by Graystone Design + Build
9 months ago in Design Dilemma
We need a landing spot!
We have a big house but little storage space and no obvious place to "land" when we come inside from the garage. I've attached our floorplan and you'll see when you come in from the garage, there's a long hallway (we have basement stairs where it says coat closet) with rooms off of it, and no open space until you get to the dining room, which is where everyone dumps their stuff when they come, leaving me with a messy room open to the whole house. The hallway is too narrow to put a table and the laundry room too small to add a dumping bench. Any ideas on how to give our family a landing spot?

Just to add: Currently I have one spot for my kids to hang their coats/bags in their hallway (bdrm 2&3); a spot for me and my husband in our bedroom by the door; and everything else still ends up in the dining room on the table!
 
lefty47 HI -- Do you really need that little powder room there because that is the only solution is to use that space to make extra closet with a small shelf /counter/bench for things.Other than building something in the garage beside the house entrance for the stuff before it even has a chance of getting into the house. OR the "his closet "goes and the laundry room is expanded to make room for a drop zone there,sorry Dad !
9 months ago ·
Aggie Purvinska My first reaction: Get a Stacked Washer and Drier, reduce the width of that closet and use the space to the left for a "Landing Spot" Cabinet..
9 months ago · ·
Barbara Ann Holmes - Lintels & Lallies Hi there,
Beautiful floor plans!

Have you considered removing the wall on the left when you first enter? This will give you a large mud/laundry room. If you want your laundry room closed off, you can have someone put an angle door from the back of the powder room wall. This option will give you a large surface to do a bench & cubbies etc that everyone can unload upon entrance. Another (easier) option would be to remove the door on the coat closet & install a low desk-like shelf in that space as a catch-all nook. Hope this helps!
9 months ago ·
Graystone Design + Build lefty47: We do use that powder room a lot because I have two young girls so their bathroom is not usually a good option for guests to use.
9 months ago ·
Graystone Design + Build AggieDesigns: We actally do have the washer/dryer stacked and then a small sorting/folding table to the left of the w/d. Other than that, there's only room for the door to open and standing room to load/unload. It's really small to work in, so to add a cabinet in with the constant laundry exchange isn't really an option.
9 months ago · ·
Custom Home Planning Center Least expensive and quickest fix: open up the wall cavity on your two dead triangles to the hall.The smaller can be drop station for keys and such, under that a built in umbrella stand. The larger for wall hooks and boots.
9 months ago ·
Aggie Purvinska I see, that's a really tough challenge! What's on the left hallway wall on the left, could it be a bead board with hooks and maybe a mirror and a small ledge for keys, etc, or is it too narrow?
9 months ago ·
Graystone Design + Build Barbara Ann Holmes: I have considered removing the wall and basically opening up that whole area to be one laundry/mudroom area. As a shortcut I could just remove the laundry room door to free up the wall space where the door opens into, and place a small bench and hooks there. It would still be really cramped though.
9 months ago ·
judyg Garage is there waiting for some closets. I had the same problem and I bought Ikea pantries (inexpensive and good looking) and just had the carpenter install them. You can line them up on both the interior garage walls. There are so many ways you can outfit them. I also use one or two for the crock pot, old electric frying pan, and all that other stuff that you know you will need once a year. You can assign them, even hubby can have a couple.
9 months ago ·
Graystone Design + Build Custom Home Planning Center: One of those dead triangles has pipes in it, but we might be able to open the other one and put hooks under it for coats/bags.
9 months ago ·
Graystone Design + Build AggieDesigns: Yes! It is a tough challenge, one I've been irritated with for 10 years! It's just a straight wall on the left but our hallways are only 38" wide so it's a bit cramped to stop and take off coats/shoes, etc.
The only other option I've been able to work out is to put a system on the wall of our family room; the same wall that backs up to the kitchen pantry. I just hate the idea of all that stuff being so visible.
9 months ago ·
houssaon I think that the garage is the best option, unless you move the laundry to the basement and that area becomes your mudroom.
9 months ago ·
Graystone Design + Build judyg & houssaon: I've thought of the garage too, but it's hard getting everyone to take off bags and coats in a cold/hot garage, and then to go back out there for forgotten items will let a lot of conditioned air in/out.

I'm really looking for a place to put my purse, coat, shoes; my husband's keys, wallet, coat, man-bag; my kids' backpacks, shoes, coats. I think considering all that stuff and the limited space, I may have to separate our stuff from our kids' stuff, which is fine.
9 months ago ·
Aggie Purvinska We can always take away your closet..., just kidding! Well here is a thought, maybe re purposing your formal dining into a Study Room, Storage with Neatly Covered Cabinets and Built in Desks and moving your dining room out to family room....table being longways to the left there...

Or, taking over his closet completely for the mudroom, and moving a walk in closet further into the master bedroom, reducing the size of the Master..cutting into the tray ceiling LOL. What a challenge!
9 months ago ·
olldcan Would Dad notice if his closet just disappeared if so then maybe 1/4 of it wouldn't be so obvious
9 months ago · ·
Barbara Ann Holmes - Lintels & Lallies The only other thing I can think (that hasn't been mentioned) is to make the laundry wall a 1/2 wall with a table-like (counter) surface to drop things off & hooks can go on the bottom or wrap around. Best of luck~hope you find a solution soon!
9 months ago ·
houssaon Well other than moving the laundry to the basement, how about including the washer dryer in Dad's closet and then the back area is the mud room?

Washer/dryer in a cabinet in the breakfast room? Washer/dryer in the garage?
9 months ago · ·
houssaon Eliminate Dad's closet and buy a large armoire.
9 months ago · ·
Graystone Design + Build My parents live in the basement so I can't move the w/d there. :)

I think the best solution is to take away the closet behind the laundry room and push the w/d to the back wall and use the front area as the mudroom. I have plenty of space in the master so I could set up a tall armoire as a "closet" for my husband.

Thanks everyone!
9 months ago · ·
Custom Home Planning Center even with the pipes you might move them over to the next stud cavity and if the triangle is the pipes location then you can still use the 3.5" stud cavity for a key hang up and usb charging station.
9 months ago ·
J B Other ideas: Unstack washer+dryer, put them side by side under a countertop to get a bigger folding table. Either remove Laundry wall entirely, or install pocket door to help with all that space a swinging door takes up. Install rows of coat hooks on wall in laundry for hanging all those things. Hang organization (maybe something like one of those shoe organizer thing) on wall with individual slots for everyone's stuff (wallet, keys, etc.)
9 months ago ·
sacapuntaslapioz here is a radical idea: Create a covered walkway from the garage to the covered porch, along the dining room window (you can always get a skylight or solar tubes if the dining has some light diminshed) Houzz has some amazing ideas for it, and then open a door from the garage into this walkway and close the door from the garage into that hallway. Close the wall from the dining room into the foyer this way everyone will use the foyer, in there you can have some furniture, tables, etc. make those with folding doors, and you get a neat house.
9 months ago ·
Dytecture I like houssaon's idea of opening up the laundry area to the garage entry door, at least it is visually more spacious. The master bath vanities could be reduce in size to allow for a bit of 'landing' space as well.
9 months ago ·
Custom Home Planning Center One thing you may not be aware of is the full size condensing one piece washer/dryer. Cost as much as buying each separately but takes up 1/2 the space. Full cycle wash and dry without taking the time to move items from one machine to another. Doesn't require a dryer vent either. That could free up space for hooks and catch all in the hall.
9 months ago ·
Susan Mills Design A simple fix for your entry way and to provide the storage you need is to angle a beautiful armoire to the top right of the foyer as you enter (the corner that has its back to the closet) depending on your style it can be antique, farmhouse, fun, a piece of art, funky or whatever appeals to you. It can be refit inside to give you hooks, shelves, cupboards or cubbies. I love to see something like this in a foyer!
9 months ago ·
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