Organizing Your Entryway

I teamed up with Valu Home Centers again and provided them this post for their new blog! Check it out – its another awesome resource for DIY love.

September means everyone is back-to-school! Back-to-school comes with a lot of shoes, coats, bags, umbrellas and who knows what else strewn about in your entryway and house. So now let’s face the facts. Most houses don’t allow room for an entire mudroom – but that doesn’t mean you can’t have an awesome and organized entryway! It’s all about maximizing the space while giving your decor purpose.

In this post I’m going to walk you through how I turned our entryway space into a space that makes sense. Here’s a look at what I started with.

Pretty boring and non-functional, right? When envisioning what this space should be I knew I wanted it to be neither. It would have to house various items without looking messy. So without further introduction, here are the DIY projects I tackled to make our entryway work.

Project 1: Upcycled Antique Window Organization

For this project you will need:

window
krylon chalkboard paint
hooks
paintbrush
screwdriver
nails for hanging on the wall
strong wire and hooks
chalk

The first thing I wanted was a place to write notes, reminders and to-dos. I always seem to have a million different “lists” around but no central place to keep it all. I found this old window and gave it some krylon chalkboard paint on the glass panes.

After my painting was complete, I attached some wire to the back for hanging purposes. I went in an “x” pattern with the wire to make it very secure and I used a screw driver to tighten the hooks. Note: Make sure you get really sturdy wire if you’re using something made out of real wood. An object like a window can get really heavy hanging on drywall or plaster!

Next I added a couple of hooks to the front for coats, bags and umbrellas. Honestly, you can never have too many hooks. To finish it off, I started making my organization lists. Of course, you can use regular chalk to write on it, but chalk pens always turn out with really clean lines. I looks so pretty! Just wait until you see how this turned out in the end!

Project 2: Mason Jar Wall Hangings

For this project you will need:

mason jars
steel clamp (I used 2 1/4 – 3 1/4)
pieces of wood cut to size
saw
hammer
nails
screwdriver
picture hanger

For this part of the entryway project, I started by picking up some mason jars…

…and some steel clamps that just happen to fit on the neck of the jars!

I took home my supplies and started working.

I used this piece of reclaimed wood (stained dark walnut) to cut it into pieces 8 inches long to accommodate the size of the mason jars. Note: You can use a regular saw or a powered one for this task.

Once the wood was cut to size, I attached the picture hanger to the back of the wood so it has the ability to hang on the wall. Note: You want to do this BEFORE you attach the clamp.

Next, I attached the clamp to the other side of the piece wood. I used really small nails so that they could fit through the holes of the clamp. I put 2-3 nails in each one to make sure it was secure.

Once everything was attached, I put the mason jar head at the top of the clamp and started tightening. Note: This is really easy to do with your hands but to get it extra tight, you’ll want a screwdriver.

Then I just added a little strip of chalkboard paint to finish it off!

Project 3: Ruler Storage Bins

For this project you will need:

1 x 3 x 8 piece of wood
thin plywood
nails
hammer
wood glue
yard sticks
saw
paint or stain

This is an antique bin that I found a long time ago. It’s one of my favorite décor pieces, so I didn’t want it to get the wear-and-tear of an entryway. Instead of using it for the entryway, I thought I’d make my own bin! This bin measures:

short sides: 12 x 9 inches
long sides: 19.5 x 9 inches
bottom: 12 x 20.25 inches

I picked up a 1 x 3 x 8 piece of wood at Valu for $1.49. I took it home and cut it into pieces 19.5 inches long to replicate the original bin. These will be for the two long sides of the bin. Note: Since the wood is thin, you can use a regular saw but if you have a power saw of some sort it’s always a little easier!

Then I cut two thin pieces of wood for the opposite sides and bottom and sanded down the edges.

I knew I wanted something to jazz up the ends of the bin so I picked up some Valu yard sticks. Since I LOVE chevron, I decided I would cut the yard sticks up to make that into a pattern. With the dimensions of the bin I figured out that 4 inch pieces would look best. Once I had my yard sticks to the 4 inch sizes, I started applying them to the board with wood glue.