Gizmodo
What's the key to never losing your keys? One way is to always keep them in the same place, preferably somewhere near your door. This polished aluminum storage design concept by Lee Stanlier makes that easy, and not only includes plastic hooks for keys but a ledge for your cellphone, parking spaces for coats and hats, and slots for letters, too.
Now if Stanlier would just incorporate that way-cool Wild Charge wireless cellphone-charging technology we saw at CES on this cellphone ledge, this would be the complete forgetful person's crutch, the perfect charging station and dropoff spot for things you use when you venture into the outside world.
On a personal note, here's how we solved the forgetfulness problem (updated, with a picture!):
We mounted an electrical outlet for cellphone charging and installed a 4-inch deep/2-foot wide ledge (pictured above) at eye level right next to our portal to the outside. It's a perfect place to park cellphones and MP3 players, and no one in the household has lost or forgotten wallets or keys since. A system like Lee Stanlier's design concept would be even more versatile.
Front Door Storage [Yanko Design]
Comments
One good slam and I see alot of stuff going flying!
I already have a coat hook, shelf, and mail thingy/key hook dealybob by my door. I agree, though, it's great. You just have to actually empty the mail cubbies from time to time, and not keep all twenty coats on it at once.
I like the charging station idea, though. Please show us some pics, Charlie White!
Apparently NOT inspired by that "It Takes a Thief..." show recently shown on the Discovery channel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Takes_a_Thief_%282005_TV_s...
In it, they go around breaking into peoples homes (after being given permission and setting up small hidden cameras) and showing the folly of keeping things like keys and other valuables left out in the open, or in easily collected places like right beside your door. The guy usually made off with thousands of dollars of goods PLUS a car that someone had thought was unstealable - even though the keys for said car were left right out in the open or sometimes even IN the car that was in the garage. A few times he made off with over $25k, a boat plus jetski's...
Paper? Why do we need 'em?
The problem with adding power is... How do you plug in a door and keep it looking clean? You need an outlet right next to the door, it has to be on the hinge side, and you'd have to come up with some crafy wire management system to keep it from getting pinched in the hinge as well as allowing enough slack for it to actually close.
I'm still looking for a decent storage cubby.
styrofoam -
Do a Google for "charging station" and the first two results contain several good charging valets or charging stations, pretty cheap and ready to buy.
My friend works in a woodshop that has cool tools (laser, milling, CNC, tig..) and he made me something like that (but for side of kitchen cabinet). The hooks are too big but it holds the takeout menus (two dividers for menus and mail) and hooks below hold the keys (car, door, misc locks).
Nice grade of red oak with aluminum grill (matches my MacPro).
I would only hang a coat on door. Too industrial looking even for my tastes. Meh.
@ strider_mt2k & styrofoam : you guys thinking of hanging this right ON your door??? that would be a bad idea man. I'd probably hang it next to the door, where most people would hang key hooks and such.
Who puts mail on a door, isn't that what a mailbox is for?
Yeah that's smart park all your keys at the front door so anyone who breaks in can have easy access to them.
Call me crazy, but I always keep my keys in my pocket. They're always handy, and I always know right where they are.
So what do you do, keep your car keys in a safe deposit box at the bank? If someone breaks in, they're probably getting your car, regardless of where you cleverly hide your spare set of keys. That's why you have insurance.
Same here, my keys stay in my pocket as well as my cell phone and my mail goes in the mailbox. Why would you want to hang all that stuff on your front door?
my hands are to busy doing other things in my pocket to have room for keys.
These things aren't ON your door, they're NEAR your door....
"Hooking a car" - is beoming a huge problem in the UK. As the car alarms/immobilisers become more complicated the more and more car thiefs are trying to steal keys to feed their crime.
We don't have mailboxes at the end of the road, we have slots in our front door - 'letterboxes' where mail is pushed through the door.
Thus if keys are located on the back of the door or on a shelf nearby it's not hard to "hook" the keys and drive with the car.
Still at least it's not hooking in the car...
Damn, I need that!
I turned the top drawer of my nightstand into a device dump and charging station. I placed a powerstrip under the nightstand for the wall warts, drilled a small hole in the back of the nightstand to route the charging cables through and used a zip tie and a small eye screw to keep the cables in place when I open and close the drawer. This took only a few minutes to accomplish and cost nothing since I already had everything I needed.
I had started out using a smaller drawer in my bureau, but quickly ran out of space. I now use the smaller drawer (with a felt lined false bottom) for my keys, wallet, knives, flash drives and other assorted pocket toys.
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