In our second home in Virginia with 2 young kids, having a functional entryway mudroom was a must-have space in our home. We needed a place to put all the gear we used in a 4-season climate (snow boots, summer hats, and more!). So I shared How to Turn a Closet into a Mudroom in this post, originally published in January 2015. When we moved to Florida, there wasn't a need for all the Winter gear and we drastically reduced our coats and boots. In fact, a coat closet wasn't needed at all in Florida! So we turned the coat closet into a mini mudroom using the same method as the DIY closet mudroom in our second house. Keep reading to see our entryway closet makeover in both our second and third homes!
Remove everything from the closet so you are left with an empty space. Patch any holes in the wall left by previous fixtures and the door frame. Let the wall repair dry before sanding (and if needed, patch again, then sand again).
Cut the wood for the bench. Cut a frame to place on the floor.
Cut the plywood to fit the space in the closet for the bench and place it on top of the frame so you have a platform. Use the bins you intend to use as a reference to create the legs. Our second house was big enough for 5 bins but the third house could only fit 4 bins. These bins are 12" x 16".
Cut the legs and attach them with screws to the plywood before attaching the plywood to the frame. Attach the plywood with legs to the frame using crews.
Cut a second piece of plywood and attach it to the top of the legs as your bench using screws.
Cut the Baseboard to fit the front of the bottom of the bench and the sides of the wall.
Use the 1 x 2 x 8 pine as trim on the front of the bench to give it a finished look. Attach the trim using a nail gun so you don't see the nails.
Use the 1 x 4 pine cut to size to create a border on the wall to attach the hooks. Attach the wood with screws. Our hooks are 45 inches above the bench. In our second house, I made the kids stand on the bench and reach up and I placed the hooks at a height where I knew they could reach them.
Build the frame for the shelf using the underlayment and the remaining 1 x 2 x 8 pine for the inside of the floating shelf.
Attach the shelf frame to the wall using screws. Our shelf is 8" above the wood for the hooks.
Use the 1 x 3 pine for the front of the shelf and attach it with a nail gun.
Cut and attach the remaining underlayment for the top of the shelf (attach with a nail gun)
Use Wood Putty to fill the screw holes and let dry before painting.
Paint the wall and the built-ins. I used Glidden Premium Paint + Primer in off-the-shelf Pure White with an Eggshell finish and I stained the bench and shelf with Briarsmoke wood stain.
Attach the Coat/Hat Hooks.
Place the bins on the shelf and in the bench cubbies once the paint and stain is dry.