DIY Custom Coat & Shoe Closet

Who doesn’t like to have a custom closet? In this article, I share with you how I converted a small entryway closet into a storage for shoes and coats with maximum space utilization. DIY Custom coat and shoe closet with cost details and material list at the end of this article.

BEFORE

We have a small closet in our entryway that we use for our footwears and coats. Its a little embarrassing to show the before picture. 😛 This closet is 45 inches wide with a single shelf on top. We have a small metal shoe rack on the floor and as you can see, a lot of negative space!.

Even if the space is small, there is always a way to maximize the capacity. So, I decided to make this space better over a weekend.

Step : 1

I cleared out the closet by moving everything out. As you can see, there were lot of unnecessary stuff. So, I kept only what we need and trashed the rest.

Step : 2

Removed the existing shelf and baseboards. Then, cleaned everything with wet towel and filled all the screw holes. At this stage, I also removed the door as well to refinish it.

Step : 3

As you can see in the picture, we have a coaxial cable running through the closet. So, I built a raised frame using 2x4s and routed the cable through the frame by making couple holes.

Step : 4

Next, I painted the walls and trims to white. The rear wall has a beige pattern wallpaper that I bought from amazon. They are not visible much with bright lighting in the picture. But in person, they look really nice and create a balanced contrast with the white wall & melamine shelf panels.

The left side of the closet is going to have the shoe storage and coat hanging rod on the right. So, I first installed the cabinet box for the shoe storage with prefinished white Melamine closet side panels.

The important part is to stabilize & secure the storage to the wall. I used 3 nos of 1×3 wood as horizontal members and connected them to the wall and the storage.

Then added a shelf on right side along with a hanging rod.

Step : 5

Finally added the shelves, storage bins and a metal drawer storage from Ikea – Lennart.

This storage has now space for 18+ footwears, drawers for socks, accessories, storage bins for extra items and rod for hanging jackets. Every bit of space is utilized and looks great too.