Foyer Remodel

We are a shoes off household so I thought the original entry way was lacking a couple key features to accommodate said lifestyle. How does one maintain closet functionality whist adding a sitting area, shoe storage and a splash of color? The classic mudroom look lends itself more to the utility room or secondary point of entry but I think it works here. It opens up the area a little and makes it a lot more usable. The closet area is a 19 3/4" PAX system from IKEA. We set it up with a hanger rod for coats, and shelves for miscellaneous stuff. I'll probably add a couple of drawers later for gloves and hats.

Probably the biggest issue with the original closet was the flooring. The previous owner stapled down a rather large welcome rug/mat and when it was removed, the hardwood was forever stained. The wood had to be replaced and with it, the closet.

Wow, two "before and after" pictures in the same blog post, what did you do to get so lucky. For the foyer area, we decided to lay down the same flooring we used in the kitchen. We liked the look, I already had the tools and knowledge, and it tied the room together nicely.  Excavating the floor was the tricky part. Getting a clean cut and making it perfectly square were key here. I taped off the area and dry fitted the tiles just to make sure everything was going to look the way I wanted. To make the cuts, I screwed down a guide board and used a circular saw for most of it. The ends near the baseboards were completed using an oscillating multi-purpose tool. This thing has gotten me out of quite a few jams. The 50 year old baseboards didn't give up their nails willingly. The screeching sound that was generated when prying up the boards was deafening. I actually has to wear earplugs.

My son Lucas put together the rest of the sitting area. He basically combined a bunch of varied width 1 bys from Home Depot with a sprinkle of plywood to make a bench and a few cubbies for decoration. I think he did a great job. He says he wants to be a construction guy when he grows up just like his daddy. He may already be there.