Our drop zone is one of the most used spaces in our house. It’s a catch-all for our everyday items: shoes, coats, backpacks, sporting equipment…the list goes on and on. It connects to our garages and is the first room we walk into when returning home, and the last space we’re in when leaving the house. I like how it keeps everything you don’t want to see out of sight and orderly!

When designing our drop zone there were some must haves:

1.) INDIVIDUAL CUBBIES/LOCKER – We are a family of five so we have five individual spaces for each of us to keep our things. Kids on one side, adults on the other side.

2.) LOTS of hooks – Living in Pittsburgh my kids have multiple coats hanging in their cubbies at all times: winter coats, fleeces, rain jackets and vests (sometime all four at once). I put four hooks in each of the kids cubbies – two high and two low. I decided to do three high hooks in the adult cubbies since our coats are much longer.

3.) SHOE STORAGE & BENCH – Shoe storage in this space is essential and I wanted a bench to sit on as well. Although, we’re usually running out of the house skipping on one foot as we finish sliding our shoe over our heel… the bench does double as a space to set heavy backpacks and larger items like my daughter’s violin and tennis bags. I also place items on the bench so we don’t forget them like birthday gifts, items that need returned or shipped, lunch boxes, ect.

4.) SMALL DRAWER – This drawer provides SO MUCH functionality. It holds all the little things that would otherwise get lost or clutter up the bench like: masks for school, sunglasses, thin gloves, hats, packs of gum and name tag labels. It’s small but mighty and packs a real punch when talking about functionality!

5.) EXTRA STORAGE BASKET – I love the seasons in Pittsburgh and with those seasons comes a lot of “stuff”. The fabric basket at the top of everyones’ cubbies hold all the off season items. In the summer I keep winter items up there like warm hats, gloves, scarves and earmuffs. In the winter it’s filled with our summer stuff like baseball hats, sunscreen and sunglasses. It’s an easy swap out when the seasons change and only an arms-length away when we head to Florida in the winter!

6.) MORE AND MORE HOOKS – The full wall of hooks was not in my original design but after living in our house for a while I decided to add it. First of all, it’s nice to have extra storage for guests to hang their coats and purses. Second I think it finishes off the space nicely making the drop zone look more complete. Beautiful and functional!

7.) CHALKBOARD – I asked our contractor to built us a magnetic chalkboard that matches our cubbies. I’m so happy I did! It displays their favorite art projects and a daily “school checklist” that our kids review before walking out the door each morning. It looks great and it really helps keep everyone on task!

8.) ENTRY RUG – An absorbent, inexpensive area rug is a good idea in a drop zone. This is our third rug in two years. I feel like they get really dirty and it’s nice to just roll them up and toss them after a while. All of mine have been from Target. When a new pattern or color comes in that I like I’ll swap them out. It gives the space a little design refresh, too!