Zdenka & Zafar’s Front Hall: Part 1

Mood Board for Front Hall

Zdenka and Zafar have a lovely house, but need some help maximizing storage. They unfortunately don’t have an attic or basement for storage, so they need to be able to store almost everything in the main spaces and closets. With 2 small kids, the front hall and entry is a zone that they want to reorganize to hold coats, shoes and bags. They would also like the space to feel airy and bright. The mood board above shows some of the products that we are looking at using.

Ikea Tjusig Bench, $79.99

Tjusig Shoe Rack, to be used as kids bench, $39.99

Bench Cushion Fabric: Robert Allen Mandala Azure, $17.98

Seating & Shoe Storage

The first item on the list was a bench for both the kids and adults to sit on (and to provide shoe storage). We went with the Ikea Tjusig Bench for the adults and the shorter Tjusig shoe rack for the kids.  I really like the idea of having a seat and storage that are the right size and height for a child. It means that it will be easier for them to get themselves ready! I also picked out this pretty fabric for making cushions for the benches. Zdenka is going to sew them herself!

Mudroom Hook, Anthropologie $8

Trolley Stop Hook, Anthropologie $12

Ikea Ekby Shelf, $26.99

Coat Hooks & Shelves

The next item on our list was coat hooks and shelving. They need lots of hooks for coats, hats and bags. We are going to have 2 tiers above the taller bench and 1 lower tier above the shorter bench. At the top of each set of these we are going to also install shelves (shallower ones lower and deeper ones above). To unify the hooks and shelves we will be installing a matching white board under the shelves that will hold the hooks. This will also allow us to mount the board directly to the studs to ensure that everything is nice and stable!

Pottery Barn Track Light, on sale for $139

Lighting

The space feels somewhat dark right now. I picked out a long track light to install near the front door. This will allow us to focus some of the light closer to the new benches and hooks without having to install a new electrical box in the ceiling.

Frameless Oval Mirror, Overstock $89

Mirror

We are replacing the existing dark framed mirror with a pretty frameless oval mirror (we will be hanging this with perpendicular to the picture). This should help to make the space brighter while giving them somewhere to check and make sure they look nice before heading out the door.

Paint Color Option 1

Paint Color Option 2

Wall Color

Zdenka is definitely drawn to an airy cooler color palette punctuated by white trim. In the future they will be adding more wainscotting and trim detail to the staircase (to look closer to the inspirational photos). But in the meantime, they are going to paint the walls a nice soft blue to brighten up the space. Then the white shelves and benches will complement this. As I usually recommend, I gave Zdenka a few paint chips to put up on the wall to see which one she liked. We are also going to try and coordinate with the blue on the fabric.

Dash and Albert Indoor/Outdoor Rug

Rugs

They already have a lovely oak floor. Currently they have a tan sisal rug in the space. I think this is a good spot to add a bit of pattern and color. I love Dash and Albert rugs! They make both 100% cotton and an indoor/outdoor version in a kinds of stripes and patterns.  I really like the concept of the indoor/outdoor rugs that can be brought outside and hosed off when they get dirty. I find that the cotton ones come is slightly better colors, but the variety is really impressive and I think that they are quite reasonably priced. Zdenka found a local store that carries these and has let her bring several home to see which one she likes.

Next Steps

I am going over tomorrow to take a look at the sample rugs and paint colors and finalize some last details. They have already started using the bench and are anxious to get the hooks up and functional (after all fall is definitely here and the coats are starting to pile up)!