FAQ About The Hall Closet We Transformed Into a Mini Mudroom
Here is a rundown of the FAQ about the hall closet we turned into a mini mudroom in our last home. I am also sharing what we would do differently if we did it again! HERE is the original post sharing all about it.
Did you know it is possible to take a hall closet and turn it into a little mudroom area for shoes, backpacks and more? I am talking all about it and answering the questions (on the blog, social media, etc…) I get asked most about it.
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Our last home was really a small house and we loved it! It really forced me to get very creative with space. We had a front coat closet, but it was really inconvenient for our family. It didn’t really serve it the way we needed it to and of course I was up for solving the problem! I wanted a place my small children could store/find shoes and hang their backpacks up off of the floor. You can read all about it HERE.
Here are some of the questions I get asked about this space and it was the perfect example and merging beauty + function!
Did you have to reframe to door frame area and what did you do with the holes from removing the hinges?
We simply removed the door and the hinges. There was damage from were the hinges hung. We chose to simply fill those with simple spackling. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t perfect, but we were able to get it neat enough and it was worth avoiding the cost/hassle of redoing the whole frame. A no brainer for me!
How did you get cubbies to fit inside of the closet?
For this particular space, it was a pretty standard closet size. It was the size of the door frame essentially and therefore a 3×3 cubby storage system fit really well. We actually did this in my son’s closet as well at this house. We did remove the floor molding inside the closet and assembled some of the piece outside of the closet before setting the system inside the space to finish assembly. This will all vary depending on what size the closet is and whether you can install it assembled or need to assemble it inside. It’s a bit like a puzzle piece.
What if the storage cubby system doesn’t fit precisely in the closet?
Great question! If it is a very close fit, there is the option to trim things out with wood pieces on the outside. You do want to make sure that it is structural though and holds everything safely. I would say that this would require more wood work and expertise though.
Can you sit on this like a bench?
With this particular system and how we set it up, the answer is no. I am certain that most of these cubby systems have a disclaimer most times that say they should not be sat on. If you built it out yourself from scratch and had the wood working expertise, I am sure that one could be designed that way though. I also believe they do sell cubby systems that are made as benches too and depending on measurements/fit it may work as a good option!
What did you store in all of those cubbies?
We stored a lot of shoes, some gloves and hats too. But there are so many possibilities with this!
Could you do this in a bedroom?
We did! You can see here, we did this in my son’s room with a taller system and I LOVED it for toy/book storage.
What would you do differently?
I love this question. While I was really happy with how we did it and it worked great in terms of function, there are things I would do differently. For starters, Tyler and I have learned so much over the years with finishing work and construction projects. So I would definitely caulk the gaps/seams. I would have installed a floating shelf above instead of leaving the shelf that was already in the closet (it could have been prettier). I would also look into some fun details that may add a bit more character. For example, a pretty wallpaper, beadboard, etc… I always wanted to add a cushion too, but because this wasn’t an actual seat I didn’t want to give a false impression of it being one. I never did that.
This project was a simple favorite of mine. It didn’t cost much to do and it really greatly improved the function of everyday storage for us! My small children knew where to put things and where to find things all while making it look nice too. Those are my favorite kinds of solutions!
While this isn’t a step by step tutorial with exact measurements, I hope this provides some inspiration for anyone with non-functioning coat closets.
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Here are some Amazon affiliate links that are similar products to the ones used in our closets above! The sizes needed would depend on the ceiling height, closet width, etc… These may not be the correct sizes below, so make sure to double check!
It was fun to take a look back at this older project and address FAQ about this hall closet we turned into a mini mudroom in our last home. I also think it is important to look back at projects and think about what we would do differently if we did it again! Thanks so much for visiting today!
