When you walk into our house, it's damn impressive. The first time people walk in, most of them say "Wow."
The front door is thick and heavy oak. The foyer has an arch in it that opens up to the whole house. There are two small windows to the right, at about 5' off the floor. Below that we've got a sofa table with a single drawer.
On the left is an oak framed mirror with a hook on either side. There are two Asian looking sconces on the left wall above the mirror.
Unfortunately the table isn't enough to hold all the crap we discard when we come in the door. The hooks hold our coats, but they bulge out and look messy. We put rugs down but the animals skid around on them so invariably they're a crumpled mess. I never look in the mirror. And they say women look in the mirror more than men. I actually looked at it the other day to see what things looked like in there, and whether it needed to be cleaned.
I'm too embarrassed to post a photo of the whole area as it is now. There's about two feet of stuff piled up on the table with all the hats mittens gloves scarves etc etc.
The door opens on the left side, facing the mirror and coats.
The ceiling is beautiful paneled wood.
So here's my idea:
On the right wall, a tall cabinet with sliding panels with 4 hooks for coats above and cubbies for boots below.
The key is the sliding panels. They can be slid closed so we don't have to show off our mess to people. I picture the panels being some kind of wicker or leather. I'd like it to be a darker wood for the old world/medieval look. Brett could put his hats on top since no one will be able to see up there but him and guys who won't judge.
Next to that I'd put a similar medium cabinet, with sliding panels like the tall one. The windows are about 4.5 ft from the floor. Building the cabinet a little lower would let more light in, so I'm thinking it should be only 48" tall.
Beyond that, we could have a narrow bench about 17" or 18" tall, wide enough that two people can sit there at a time and take off shoes. The bench would either have a hinged top to put stuff into, or have open cubbies beneath. I like the idea of a dark red leather seat and nailhead trim. Or we could put an actual chair there, but that would only seat one. We'll probably have a chair there anyway regardless of the long term plan.
On the left wall I'd like to remove the mirror and hooks. Maybe those can go into the downstairs bathroom.
Below that I'd like about 4' of a narrow cabinet with sliding panels like on the bookshelves. Inside would be cubbies for hats, scarves, mittens, and shoes on the bottom. I also like the idea of a little forward retaining wall to keep things in the cubbies, but allowing you to still see what's in there. On top it would be relatively clear. Maybe a seasonal thingy. And a bowl for mine and B's sunglasses and keys. Hanging above that I would like to put a GIANT mirror so it would reflect the view out the windows on the opposite wall. I also think I'd look in a mirror if it weren't 1 foot square.
All of this would probably have to be hand built. But it's all mostly square and fairly simple. I would like to use reclaimed wood to keep with the older look of medieval or old world. Instead of wicker I could use leather affixed with nailhead trim.
The left wall is 1'6" in from the doorway, and 7' long to the stairs. So that piece would be about:
Height: 48"
Width: 72-84"
Depth: 16-18"
The right wall is a couple feet longer and angled out. It's 1'2" from the doorway.
Tall cabinet:
Height: 84"
Width: 24"
Depth: 12"
Medium cabinet under window:
Height: 48" (4 ft)
Width: 36-48" (the window is 3ft, the space is at least 4)
Depth: 12"
That's narrow. But it would still be so useful.
