Mudroom Reno Project
The mudroom is one of the most overlooked places in most people’s homes. Our mudroom functions as the passageway between the garage and the kitchen, and also is our laundry room. Naturally, we collect everything you could think of in there: beach towels, vacuums, cleaning agents, sneakers, shoes, boots, tote bags, cold weather accessories, etc. It’s the center of our chaos on the way out in the morning, and welcomes the aftermath of our day on the way in. So a mudroom renovation was needed!
Above are photos from before the mudroom renovation. I’m not sure what the original builder’s intention was with the design of the mudroom closet, but it’s quite peculiar. There was both horizontal AND vertical shelving, and a double sliding door that enclosed the whole closet…very strange.
Every time I would pass through, I would think how the space could be better utilized somehow. I was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest that resembled locker room benches. BINGO! So down came the doors, the weird shelving. My contractor and I designed the locker room inset with a bench that would be short enough for the little ones to climb up on, and added hooks to hold the coats. We measured shelving specifically to fit boots at the bottom and shoes in the middle. Here’s what the bare bones of the finished product looked like:
This was not just a Pinterest-win, but a Pinterest victory! I bought medium and large baskets from Target to contain hats/gloves/more shoes. I liked that the wicker milk-crate style to added a rustic-chic touch.
We also reorganized all of the household cleaning chemicals to hang out above the washer/dryer, out of the reach of little hands. I can totally see Chase (and eventually Carter) sitting on that bench to get ready for school. One mommy friend gave me a great tip to take the kids’ clean socks straight from the dryer and throw them into a basket next to their shoes. That way, instead of the morning struggle to run back upstairs to grab socks, it’s right where they need them. No sorting needed! And I am allllll for anything that simplifies our crazy life! Do you have a mudroom in need of a facelift? What is your dream mudroom renovation feature?
