outside - sometimes even frozen! Not fun to stick your foot into or wear all day.

 

[java]

Looking for ideas too. I'm thinking of rerouting everyone through the mud room. Then setting up a system in there. Righ now everyone is using the font door andhat won't work.

So coyld you use a different entrance in the winter? Maybe there ia more space for a better option. If i can get a day off that is my project!

We had a "guy" come out and he wanted $1500 to build something....we said we would think about it. That was 5 years ago.......yeah not happening. I might buikd something. Thinking storage bench of some kind?

 

[aristocatz]

Can you place the boots outside--put a mat or something out there--until they are dry? Is the entryway covered? That would keep the toddler away from them. You could slip her shoes off before you get into the house.

Unfortunately, no. We live near the Berkshires of Massachusetts & our winters can be quite cold, wet, and snowy. Leaving them outside would just freeze them. I wish out entryway was covered!! I mean, we do have a small "roof" over the entrance of our side door, but it's not enough to prevent the snow.

One would think that mudrooms would be as essential to building a house out here as central air is to Arizona!!!

I wish we prioritized a mudroom alot more when we were house hunting a few years ago. This is our first home. We had a mudroom when we rented, but I guess we took it for granted.

Looking for ideas too. I'm thinking of rerouting everyone through the mud room. Then setting up a system in there. Righ now everyone is using the font door andhat won't work.

So coyld you use a different entrance in the winter? Maybe there ia more space for a better option. If i can get a day off that is my project!

We had a "guy" come out and he wanted $1500 to build something....we said we would think about it. That was 5 years ago.......yeah not happening. I might buikd something. Thinking storage bench of some kind?

Wow, was it $1500 for a small mudroom? That seems so cheap! I would definitely pay that next year if that is all it costs!!

Our only other entrance is our front door, which leads into our living room/bottom of our stairs. We thought about (and are still thinking about) setting up a bench over there, but with the baby gate right at the bottom of the stairs, it just seems like it might be a bit hectic with a toddler & a soon to be newborn & might end up for a messier situation for our living room than our current situation in our kitchen. Also, our living room is hardwood, which I think might damage from the snow?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Is it an eat in kitchen with a separate dining room by chance? Wondering if you can re-prioritize space in the kitchen.


Maybe if you posted a picture of what your family walks into when they enter, folks may have better ideas.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Some houses do have a small enclosure added to their entryways just for this purpose. They put in some benches and storage for coats, shoes, backpacks and such. I see a lot of them around. I don't imagine it would be too, too costly, but not really sure. It would probably be money well spent, though, especially with a young family, as you have a lot of years of this in front of you with two small children (and their friends!)

Check out Hayneedle and Wayfair for hallway benches and storage ideas for existing space, too. Do you have a Mill Stores out you way? They have a lot of creeative unfinished (or finished) pieces that are inexpensive. ETA Oh no, I just saw that Mill Stores is closing some stores, but others are staying open, apparently. Anyway, there is one in Westboro, and another in Manchester, CT. https://www.millstores.com

 

[aristocatz]

Thank you-we do have an eat-in kitchen. That is what you enter from our side door, which is currently the entry we use most often....and seems to be the least damaging to the wet snow, as compared to our front entrance.

Our kitchen is not huge. When you enter our door, there is currently a round kitchen table to the left in the corner of the kitchen. We currently have a boot mat directly to the left of the door. Directly to the right is our stove/counters/sink/etc.. We do have a separate dining room that is off the kitchen that we really need to start using more.

Our plan after my maternity leave (when we are in a better place financially), we were thinking of getting rid of our kitchen table-we honestly rarely use it & it would save a ton of space. We are thinking of purchasing an island with stools to use instead, which would also allow for room for a storage bench &/or boot/coat storage system.

My maternity leave will end at the beginning of February though (unless she comes early) & it will take a few weeks to get back on track financially, so I guess at this point I'm just looking for an inexpensive fix....though the more I think about it, the more I'm thinking that my toddler would really benefit from having a bench to sit on when she comes inside.....

 

[kellyjeanie]

What about something like this -

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Martha-S...nch-with-Seat-4902/204149542?N=5yc1vZ4tgZas7e

We have something similar only it's for the wall and has hooks. We let each kid pick a color for the bins for their hats and mittens. If you did the bench route, you could put some sturdy hooks above or maybe next to it over the boot tray.