When you come home, do you have a pile of shoes you are always tripping over? Maybe a coat rack that risks tipping over every time you add your own coat? Have you considered designing a storage space specific to your household’s needs? This back door area is a great example of a common area now, including in many homes: a drop zone. Located in a new home built in Kewanee, Illinois, it features cabinetry, quartz surfaces, flooring, and hardware from Village Home Stores for Hazelwood Homes. Hang up your coat, and let’s have a look around.
Back Door Drop Zone Bench Area
The cooler weather arriving means that we are each wearing more layers and soon will be tracking in Winter weather messes. There is no better way to manage all that gear than to create a storage solution that helps champion staying organized. Help your household set down items in the right spot right when they get home. Habits are always most likely to form when you make things as easy as possible to change your routine. A drop zone can really be an organization game changer.
This drop zone layout includes a tall cabinet, a bench seat with coat hooks, and a desk drawer area with landing space. While this may not be a desk to sit and work at, it creates a functional knee space that is open and available for overflow of shopping bags, bookbags, or many times, dog crates. Kennels and dog crates can become integrated into your mudroom spaces instead of an afterthought.
The bench seat area is built from two small shoe storage cubbies at the floor and a beaded back panel with coat hooks. Creating a “cubby” space that uses the room’s existing flooring makes cleaning easier and gives the owners the option of using baskets or bins when needed. Coat hook hardware can be ordered from many of our cabinet hardware lines and sometimes may be labeled as “robe hook” for a bathroom application.
The cabinetry used to build this drop zone is from our Wynnbrooke line. This is the Denali door in a painted White finish. Wynnbrooke is a full-access (frameless) style of cabinet construction allowing for maximum interior space. Drop zones are also commonly used as charging stations for devices. This builder included outlets by the desktop and even added one inside the tall cabinet. The section of the countertop surface in the drop zone functions as a landing space for many things.
Having a durable surface like engineered quartz can be key for this high-traffic application. Think of all the things that someone may just quickly “set down” here when you are about to leave home or just arriving home and entering from the garage. Having a scratch-resistant and non-porous material like this MSI Calacatta Laza here makes the landing space both chic and functional. The flooring from the kitchen of this home continues down the back hallway. It is an engineered White Oak from our Provenza line in the “Park Place” color.
Having the laundry located in the main living area and on the same floor as the bedroom and closet spaces is ideal for any user. You are safer navigating fewer stairways and have more access to the machines to switch items over during your normal household activity. Laundry rooms and drop zones can be so functional when they are near the owner’s entrance to the home. We have even seen some back door/garage entry mudroom areas that include a dog wash station (check this one out in Coal Valley). The laundry room in this home is just a few steps away from the drop zone and also includes a beautiful flooring surface worth a mention. This floor is installed with 12” x 12” tiles from our Daltile line in the Memoir series and “Petal Black” pattern.
Want to see more of this new home? We have a full album of images posted here to our Houzz portfolio. Ready to start your own design with us for a drop zone in your home? We can help make the most of an existing closet area or just an unused wall. Your first step to a smart use of the space is to connect with our cabinet designers. You can message us using the webchat on this page or by completing this short form on our site. A member of our team will connect with you and get started. You can also call us at 309-944-1344 or stop and see us at 105 S State Geneseo, Illinois.