Ahhhhhh. That moment when you come in out of the cold into the warmth of your home. As soon as you step into the entryway, a wave of heat starts to thaw the chill from your hands and cheeks. The next moment you need to undress. The four layers of clothes you put on to venture outdoors are now unbearable indoors. Instead of dropping your layers just inside the door, you can create entryway storage. It feels so cozy when everything has a place.

My home is cozy (i.e. small) and the front door opens right into the dining room. So, there is no true designated space for an entryway. However, I am not going to let a little thing like a floor plan prevent me from having storage. I was able to turn a corner of my dining room into a well-organized entryway…all that was needed were some DIY skillz (with a “z”) and some dumpster diving.

A word on dumpster diving. Dumpster diving is just a term that I use to describe any found objects. Things you got for free from the curb or at a business. Sometimes it does not actually involve a dumpster. In this craft project, my dumpster dive items were a pallet and a drawer (technically not from a dumpster, but a dresser someone was giving away for free).

If you’ve been following our Remake It Happen upcycling adventures, you may know that our Big Red kitchen storage project left us with two unused drawers.

What to do with them? Well, I have this drawer, and I found a pallet and the boots, coats and scarves lying on the dining room floor are making me nutty. So, I cooked up this beauty:

Now, there is a place to hang coats and scarves. The napkin holder keeps the mail organized, a basket holds mittens, and the whole thing is topped of with a piece of pottery made my friend. It’s handy to keep your keys in and it looks amazing. It’s so satisfying to eliminate clutter with beautiful entryway storage.
Let’s breakdown this DIY.

 

Materials Needed for Entryway Storage DIY

• Pallet wood (free – from dumpster dive)
• Drawer (free – from previous furniture rehab project)
• 4 stair balusters ($28)
• Stain – small container ($5)
• 2 long brackets ($1)
• Hacksaw ($12)
• Wood glue ($6)
• Wood screws ($5)
• Cardboard (free – from recycling bin)
• Fabric ($9)
• Basket ($20)
• Decorative coat hooks ($16)

Total cost: $102

How to Make Entryway Storage

There was plenty of trial and error in this project. So, if things aren’t going just the way you wish, hang in there.

 

Make the legs for the entryway table

1. Disassemble the pallet. Used the hacksaw to cut the nails and a crowbar when things got tough.
2. Measure the length of the drawer. This will determine the distance you want the legs to be apart. My drawer is 24 inches and the legs are 17.5 inches apart. There is no rule for distance. I just when with what looked best. Take into account the width of the balustrades when determining what length to make your cuts. In my example the balustrades are 2 inches across. So, the total distance between the two front legs is 2 + 17.5 + 2 = 21.5
3. You are going to cut four pieces from your pallet wood. 2 short sides (9.5 in)  and 2 long sides (17.5 in).
4. Use wood glue to attach side pieces to the balustrades and then reinforce by hammering nails into the balustrade.

Add a shelf to the entryway table

So, we are going to make a place for a basket in our entryway table. This will help tuck away all those hats and gloves that get lost on the closet floor.

1. You will cut pallet pieces to cover the distance between the two short sides of the leg base. Keep in mind that you might have to cut corners into the end pieces to accommodate the balustrade.
2. No hard math is required in the wood cutting for the shelf. I cut the the pieces that had to fit around the balustrade first. Then, I cut the pieces in between. I didn’t calculate how many pieces I needed for the shelf. I cut one piece at a time and increased the spaces between each pallet piece until it covered the leg base. Remember you just need the shelf pieces to cover the side pieces in the leg base so that you can nail into them.
3. Line up your shelf pieces and nail them into the sides of the leg base.

Attach drawer as the entryway table top

At this stage, you should feel pretty confident about the stability of your table. The next steps are going to add the table top for storage. 

1. Position the drawer face down on a flat surface.
2. Place your leg base in the table and use wood glue to adhere the top of the balustrade to the bottom of the table. Let it set for 30 minutes.
3. Flip your table so that gravity can help the wood glue bind the drawer and balustrades.
4. Let dry and make sure the table is super secure before you move on.

Build coat rack for entryway table

1. Cut 3 pieces of pallet to your desired length. I made my coat rack that width of my table.
2. Use long brackets to attach the 3 pallet pieces together.
3. Screw the decorative coat hooks to the front of your pallet pieces.

 

Decorate the entryway table

So, the construction is done. Now, it’s time to decorate your entryway storage.

1. Stain the balustrade (legs) and base. If you want to stain or paint your drawer, do that as well. I didn’t use polycrylic because I wanted a rustic unfinished look to match the pallet wood.
2. Cut a piece of cardboard to fit the drawer table top.
3. Wrap the cardboard in the fabric you choose. Use glue to secure. This piece will cover up what was once the bottom of the drawer, which is probably not made of the prettiest wood.
4. Fit the wrapped cardboard onto the drawer top. I choose not to glue mine down to the drawer because I might decide to change the fabric one day and the ledge of the drawer held everything in place. If your drawer doesn’t have a ledge, use glue.
5. Add the hardware to the drawer.
6. Select a basket to fit your shelf.

There you have it!

3 Things the DIY Entryway Storage Teaches You

• Stain can be fun! I played around with the color and texture I wanted simply by adding water and applying thin layers. Keep trying until you get the look you want.
• Changing your plan is okay. My original vision for how the balustrades would be used as legs did not work out. So, I adapted and ended up with shelf for a pretty basket.
• Organized spaces can give you a real high. Less clutter lowers your blood pressure and gives you a buzz.

 

How did it go?

Did you try this project? What entryway storage tips do you have?