DIY mini-mudroom: for those of us without a front hall closet

My question of the day is: who builds a house without a front hall closet? I have been pondering this ever since we moved into our townhouse here in Colorado. I mean, think about it....without a front hall closet where do you hang your coats? Or put your boots? Or store your vacuum cleaner, diaper bag, suitcases, purse, or other miscellaneous items? I have currently found a place for my vacuum cleaner and suitcases, but no where for our coats or our guests' coats, my purse, and the diaper bag. How was I going to solve with problem? With a wonderful, DIY, hidden-behind-the-door coat rack. Here's what is looks like and here's how to do it!

View from the stairs, but nicely hidden behind the front door

view from the couch

This project was one of the easiest and simplest that I have done yet! I wish they were all this easy!

What you need:
8 to 10 Hooks or knobs of your choice (I found mine on sale for $8.99 at Target. This was a box of 10 and I found them in the cabinet door knob section)
Spray paint of your choice
2  3-ft boards (You can find these at Home Depot in the lumber section. Choose a board that is the width you want and then have Home Depot cut them for free!)

I had my boards cut to 3 ft because that is the length of my tile entryway. You can measure the length you want and then have the boards cut to that size. I also used chair rail for my boards because I liked the design. It is cheaper to go with a plain board, but not too much more expensive to use the chair rail. 1 plain board costs $1.71 for the entire board and my chair rail was $1.19 per foot. So 2 plain boards would cost roughly $3.00 and 2 3-ft pieces of chair rail cost roughly $8.00.

Here's what to do:
Take your 2 pieces of board and spray paint them. Let them dry thoroughly and apply another coat. Once they are dry, evenly space out your knobs on the board and mark with a pen on the back. Drill the knobs into the board following the instructions on the box. When you are finished, screw these into the wall (make sure you're over a stud and that the boards are level). That's it! You've completed your very own  coat rack. Hang everything that you need to on there: purses, diaper bags, rain boots, and of course coats! Enjoy!

spray paint I used

boards drying

Up close and personal

Bottom rack

*We determined how high they should be on the wall based on the door hinges. It looked better to have them lined up. This entire project cost: $20 (or $14 had if you use plain board) for two coat rack as opposed to $23 dollars for 1 similar looking coat rack!