Our Small Entry Closet Gets a Makeover: Mini Mudroom Project

I've had this idea for awhile. Yes, I have many, many, many ideas. This idea of mine got the reaction of "Honey, I'm not sure. Sounds like a lot of work. You decide. You have the decorating brain in this family." Can you guess who that reaction was from? My awesome hubby, Dan, is always so supportive of my ideas. But, mostly I think it's because many of them never come to fruition. I have a stack of pictures saved on my desktop in a folder labeled "House Ideas" and out of the 280 pics I generally compile them into a couple wish list projects. This entry closet/mini mud room project was on my wish list. If you have a small entry closet, I hope this inspires you. If you dont have a small entry closet, well I hope this still inspires you. Thanks for looking! Let me know what you think. Props to my hubs Dan. He's the man - no really, he is. So here it is...

ENTRY CLOSET BEFORE

 

 (my poor attempt to organize with some metal storage cubes wasnt working and the bare wall next to the closet wasnt helping the space much either)

 

AFTER

Entry Closet a.k.a. Mini Mudroom

  OR....Mini Mudroom with old shabby red chairs (Option #2)

These red chairs are now for sale in my *SHOP* tab.

Ultimately we decided that the chairs in there didnt really make the space as usable as it could be and I had already painted my old toy box for the space so we opted for that. I'm loving the picture gallery wall combined with the mini mudroom. I guess that's what I'll dub the closet area now. It's just a nice thing to see when you walk in the house.

HERE'S THE LOWDOWN:

Cost: $4.80 for a can of primer spray paint.

$3.50ish for an extra can of Dover White spray paint from Walmart (I had one can of this already)
$1.50 for my thrift store basket
TOTAL COST: $5

(I had a Lowes gift card I used for the primer yeah!)

I already had everything else you see in the space. I spray painted old gold hooks with the Dover white, found the wood in the rubbish bin at Lowe's they're connected to for my unique coat/purse hanger. I also had the paint for my stripes (Wall paint for stripes = Valspar China White and Valspar Prairie Dance - also the same color used on my living walls). I had the lamp shade as well - its been down in my basement in storage. Also had the light cord the I used to hang the lamp shade with too. Score! Here are some pics to walk you through it....

 I started by painting everything inside the closet. Including the mail slot. I took out the shelf and rod.

This toy box was made for me by my dad back in good ol' 1980. It was about time she got a makeover!

 A can of spray on primer - it took the whole can - I did the inside as well

After the coat of primer I sprayed it with Dover White by Krylon. It took about 5 quick coats (waiting about 1 minute between coats). I then sprayed it with a top coat to protect it.
Now onto my coat and purse hanging DIY rack. These sell for $12 at walmart and they're pretty boring there. We had these brass hooks that the previous owner left behind. They're mismatched but I loved that about them. A coat of primer and Dover white and they look awesome!

 We mounted them on our free Lowe's wood scrap. Love the knots and colors in the wood scrap!

The lamp shade was an easy DIY project. I just looped my light cord through the center of the pendant and then pulled the whole cord up through the loop (half knot? slip knot?). Then I attached an extension cord to it connected to an on off switch that you can buy for $2.00 at walmart (I already had this as I love them!). I hung it on the ceiling for some much needed light and used a staple gun to affix the cord to the wall and a ceiling hook to hang it from of course).

 The details of the light cord I used and the bulbs - I was so glad to see that the little tiny bulbs I can use for the cord come in 60 watt. Yeah!

 A few more details - We will use the old dowel to make a place for coats to hang from below that shelf tomorrow. Dan cut the old shelf into a smaller piece and then attached a piece of old molding to the inside of the wall (you cant see it) so I we had a level place to put the shelf...and now more storage for our hats.

The sweet mail box slot!

So what do you think?