This post is Sponsored by IKEA. Thank you IKEA!! We love working with you and all your fabulous products!
I mentioned on Sunday a bit about the new house we are working on, and this project has us SO excited!
Maybe it is because I have lived in and through countless remodeling projects over the years, there is just something about the feeling I get when a new project is done… I admit I am a bit addicted #remodelaholic. But there is nothing like, after living in a hectic mess, the feeling of gratitude and appreciation you have for a single point of beauty in the room… maybe this is why I remodel slowly, space by space if I can, so that I can really enjoy the finished project for as long as possible.
Also, to be clear, this project is not just beautiful — this is ALL about function. You see, I’ve also never been lucky enough to have a mudroom (well my first house sort of had one- but we didn’t have kids, and kids are the MAIN reason to have a mudroom… #messy ) I know I am not the only mom out there fighting the entry drop zone fight?! Right? My kids get home and there are coats, gloves, school papers, hats, backpacks, lunch boxes… just to name a few, and now we will finally have a place to not only corral all the things, but also organize!! And do it all on an amazing budget.
This little nook by our front door didn’t actually exist as it does now. When we bought the house it was the back half of a bedroom closet on the other side of this wall, but we installed a PAX closet system in there for our daughters (which was not sponsored and I can’t wait to show you HOW much we love that), and that left us with 8 extra inches of space behind the system. Add that to the thickness of the wall (4 1/2 inches) and we had a whole foot of inaccessible space that we were able to open up to the living room! HALLELUJAH!
UPDATE: For all of you asking about the base, here’s the video showing how we did it. Pretty please subscribe to our YouTube channel — we’ll be showing more of our new house and this space soon!
Easy Entry Organizing on a Budget
I love the idea of an entry as a separate and distinct room from other spaces (but I have never actually had one in any of my 7 houses) so this little nook has some big shoes to fill- give me the entry space I’ve always dreamed of, organize all the stuff and do it on a budget!
Let me give you a peek of the before and after:
After:
I had a lot of fun perusing IKEA online to find the best storage options. There are a lot of ideas that I explored!! Ultimately, I chose the universally used KALLAX shelf (or you may be familiar with the previous version, EXPEDIT), which is super affordable at only around $65.00! The best news is all the different things you can do with a KALLAX shelf. There are SO many color and insert options. ANYONE can make a KALLAX work for them in their space. There are baskets, boxes, wire baskets, really cool slings shelves, dividers, doors and DRAWERS (which is what I decided to go with!!)
Like I said above, the options are endless to organize your KALLAX. So you can use whatever you like to make it work for your space, and with your existing decor. I really love how you can personalize the piece and make it your own!
To fill the shelf spaces, I decided having hidden and yet so-easy-to-organize drawers would be worth the minimal extra investment. So I bought 4 sets of the KALLAX two drawer units.
And I can’t help myself! I love bringing in a natural woven texture to all of the spaces I work with, so for the bottom shelves, I bought 4 rattan BRANAS baskets.
I mean look how good it looks with both options.. if I do say so myself!
Once we go the storage portion taken care of, there was the matter of the big blank space above this new beautiful furniture piece. So, for the wall, I decided it is nice to be able to check out my crazy hair before I answer the door, and the STOCKHOLM Mirror was the perfect answer to the need.
We also needed some light for the space! And the truth is, I wanted to be able to switch out the lights whenever my mood dictated, so the best feature is that my super amazing husband installed a switch with a plug that turns it off an on. Which means any plugin wall sconce can go in this space and be switched out as desired. So we chose 2 of the RANARP wall clamp LED spotlights and I love how the gold looks in the space.
Lastly, while you can’t buy our full sized Swedish clock at IKEA (free building plans at that link), they do have a VERY similar colored small yellow clock, the IKEA PS 1995 that you could use to recreate the look if you love it but don’t want to build one!
After assembling all the pieces and putting it together, we were able to clean out our cramped and uninspiring front closet so that everything now has a permanent home, and I will show you that process soon. For now just enjoy the new goodness of a finished space (the only one in our main living space!)
I’ll show you how we finished the rest space up real soon- well as soon as we actually do it, so stay tuned!
I am a Brand Ambassadör for IKEA U.S. This is a sponsored post.
Looks great only question is how did you construct the base to put the shelving unit on? That’s what really makes it pretty and gives height.
Hi Pj,
Watch the video we’ve added to the post to see the details. It makes a big difference and it was so easy!
Thanks for the comment.
Did I miss it when the video glitched? .. How did you match the white of the baseboard at the bottom of the unit to Ikea’s off/white of the Kallax? Or does all your trim already match Ikea’s off-white? Is there a specific white paint out there that matches IKEA’s off-white furnishings?
Thanks!
Hi Evelyn,
Ours was already a really close match (just off the shelf white paint) but if you want a more exact match, you can take a shelf from the Kallax into the paint store and they can match it.
Did u add a base to the Kallax shelf
Hi Nicole,
Yes, we did add a base — watch the video in the post and it will show you how we did it. It’s really easy!
I love this storage solution. The front door does become a dumping ground (another mom without a mud room). The time elapsed video was great to show all the steps. Thanks for making it work.
I would use an empty basket for kid shoes and a drawer for socks
Thanks!!!
Amazing entry organization! What an absolutely adorable ornament that you have chosen. Great choice
Love this so much! What paint color did you use on the base to match the Kallax shelf?
I have a cubby shelf that we use in the basement for toys and games. I used baskets in a few of the cubes like you did, however I noticed that the basket was scratching the shelf. I went to the local hobby store and bought sheets of felt and glued to the bottom of the baskets, and now the basket no longer leaves scratch marks.
So smart, LeeAnn! Thanks for sharing. We haven’t noticed any scratching but this is such an easy solution!
Where is the shiplap explanation?
I don’t think we have one yet for this wall. That’s a great Idea though. I will see if we can put one together. Great question! Thanks Kelly!
Good use of new-found space.
Since you had to build the “ship lap” wall, which wasn’t there before, and must have added an outlet for the lamps, why didn’t you also put in a junction box to hard-wire the lamps so the cord wouldn’t be visible?
The lamps we wanted were corded and there wasn’t room behind the lamps for a juntion box. The ship lap wall is only 1” thick because of the closet n the other room.
Please tell me what color is the inside of your front door.
The color is from Behr and it’s called: (S530-7) Dark Navy Base: 7753. We love it!
Sorry I gave you the wrong color. That is what the color is now. It was black I will try and get that for you.
It looks as though the front door would hit it if you open the door all the way.
The door knob can hit the top of the furniture, but we haven’t had any problems. Mostly the door is opened where it doesn’t hit it at all.