When the rain comes, knowing where to hang your dripping coats or stash a sopping wet umbrella once you get back to the house can become a bit of a challenge. A closet is not always available and hanging your worn clothes there can become more of a hassle than an asset. If a hall tree is not your style, consider a coat stand or an umbrella stand. While they manage to create essential storage without occupying an excessive amount of space, they also have the ability to appear almost sculptural and art-like in silhouette. Consider them even as display stands for your most envy-worthy outer garments.

You may be asking yourself if a coat stand or umbrella stand is really necessary, or if it’s just another piece of furniture to clutter the valuable floorspace in your house. Maybe you aren’t even positive where to put a coat stand or umbrella stand.

Read through these questions before deciding on a coat or umbrella stand.

Where can you use an umbrella stand or coat stand? If guests frequent your house, or if you are a mover and shaker, keeping a coat rack or umbrella stand near the front door is always a nice gesture. Not only does this keep your entryway tidy, but it offers guests the option of hanging their outerwear there. An umbrella stand is also the perfect decorative accessory for an entryway in need of more life. If you work from home, an umbrella stand or coat stand in a home office is perfectly acceptable. Clients or visitors stopping by for meetings can easily use the racks, and you can just as easily hang your own coat or umbrella there too. If there is anywhere in your house where people are constantly passing through, a coat stand or umbrella stand saves time and keeps your essentials all in one convenient place.

What do you use a coat stand or umbrella stand for? For use as a purely functional storage tool or even as a decorative accessory, a coat stand or umbrella stand is the perfect combination of the two. For a home lacking built in storage, or an empty and unwelcoming corner, consider the coat stand or umbrella stand as the perfect piece of functional art.

What style of umbrella stand or coat stand do you want? Ranging from extremely traditional style coat stand and umbrella stand combinations to minimally constructed coat racks, the fact that these pieces have been in production for so long has resulted in generations worth of styles and materials. If you are looking for an extremely functional and working coat stand, opt for a style with a plethora of hooks, constructed of heavy duty materials, and perhaps with an umbrella stand built into the bottom. For more of a decorative accessory, select a style with an attractive and unique silhouette. If most of the time you don’t plan on hanging anything too heavy or bulky on it, pick a style you would love to show off.

Take a look at the wide variety of styles and materials of coat stands and umbrella stands on Houzz, and find that perfect piece to outfit your home.

Find coat stands and umbrella stands design ideas here.