Wednesday, October 12, 2011

MUDROOM MAKEOVER


Welcome to our mudroom.  Yep - this is real life.  This is what this room normally looks like.  I have tried and tried to make this "catch all" room function better and not just gather heaps of shoes on the floor.   After really thinking through how this room best functions, I came up with a solution.   This room right off the garage actually was the laundry room.  Can you believe it?  There was just enough room for a washer/dryer and room to walk through to the garage.  Well, imagine trying to carry an infant seat through there on top of shoes, backpacks, etc.   We quickly moved the laundry down to a room in the basement, which stinks to carry laundry up and down two flights of stairs, but it makes both spaces now function better for what we need.  I LOVE having a huge laundry room in the basement.   Now on to the new and improved mudroom.


After months and months of trying to find just the right piece for in here, and even contemplating custom building it ourselves.  I finally decided on this piece from Ikea.  It's actually a TV unit but it was perfect for what I needed.  I love that it has three shelves and three drawers, perfect for three kids!  Plus since it has feet there is room to slide shoes underneath.  I also found this shelf piece to go along with it  - a perfect match.

AND it was the perfect size to fit that room.  Almost - more on that in a minute...  Meanwhile.... this is what my house looked like for two days while we worked on this project.


I was just about to go curl up in a corner and cry somewhere - I can't STAND for my house to be in chaos. 


A quick peek at the hubs hard at work......


And finally - we have a new and improved, much more functional mudroom!!


I love the shelves up above with baskets for each girl that holds all winter hats, gloves, scarves, etc. 


See that arrow?   That is where my hubs actually had to cut away a piece of the baseboard because it was such a tight fit.  It was a pain, but I love how it fits so perfectly now.  I will not however, bring up the subject of my BFF and I actually holding this bench up above our heads trying to get it into the room.  I will also not discuss anything about cutting off a door jam either.  Thank you very much.  : )

But now it's a perfect "drop zone" bench type set up.  I love that they can hang up anything, or drop anything right on the bench, and even sit down to put on socks and shoes.  Plenty of space to kick off shoes and just kick them under if they are feeling lazy, or neatly place them on the shelf or in the drawers.   The shelf will be for the everyday shoes, and the drawer will hold the more seldom worn shoes.   I have a great three-drawer basket shelf right outside this room that holds everyones socks. 


Directly across from these new shelves is the coat closet.  This closet was waaaaaay too small for a family of five that needs coats for three seasons.  I forgot to take a before picture, but just imagine it completely stuffed full of coats and piles of shoes on the floor.   Now it houses all of those everyday "I need" kinds of things.   There is a drawer for school papers, hair accessories, brushes, batteries, light bulbs, tools, etc. (Repurposed work boxes from prior homeschooling days) : )


And right on top is the main living level dirty laundry basket.  Perfect for dish towels and dirty socks.   All of these things used to be on the old shelves taking up all that space for coming in and out of the house - this is so much better!!


My sweet hubby saw how I re-purposed the closet and actually said to me "Where are we going to hang our coats?"  My reply - "Honey, we now have a total of 24 hooks in our mudroom, I think you will be able to find a place to hang your coat."    : )     Also, in our laundry room downstairs we have an additional large hanging space for the heavy winter coats and snow gear and such, so I simply will switch everything out when the seasons change.




A much happier enter/exit zone!!  I'm still planning on painting all the trim and beadboard the same color, plus a fresh new color for the walls, as well as nice throw rug for the floor.





16 comments:

Nana said...

You are the only other person in the whole world that I know re-makes and paints a room as much as I do. Maybe even more if that is possible. Gary says when I get through with one it is time to change it. I do kinda love a good change, but I think I am slowing down a little in my "Senior" years (maybe). It looks great. Lucky we have patient hubbies to do the heavy stuff.

Wendy said...

LOVE all your hardwork (and Richard's too) :)!

Elizabeth said...

Beautiful! Organization that gorgeous just brings a smile to my face! :)

Karen said...

Looks great! For some reason, I thought you already had a bench in there, but that's very functional. And I was also wondering the same thing as hubby - where are you going to put all the winter coats?! It's the way a Minnesota mind thinks :(

Delightful Order said...

great JOB! I love the transformation.
DaNita

CraveCute said...

I wish I had that in my house! Fabulous!

Brie @ Darling Doodles said...

That is beautiful! I don't know why but I dream about the day I can have a fantastic mudroom, even more than a big master closet. I'm weird like that I guess! Your room turned out great, thanks for the inspiration!

Brie from darlingdoodles.blogspot.com

CC said...

I feel the same way during a project. The chaos drives me ca-razy. I have to breathe deeply and remind myself that it is only temporary. And wonder if they make pills for it.

Anita Johnson said...

It has been way to long since I stopped by your beautiful blog! And now I want to redo our mudroom too. Now that it is just my husband and I here, I'm sure I could reconfigure the space...the first project for my winter to-do list. PS Your dog is beautiful...even when he misbehaves!

Livin' In Duckville said...

I am soooo drooling. When you enter our home, you come directly into our livingroom. I ended up putting a 9-hole cubby. There are 4 of us & each of us has an open spot for shoes & a basket to hold hats, gloves, etc. The 9th hole is for our library bag & books.

Your new mudroom is beautiful!

Erin said...

It's lovely. (I think I have the same tiny laundry room, except that instead of a closet opposite, I have the pantry shelves.)

Elizabeth said...

Great job on the reorganizing. I even notice you added board and batting? Or Wainscoting?

Visiting from Org Junkie.

The Fischer Family said...

Great job! It looks so functional now! I have an incredibly small mudroom and it's the bane of my existence! Love Ikea...don't you!?!?! Found my way over from Org Junkie! Have a great weekend!

Hopewell said...

Love, love, love it! And, I'm INSANELY jealous!! lol.....(Have the same problem with the shoes)

Mindi and Adrian said...

Wow I LOVE IT! We are looking for ideas for the mudroom and I think I may have to use this idea for inspiration. I really would like someone to build us something but it's just not in the budget right now.

Marcie Lovett said...

What a lovely, calm way to start and end your day. Congratulations to you and your husband on the design and execution!