Simple Fix – Winter Coats and Jackets
Winter jackets…and coats…how do you store yours??? What in the world to do with all of them???
In a house with a few children, keeping up with winter wear is challenging! I…ahem…took over re-purposed our coat closet to contain our Montessori materials and other school manipulatives. So, when I asked my husband for a wall of hooks in order to hang the now homeless coats and jackets he was less-than-thrilled. No. Hanging hooks down the wall in our hallway was out, he said. Really? I thought that was such a great idea! Finally, one day I asked him about the stairs. Could I use the stairs and hang hooks on each ascending step of the stairs?? Wouldn’t that be fantastic, I said!!!! (Flashing my big blue eyes and with my most convincing smile) Each child can have a hook right at their height. I had worn him down enough. He said YES!!!!
I’ve been meaning to post our solution for a while now (we did this last year!!) Yesterday, I finally took pictures for you!!!
Surely the rest of you have already figured this out, right?? If you’re wondering how to manage all those coats and jackets – consider a well placed, sturdy hook!! If you’ve got stairs…I’m just sayin’!!
Funny, I was taking a few pics to do a post on something similar! That looks so great. Love it. And the youngest can reach his or her hook!
We did this several years ago for our St. Nicholas stockings as we have no fireplace. They occasionally get used for jackets as well, which we don't often need in Central Texas. Your hooks are lovelier than my jumbo cup hooks.
where do people in America usually keep their coats? Everyone I know in the UK uses hooks, but many quirky little things about America take me by surprise!
mamatigerj —
If you look very closely in some of the pictures you'll see a little red velvet ribbon tied around the bottom of the stair banister just above hooks #2, 3, and 4 (the ribbon above hook #5 isn't visible, but it's there!)!! Those are for our St. Nicholas stockings, too! I tied them tight enough so that you could repel off of them (because as we all know some children would do just this!!)…and anyway…I can't untie them…and I'm too frugal to snip perfectly good velvet ribbon! LOL!! So they stay up year round. Anyway…I almost mentioned these red ribbons in my post in case someone looked and wondered why in the world there were velvet ribbons tied around banisters (LOL!!)…and now you know. Glad I'm not the only one that does this! By the way, we do have a fireplace, but since it's usually in use it is NO place to hang stockings!
Lucy,
Americans hang coats everywhere, I suppose. Some folks hang them in a small closet that is usually located under the stairs (where ours is!) or just near the door. This is called a coat closet. Not every home has one of these, btw! Some homes have big mud rooms near the back door and have hooks for coats and other unsundry items in there. So…it varies around here…from home to home…style to style…family to family. 🙂
You. Are. Genious. 🙂
I love it. But our stairs back up to our dining room table, so i'm not sure the look would work. I love your ideas, Jen!
What a wonderful solution. We are fortunate to have a small mudroom andit is adorned with many hooks. I have a metal basket hanger that is like a coat pole with about seven extensions that we use near the bathroom radiator for wet winter coats and snowsuits. When all is dry it goes back into the mudroom. I dream of having heat in there one day but I will be content to have it the way it is for now.
Jenn, do you know the Swedish painter Carl Larsson? He had eight children and did the same thing as you did with the coats of his children.
Here is a link to his house. You cannot see the hooks, but many of the rooms. I visited there many years ago and everything is just so lovely.
Jenn, actually I just noticed that you can see a few of the hooks on the main page I linked to!!
Nori,
Those bathroom radiators are so amazing for cold/wet winter coats, aren't they??? My mom and dad used to have radiator heat when they lived in Germany and Mom used to tell me of draping my cloth diapers on the radiator to dry. How funny they looked when she pulled them off!!! I would love to have a mudroom full of hooks and other practical accompaniments, Nori!! Yours sounds lovely!
Eva,
I had never heard of Carl Larsson before you mentioned him…and I clicked over and saw his hooks on his stairs looking remarkably familiar! 🙂 I'm so glad you linked me because I find he and his wife to be fascinating artists! I love seeing how they envisioned both beauty and practicality in designing their spaces. It's a particular joy of mine to *attempt* to do the same! What inspiration to look at their spaces! Thanks so much again for letting me know!
Thank you all for your kind words about my little coat hooks!
I'm glad you liked my link. I love Scandinavian designs and one of my favorite furniture stores is Ikea. Are you familiar with this chain? The designers there try to make the most out of small spaces.
That is so cute. Like Daddy bear, mummy bear and kiddy bears. Made me smile big time. Thank you for sharing the good homely feeling of happy families.
I've heard of IKEA, Eva…or rather drooled over pictures. LOL!!! We don't have one here, but I've visited them online before. I do love the creativity and simple lines of their offerings. It's probably a good thing there isn't one nearby – I'd have to buy stock in it!!!
I love this idea! And, now that you mention it, have a vague recollection of a Carl Larsen picture with something similar. Great minds think alike! I found you through you Sacred Heart craft — Loved it. Love your beautiful blog!
~Amanda
Ikea is very popular in Germany. My parents have bought a lot there. They also have great restaurants with affordable meals for large families. When traveling in Germany we would plan our trips so we could have dinner at Ikea!