If you are too young to remember then a review of some classic movies may well remind you – back in the day almost everyone owned a coat stand. It has been incremental but over time the design of houses has tending towards less space and fewer rooms, perhaps to make them more affordable or just because of our awareness of the limited and ever decreasing amount of space we all share. Years ago almost all homes had a decent sized hallway and taking pride of place there were the coat stands of all shapes and sizes.
The trend over time has been towards coat racks rather than free standing coat and hat stands. These days, changes in fashion have made the hat stand a little redundant as the wearing of hats has declined. Again, any 1950s Hollywood movie production will include a multitude of actors in hats, the fashion of the time, and the iconic image of 007 returning from action to HQ always involved chucking his hat on the stand. Not even James Bond seems to wear a hat these days though.
With the general public’s growing interest in classic design and fashion however, the coat stand – and the hat for that matter – appears to be making a comeback. Over the last few years a steadily growing number of options have become available for those wishing to purchase a new coat stand. Designers too, are finding new inspiration from old ideas, and there are some highly original and interesting designs to choose from.
Coat stands which imitate the branches of a tree or the antlers of a stag are among the more unusual but new and quite beautiful ideas appear all the time. Certainly with a little searching you should be able to find something that can be quite personal to you. Aside from all this aesthetic beauty it is worth remembering that coats stand actually serve a very practical purpose, and it may surprise you how much tidier your home looks without all the coats, scarves, hats and gloves strewn over the living room furniture.