For better or worse we opted not to carve up our floor space on the parlor floor with a coat closet. We didn’t move many walls on this floor so there just wasn’t a great place to build one. Every place we considered was obviously interjected into the space. But we still have coats! And so do our guests! So one of our projects over the past few weeks as it gets colder was to build our long planned coat nook.
When you walk into our front door, you’re greeted by our amazing original staircase and bannister then beyond that are the stairs to the garden level that wrapped around behind them. Except those stairs now lead down to a locked door to our rental unit and the basement. Since this is an area that will be rarely traveled we thought it was a perfect place to create our coat nook.
We also wanted to make a feature out of what would have been a dead space. One of our secret weapons in home renovations to inexpensively add character and create a feature are wainscoting panels. Extra molding and shelves can create even more of mudroom feel, but in this case we wanted to keep it simple since it is a hallway that will be used even if not that often.
We went with a beaded recessed panel that echos the shaker cabinets and doors we installed but has a bit more detail. The same baseboard wraps around it with the same semi-gloss paint to create a cohesive look.
We mounted two custom library lights angled back toward the wall. They create some drama in the lighting plan and signal that the nook is a focal point. The final essential component are the six vintage (triple prong) coat hooks screwed into the panels. It gives us room for 18 coats, and more if we double up!
Before and After of the new paneling and DIY project
It was a fun #DIY project! We’re happy with the way it came out. It made a feature and focal point out of an area that was dead space. We love the way it looks and it has done a great job keeping our coats off of furniture (and the bannister, and the floor… ).
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