Alexandria: Custom Mudroom Storage Solution
Stacked Naval Blue cabinetry, a custom white oak bench, and honey bronze hardware: a townhome entryway that works as hard as it looks.
Featured Materials
Our Alexandria client needed a functional storage solution for her townhome entryway. She wanted a dedicated space for coats, shoes, bags, and everyday essentials, along with a comfortable place to sit while putting on shoes.
To meet her needs, our team designed and built a custom Naval Blue mudroom system using stacked cabinetry. We modified the lower cabinets to create a built-in bench area and topped it with a custom-stained white oak bench seat.
The design incorporated:
• 30" x 42" wall cabinets for coats and jackets
• 30" x 30" upper cabinets for seasonal storage
• Custom white oak bench seating
• Decorative trim details
• Honey Bronze Amwell Bar Pulls
The result is a beautiful and highly functional entryway that maximizes storage while creating a warm and welcoming first impression for the home.
"The entryway is the first thing you see and the last thing you touch every day. It deserves to be both beautiful and built for how you actually live."
Project Gallery
Before
After
Our Alexandria client needed a functional storage solution for her townhome entryway. She wanted a dedicated space for coats, shoes, bags, and everyday essentials, along with a comfortable place to sit while putting on shoes.
To meet her needs, our team designed and built a custom Naval Blue mudroom system using stacked cabinetry. We modified the lower cabinets to create a built-in bench area and topped it with a custom-stained white oak bench seat.
The design incorporated:
• 30" x 42" wall cabinets for coats and jackets
• 30" x 30" upper cabinets for seasonal storage
• Custom white oak bench seating
• Decorative trim details
• Honey Bronze Amwell Bar Pulls
The result is a beautiful and highly functional entryway that maximizes storage while creating a warm and welcoming first impression for the home.
Design Decisions
01
Stacked cabinetry: maximising vertical storage in a townhome entryway.
Townhome entryways are almost always space-constrained. The most efficient way to add meaningful storage in a compact footprint is to go vertical. Stacking wall cabinets above modified base cabinets captures the full height of the wall and creates a built-in that reads as intentional architecture rather than added furniture. The 30" x 42" upper cabinets handle daily-use coats and bags; the 30" x 30" cabinets above provide seasonal storage that stays accessible without cluttering the active zone.
02
Naval Blue cabinetry: a bold choice that anchors the entryway.
Benjamin Moore Naval in an entryway does something few neutral choices can: it makes the space feel like it was designed, not just furnished. The deep navy reads as confident and welcoming at the same time. It gives the entryway visual weight that signals arrival rather than transition. Against the warm white oak bench seat and honey bronze hardware, the navy sits in a palette that is both current and timeless.
03
Custom white oak bench seat: warmth that balances the navy.
The bench seat is the element that prevents the Naval Blue cabinetry from reading as cold. White oak with a warm stain introduces natural material and organic tone that bridges the deep navy cabinet finish and the honey bronze hardware. It is also the most-touched element in the system. The surface a person sits on, rests bags against, and sees at eye level on the way out the door every morning. Specifying custom white oak rather than a painted or laminate seat signals quality at exactly the point where it will be noticed.
04
Honey Bronze Amwell Bar Pulls: the hardware that ties the palette.
Chrome or brushed nickel hardware on Naval Blue cabinetry creates a cool, more contemporary result. Honey Bronze shifts the palette toward warm. It echoes the amber tones of the white oak bench seat and gives the entryway system a cohesion that purely cool metals wouldn't achieve. The Amwell bar pull profile is clean and proportionate for cabinet doors at this scale, providing grip without visual bulk.
05
Built-in bench modification: function first, then comfort.
A standard base cabinet at bench height creates storage but no place to sit. Modifying the lower cabinet configuration to create a recessed bench area solves the functional brief the client opened with: a comfortable place to sit while putting on shoes. The modification is structural but not complex. It is the kind of detail that distinguishes a custom solution from an off-the-shelf one, and it is what makes this system work as a mudroom rather than just a storage wall.
Need a storage solution that looks as good as it works?
We design and build custom cabinetry and storage solutions for entryways, kitchens, bathrooms, and beyond, tailored to the specific dimensions, constraints, and style of your home. We serve homeowners across Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, and the Culpeper areas.
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