Look at photos here, and there are lots of beautiful homes with no closet in site.

If you don't install an entry way closet, you may wish to put a coat tree or similar item for hanging coats.

I agree with pcmom1.

Would probably depend on where you live - more accurately the weather. Cold climates lend to lots of coats, scarves, gloves, boots, etc. Florida - not so much! Also - how often is the front door used as entry for the family? Is it only used for guests or the retrieve the UPS packages? We are in the middle of designing our custom home - and it took some convincing to NOT put the closet by the front door, but the garage door - where we enter the house 99% of the time. We will have a coat rack/umbrella stand in the front foyer.

As a potential buyer, I would want a closet somewhere, either by the front door or the garage entrance for coats. If you live in a climate that requires coats infrequently, then by all means opt for a more expansive entry.

I still hold that more storage is always better..without photos to see your particular situation it is difficult to be definitive with advice..perhaps the plan can be changed to include with less intrusion...perhaps there is another way to create a more impressive entryway......think of this...did you ever look at a house and say I love this house but "it just has too much storage"

I don't have one. I don't miss it either.

Think of your home as an answer to your problems. If you do not need a place to hang up your coat, or a guest's coat, when walking through the front door then you may not want a closet there. A hook, a chair, or the floor can also be used to store a coat. A lot of people remove their coat as they enter a house as long as the indoor temperature is kept at a temperature that would accommodate not needing a coat for warmth while inside. I always provide some sort of coat storage at the main entries of a home.

a guest closet generally only works if you are having a couple couples come over. when you have a guest list of 6+ odds are you'll be taking the coats up to a spare room anyway.

so, think in terms of, where can i graciously park 2-4 coats. i have a coat tree that only appears when the weather is cold and some company is expected. the rest of the time it hangs out in the basement.

I'd say if you don't have adequate space to put seasonal items elsewhere, then put in a closet. While the mud room is where we will enter/exit, it's mainly to house my husband's dirty work wear. I certainly do not want my nice stuff hanging next to his. I'd say it would also depends on how much you entertain. No one is actually going to spend their time standing around in the foyer so why not put the space to good use? Just my opinion, but no front closet wouldn't be a deal breaker for me either. It's really all personal preference.

Closets are handy to have when company arrives and hang their coats in them . I rather not see coats piled up everywhere including the top of a bed.

I love a front hall closet. Handy for guests and also a good place to store front door decor such as wreaths, flags, etc.

Are you going to put one in elsewhere? I live in CA and don't need winter gear but our last house had no hall close and I HATED it! I needed a closet for the vacuum and hated having none in the hall. It was at the top of my list when we were moving. Then we moved to a house with a closet that was poorly placed too close to the front door and we knocked it out. There is a separate mini closet in the hall that will hold the vacuum so it was worth it to me to have a more open entry way and great room.

Glad I came across this post. In our new house plan, we don't have a nice area off the foyer or front door to put a functional guest coat closet. So we were going to carve out a space in the master bed closet off the hall, which would reduce the master closet area (looks like a bad idea). You all confirmed my original plan of using a coat tree or use the study off the foyer for large number of guests.

You need a front closet to hang coats for guests. If you want to think ahead to resale then put in an entry closet. It is far more useful than a big entry. How much time does anyone spend in the entry?

A coat tree will look messy. Not at all in keeping with a home that has "an expansive entry."

One thing no one mentions is ...where do you keep your coats normally...we keep ALL our coats and outerwear in the front door closet...much handier than going into another room to store or get coats when needed...same with gloves..rain boots...garden shoes...hats etc...if you rarely use your front door in daily life...the same accommodation at the back door is handy as well

Ours is actually a small Walk-in closet

Here is the part of the plan that shows the current closet. I am thinking of removing the guest coat closet in favor of a larger master closet as you see. Note that front entry door is not often used except for guests. We will have a closet and lockers in the mud hall (far right). The options are to use a coat tree in by the L shaped stair or add closet in the study.

Any comments are greatly appreciated.

The plans are more confusing than helpful to me ( not being an architect).. but in principal it appears that the entry is large enough to be an important aspect in presenting an impressive introduction to your home...a coat tree seems too casual and distracting in such a setting and the proposed closets in the adjoining area seem very convenient...

I live in an area where hardly anyone wears a coat ( coastal So California ), ours was adjacent to the kitchen , I converted it to a pantry. I have a bench in our entry & IF someone comes with a coat they can place it there along with purses if they wish. Depends upon where you live obviously. There are some interesting coat racks online if your guests wear coats.

The plans I posted are for a home in New Albany Ohio, which gets really cold in winter. I am trying to decide whether to keep the coat closet as shown in the current plan (X) or in the study marked in red rectangles (which would reduce the study space).

Perhaps just one closet in the study...

I'm really upset right now, because our architects designed an 18" deep entryway "open coat closet" after I expressed a number of times (to our GC as well), that I can't wait to have a large coat closet for all of our messy coats. How is a clean modern home supposed to look minimal and chic with an open coat closet system, and nowhere to put shoes or boots? Am I being too picky here? Spend millions of dollars with a floor plan that clearly states "coat closet," only to find that an 18" deep closet has been framed in (with no functional use?!)? I'm sad, I'm angry, and I want to understand if I'm out of line for expecting to have been given a choice in the matter? It would have been nice to have been told what a "coat closet" WASN'T when our floor plan had no measurements. Why on earth would an architect assume that I'd want that? Please enlighten me (genuinely), because this is a upset for me, especially as a mom wanting usable space that can look clean as modern.

In my opinion, it is totally understandable to want a decent coat closet in the entry of the home. Talk to the architect.

@uberbrwad - I’ll just share my experience. We decided not to put a front entry/guest closet. Because we have a large mud hall that has seats and open lockers to hand daily things, and a larger closet to hang seasonal clothes. Not having a front closet gave adequate space for much needed master closet. In the past two weeks we never experienced the need for it. I would recommend you taking it off if it does not quite fit your form and function of your home.

I meant to say “ in the last two years, we never regretted our decision” may be I need some coffee.

So we're renovating the entire first floor and one of the first things we asked for is a large front coat closet. We have something tiny (house was built in 1928 so limited storage) that you need to walk to the living room to access, and the only way into the house is the front door. With the current closet too small, there is no where to keep seasonal and out of season coats and my entryway looks so messy with the coat hooks we put up. I also hate running to my closet downstairs to look for things that Ive needed to store elsewhere. For me the front coat closet is non-negotiable although I could see that being different if our house had a separate entrance that was used most of the time.

@uberbrawd If you are looking forward to a nice large, closed closet, then let them know and have it fixed before it's too late. 18" would require coat hooks instead of a hanging rod. I don't know why anyone would purposely design an open closet. Are you sure they didn't intend to put doors on it?

Thanks @Elaine Doremus @Prime Ohio @Newkitchenny55 and @kayozzy, I'm disappointed given all the sacrifices we genuinely made to pay these guys (architect and GC), especially through poverty, family deaths, unemployment...and of course there's the kitchen sink. It's tough, because I like our architect. She's a very nice person, but she screwed up by not giving us a choice. Arrogance + Greed + Corrupt GC = Future Homeowner 10-Step Program we will have to go to after all of this. Ultimately, there's nothing we can do: there are shear walls at play, so we can't move anything, and we have a sub-narrow lot, so there's no room to add on. The laundry/mud room is too small for a closet, and in the back of our house. We chose to max out our square footage, to have everything our family wanted, but I think we should have been told that our entryway coat closet was going to be the sacrificial lamb for this decision. I would have made a change... oh well, at least we've learned 1001 lessons on how to build a home, and to negotiate a very specific contract (calling out such things)! If we build again, we will be all set. Gratitude in the big obnoxious picture of things (no more unemployment, no bankruptcy, kids are getting by somehow, and we all love each other unconditionally! *except the GC and architect! Lol!. Thanks again. *kicking dirt like a 6 year old*

@Kayozzy, no doors! She was envisioning multi-colored wall hooks. That's great for some fun, or for a preschool, but I find it too juvenile for adult coats. I am fun-loving and creative mama, so, obviously I'll find a solution. I wish we could implement hidden electronic valet-style hanger bars (I can't find anything that faces out). That may be one solution!?

Maybe something nicer, but like this? https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AKRTWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use these in my laundry room and they are very sturdy.

This dilemma started in 2015