Why do people like cubbies and hooks more than closets?

Putting a jacket on a hook, or putting it on from a hook is a lot fasted that dealing with a hanger.

Given the prevalence of small backpacks, a cubby makes sense to have to stash it, rather than just have it on the floor or on a chair.

I don;t have either hooks or cubbies, and in California, mud rooms are relatively rare. But where I have seen them, I also though they were a good idea.and should be a small room if possible.

Cubbies and hooks are easier to stash things in when you come in rather than hanging a coat in a closet. In my side entrance by the kitchen, I have Shaker pegs that I hang current season and guest coats on, but I also have a closet where I hang out of season coats and store boots, etc. I personally would not want hooks and cubbies by a front door.

I think of hooks as being efficient for short term stuff – the coat you’re going to wear tomorrow and tonight when you walk the dog is the coat you want to be able to grab and run. The long term storage of all kinds of coats for the whole family would go into the coat closet.

Constantly having to open and shut a closet door is a pain, that’s why.
I’m half tempted to remove my bathroom door because I just know that someday soon, I’m going to open the door, the door will hit my foot and come to a stop, and I will plow headfirst into it, giving myself one heck of a black eye.

^^^ @kritiper One advantage of having a master bath “en suite” is once I close my bedroom door, I don’t have to close the bathroom door.

My husband and I leave most doors open. The only time we close is for noise. If one of us is asleep while the other is making noise in another room or he is on a conference call.

I like a closet, because I can close it and hide everything. I also like that I can fit a lot more in a closet. If the closet is big enough you can use sliding doors and leave one side open all the time and it doesn’t have a door open out into the hall or room. Those seem to be out of favor in houses, although in NYC apartments they are still very common.

The hooks I worry I’m going to ruin the garment. Also, if the jacket fabric is folded hanging on the hook it might not dry well. That might be the Floridian in me. Towel hooks are a big mistake in Florida it’s so humid here. You need to open the towel and let it dry well. It’s nice when there is a bench to sit on under the hooks, but then a long coat doesn’t fit. I guess most people don’t wear long coats anymore.

In my house in Tennessee I had a laundry room near the entrance that had a long hanging bar, no closet door, but you could close the door to the laundry. I had those really cute cubbies right when you walked in the “friendly” back entrance, and never used them.

After reading the answers it helped me realize what I might find ideal if I had limited space and an area visitors would see. I’m thinking a closet with sliding doors and one side with a counter to drop stuff, and a small backless chair, like a vanity chair in a bathroom. Above the counter I think I’d just put shelves. The other side for hanging outerwear.

@zenvelo That’s nice. Will forward my black eye, when I get it, to you.

In God’s name don’t remove your bathroom doors!

Half the houses I look at don’t have bathroom doors for the master bathroom. There is a door for where the toilet is usually, but not the entrance to the bathroom. My master has a pocket door for the toilet.

Hooks and muck eliminating countermeasures were de rigieuer necessities in any house routinely trafficked through by kids. Hooks as close as possible to both the front and back doorways are the only preventative to coats hats, scarves and other detritus overwhelming the furniture, floors and other horizontal surfaces in a house. It eliminates all of those “where is my coat” crises in the all too constant rushed emergencies defining little criminals so notorious for traveling from house to house in packs. Memories of my parents’ own sufferings were foremost in my mind when my own children arrived. Today, it still cracks me up to watch a young couple with a baby stroller looking at white carpeting or light toned fabric upholstered furniture.

The point I was trying to make is that some doors are just in the way, like what the OP spoke of, especially if they are constantly being opened and closed for just jackets and coats. (No need to be closed.) I’ve considered having a set of hooks by the back door for such things. No door to just be in the way and possibly walk into in the dark of night.
In my house there was a closet door behind the entry door in one bedroom. So many times the two doors met one another that the closet door had a hole knocked into it by the doorknob of the entry door. So I removed the closet door and never replaced it.
@Dutchess_III I won’t remove my bathroom door. I’m the only person who is usually in the house so it really wouldn’t be missed. But it will stay and so will the threat of the black eye…

@kritiper If the bathroom is in your bedroom why not remove the door? Or, is it the only bathroom in the house?

I had a large pantry in my last house that I always left the doors open. They were pocket doors, so no swinging door to deal with. In my current house I have a pantry cabinet, not a closet and I leave the doors open a lot and it looks terrible. For some reason I didn’t mind when it was a closet.