Have you ever had a space in your home that worked for your family… until it suddenly didn’t? That’s the story of my little mudroom. While we never had an actual mud “room,” there was a small space for a bench plus some hooks just off our garage before the kitchen.
Pre- kiddos and even when they were teeny tiny this space wasn’t ideal, but it was “good enough.” However, once the kids started acquiring their own winter gear (and in MN we have 6+ months of it)! That meant hats, gloves, scarves, and boots were constantly overflowing from the small niche and into the hallway – a tripping hazard for sure!
A few of our favorite products to make the most of your mudroom space
The mudroom concept:
My husband hatched the genius/crazy idea to steal some space from the back of our garage to add 5ft of depth and 15ft of length to the interior of our home. We had a rough idea of where we wanted the future built-in cabinets to go, but it wasn’t until the new hallway was framed that we could envision the layout.
The mudroom floor plan:
We knew we needed 3 core areas for this mudroom to be highly functional. A drop zone/ command center, closed lockers with a built in bench, and a closet for shoes. Below is the full floor plan, and my vision for the cabinets (our contractor is amazing for making sense of the “rendering”).
The drop zone / command center:
When you enter the mudroom from the garage there is a built-in cabinet with a counter. This is the perfect place to drop bags after being out and about. We also had the cabinet configured with electrical outlets so it could hold a charging drawer for phones and iPads. There’s even a cabinet for our printer (why are those always such a pain to find a place for?!)
The built-in lockers + bench:
We have four members in our family and designed the lockers so everyone would have their own space. The lockers all have closed doors, so you can’t see the mess inside. Below each locker is a pull out drawer for hats, mittens, scarves, and sunglasses. Above each lockers is a cabinet for lunch boxes + off season items that will eventually get rotated. Each of the lockers measure 21” wide and they’re 16” deep, with the lip of the bench measuring 4 inches.
The shoe closet/ extra storage:
Shoe storage was the biggest issue with our previous setup. While the coats didn’t look pretty hanging on the hooks- at least they were off the floor! Now each family member has a shelf. All the boots go on the bottom shelf with a liner. In the cabinets above, we keep extra toilet paper, paper towels, and other overflow items.
The fine details:
The paint: I’ve gotten a lot of questions about that gray/green paint color. It’s color matched to Farrow and Ball’s ‘French Gray.’ The wood on the bench and cabinet top is a stained clear alder.
The hardware: it’s the same as my kitchen (yep I love it that much!). It’s the Lewis Dolin brushed brass square bar collection from Upper Canada Speciality Hardware.
The lights: I was ecstatic to add in a beautiful Mitzi Reese sconce over the drop zone counter. Since this long hallway doesn’t get any natural light, and the hallway is too narrow for overhead fixtures, we decided to add can lights every five feet.
Those gallery print: I did a full blog post about the kids giant portraits here, and linked all the sources. Such a fun part of the project!
Now that it’s all done, the big question is: “does the space live up to the expectations?” Remodels are a lot of time + money and there’s always that concern. Fortunately our whole family would give a resounding “YES” to that question, and we absolutely love the new space!
Happy rennovating,
Style + Dwell
