Turning my Closet into a Hall Tree

So I’m a really clutter-y kind of person. I set things down and I forget about them until stuff on stuff piles up. My husband is the same way so you can imagine our house gets pretty messy pretty regularly. I’ve found that I can in fact be a clean and organized person IF there are systems in place to help me be that way (husband is another story…still working on that). Anyways, I preface all of this to say that I knew our entryway closet was not working for our family and set on to create a more creative storage solution.

Clutter is caused by a failure to return things to where they belong. Therefore, storage should reduce the effort needed to put things away, not the effort needed to get them out.”

Marie Kondo

Our first problem was the shoes. with nowhere to store the shoes they always get thrown randomly somewhere near the front door. I needed to create a space where we could store shoes. In the same line with the shoes, there was nowhere to really sit and put on the shoes, so I knew we needed a bench. Finally, a place for bags and hats and other things we take in and out of the house. Otherwise, the bags get left in random places – living room, dining room, etc. With all these things in mind, I create a plan to convert our closet into a hall tree.

I first measured and sectioned off the parts of the closet for the different areas. I kept a small section to remain a closet for jackets and tall items. The other section I turned into a bench with shoe storage underneath. I mainly used MDF board because wood is very expensive and I knew I was painting it anyways.

After priming and painting, I started to fun part: decorating! I attached additional hooks in the back for all our bags, lanyards, and hats. I made a little cushion for the bench and paired it with an inexpensive peel and stick wallpaper for the back. The top shelf will have baskets for additional storage. I’m super happy with how it turned out and it has already helped organize our space.


Rachel Williams

Artist | Designer | Educator

Making mistakes and fixing them, so you don’t have to