Our small entryway is functional and bright, and most people would think we are crazy to trade in a large entry way closet for a built in mudroom unit. But, the back of the closet is crumbling plaster, and the whole closet is so drafty that you can feel the cold air rushing out of it even when the door is closed. We are fortunate to have tons of closets and storage space for an old home that was built in 1934, and have decided to make the entryway more functional for us. Not to mention I like everything super organized, and a deep closet means the whole family just shoves stuff towards the back until the whole thing is a mess.

Here’s what we started with… from the outside a standard closet with the pretty vintage knob, and the inside was a crumbling drafty mess. This winter we are going to have some major savings on our heat bill, with this whole thing insulated and sealed up.

We had our contractor repair and seal off the crumbling back of our closet, and frame the space in for a mudroom unit. They added a ton on insulation, and smoothed out multiple spots in the entryway during the drywall process. Here is our crumbling mess of an entryway, in all it’s glory, ha. I’m grateful we had our contractor doing it, so he could make sure everything was supported and in good shape. The brick from our chimney dictated how wide we could frame in the space, and we were able to go a little bit bigger than the closet was originally. We were able to get a little over 20” in width, which isn’t a ton, but for a family of four it works!

I was soooo excited once the drywall was finished! We had the entire entryway sealed off in plastic, and used the side door during this process. It definitely kept the mess down, but having any type of drywall work done is a huge mess.

Our contractor, Chris Jones Construction, built the unit in his woodworking shop, and slid it in in pieces. It was a fairly simple design, but had just what we needed for the entry. He finished it off with trim and caulked the seams, and then I was able to prime and get to the fun part! Painting and pulling it all together.

I painted it Naval by Sherwin williams, in a high gloss enamel. I'm hoping between the enamel and dark color, that it will hold up well with two boys in the house. Wish me luck! I used the Benjamin Moore Advance enamel paint and had them color match the navy I wanted. I’ve used this enamel on trim and our kitchen island, and have been sooo impressed with how well it holds up, and the perfect glossy finish.

The hooks are from Anthropologie and we have had them for years. We have moved them with us multiple times, and love them! The baskets are Home Goods, and perfect for umbrellas, sunglasses and a stash of masks. We all get our own shoe cubby, wahoo! I repainted the entry way to match the living and dining room, in Sherwin Williams snowbound. It’s the perfect creamy white to complement a host of colors in our house.

Stripes are my favorite, and the bench cushion is nice and comfy, as well as durable! I went with Schumacher garter stripe in sky. The lumbar pillow adds in a mix of colors, in the classic GP&J Baker Nympheus print.

I love the mix of new and old in our entryway - a functional built in with fun color and prints, and the original door with the pretty stained glass and weathered wood. The pendant light is from Anthropologie, and reminds me of the pretty moravian stars that are so popular in Winston-Salem.

xoxo

Liz