The Mudroom Show & Tell

Since our basement project seems to be moving along at lightning speed, I’m going to show you my mudroom as it is now. In the next coming weeks it will change dramatically. I’m good at doing the best with what I have. The mudroom is one of those instances. I did some simple things to it, purely cosmetic, to get it functional for my family of five. Here is the before picture, to let you know what I was working with.

This is the only before shot that I have. The mudroom is on the same level as the garage and has direct access to it. The door you see in the photo leads out to our backyard. The mudroom is connected to our family room, where you can take the stairs up to our main floor, or the stairs down to the basement.

So as you can tell the mudroom is also my laundry room. Not for long though. But for the last two years I dealt with it. Piles of laundry in front of the back door. We replaced the machines in the picture with our own. There is one thing we didn’t change, the sink. I’ll show you that in a bit.

This space needed to function as a mudroom. This is where the coats, shoes, gloves, snowpants, flipflops, whatever, come off. I wanted those things to stay downstairs and not travel up. My half bath which I’ve show you here is off the mudroom as well. We also have a closet which I have kindly given to my husband. His stuff goes in there, along with one or two of my coats.

The first thing I did was paint. This room was “builders beige” before. I painted it Benjamin Moore Beacon Gray since there were leftovers from my boys room. There was going to be a lot of white in this room with the washer, dryer, and various cabinets. The blue offsets it nicely. Once the paint was on I started with the storage I needed.

I was looking for two things for storage. One item needed to hold the kids shoes. I wanted this piece to be easy for them to get to themselves. I also did not want to see the shoes on a daily basis. After looking at some pieces at Ikea, I realized that I didn’t want to spend alot. I knew that this would just be temporary since we always hoped we would one day finish the basement. Once the laundry went downstairs, I would have more space for something longterm. For now, this would do.

I found this cabinet Home Depot and designated it for the kids shoes and coats. I purchased two shoe organizers and after removing the adjustable shelves I ended up with this…

Between three kids and I, twenty four pairs of shoes have a home. The kids know where their shoes go. They know where to find them. All with in reach. The coats they don’t use on a daily basis end up in there as well. Where are the rest you ask? Let me show you.

We had a long stretch of wall with nothing on it. The second storage solution I was looking for would go there. I wanted something that the kids could sit on to put their shoes on. I wanted hooks for their everyday coats and bags. I was also looking for a built in look. I didn’t want to break the bank with this piece either. I purchased the Oxford Collection bench from Home Decorators, which they don’t carry anymore. I placed it against that length of wall and drew out the plans for the built in section. The bench was secured to the wall and beadboard was added with molding at the top and sides. White paint and six hooks later and I had a built in bench! The kids have their own drawers for hats and gloves. The bottom cabinets hold boots.

I added a cabinet above the dryer to hold detergent and cleaning supplies. Above the washing machine and sink I just put a simple shelf I already had. I didn’t want clutter there since this the my view when I walk in from the garage. The pipes were covered up as much as possible, remember this is all temporary. We have plans for this space and I’m not looking to sink a lot of money into it until then.

I added some fabric to the door with a simple faux Roman shade, hung with a magnetic rod since this is a metal exterior door. The fabric helps to soften up this space. With all the pipes and metal it can use as much help as possible.

The sink in this room is quite the piece. I’m told it is not original to the house, which was built in 1955. I want to find out more about this sink, which is ceramic with cast iron legs. It even has a washboard on the inside. This sink will be making the move downstairs as well along with a new faucet coming soon! Above the sink I added a drying rack from Ballard Design. It is perfect for gloves, hats, snowpants and bathing suits, depending on the season. Everything drip dries over the sink.

The last part of this room is the artwork I made from some antique keys I bought years ago. I loved the intricate shapes. Can you imagine having those keys in your purse? No wonder they dressed so nicely back then. Very Downton Abbey! I’ll show you how I put those up another day.

The mudroom has served us well the way it is for two years. Figuring out exactly what you need and addressing those issues can make any space work for you. I like to not see everything and this room cleans up in a second. Believe me, it does not look like this everyday. There are usually coats on the floor and shoes and bags on the bench. It’s just nice to know that there is a place for everything in such a tight space.

Share this:

Subscribe to Posts

A Little History

Instagram

Featured On...

Blog Policies