I’ve received a lot of interest and buzz around our recent mudroom renovation so I thought I’d share some additional photos and details on the blog for anyone that may be interested in creating their own.
We moved to this home about a month ago and it may be, quite possibly, they absolutely best designed home for us without me actually designing it. Who knew. The only thing it was missing that our family absolutely needed was a mudroom. We added one to our past home about two years prior and it was life changing for the way we entered and exited the home. You know what I’m talking about, right? When all four – or five – or six of you are piled on top of each other and one can’t find one shoe, and one can’t find his favorite hat, and the little one falls over trying to put on a shoe, and dad can’t find his key, and so on and so forth.
The concept of the mudroom is fairly new and most homes, at least the all the ones we viewed on the market, were lacking one. I made our Christmas card worthy contractor promise he would be there the day we closed to get started. Here is how it all went down.
- Find a space. For Shady Lane, we were lacking space so we actually built the mudroom out into the garage which is a really practical option for many homes. Yes, you’ll cut into some garage space, but with so many homes having deeper garages it’s not typically a huge problem. Don’t forget to run a vent for HVAC, especially for chilly Chicago homes. I know some that have their actually mudroom or lockers just apart of the garage (not connected to the home) but with it being so cold so many months I really wanted mine in the home. For Canyon Creek we had the interior space but our hall way which leads to the laundry room was a bit more narrow so we had to switch up the design a bit. Due to this, we ended up having to move the laundry room door to the other side of the space which was a huuuuuuge project of itself and sort of made me want to cry but that’s construction.
- Find an inspiration. My go to, almost always, is Pinterest. I find a photo I love, think about us actually in the photo using the space (weird?) and send it over to my contractor. He then literally creates the photo for me. For Shady Lane we went with a individual locker type set up, like this. For Canyon Creek I wanted something more open so we went with this. I have to say, so far, I’m liking the open concept much better as the bench isn’t chopped up, if that makes sense.
- Measure measure measure. Think about what size baskets or storage containers you want to use, and work around those. Think about what hooks you want, keeping in mind the way they screw in. (Learned this lesson the hard way).
- For baskets we went with something extra sturdy, think little and big hands sliding them in and out throughout the days. They have held up beautifully to heavier items as well.
- Hooks are a great way to add some family personality to the space! For Shady Lane I was feeling wild and wanted a nod to our favorite place, Montana, so we went with these darling moose hooks in a variety of colors. The kids loved them and loved having their own color for their items. For Canyon Creek I went a hair more subtle with this bent bow and arrow hook. Still so the boys as obviously, B asked to shoot them.
- A home for everything. That is key when it comes to figuring out your mudroom. You need to view it as more than simply hanging coats and back packs. We have ten baskets total for storing items that are used quite frequently in our day to day lives. Baskets are filled with the boys hats, reusable bags, batteries & flashlights, lightbulbs, art supplies, travel supplies, books, cleaning supplies, and so on and so forth.
- Teaching organization. I love this part of the mudroom concept. If your kids are anything like mine, they enter a home and one flip flop is in one room, the other half is upstairs, their sweatshirt is on the floor and their backpack is probably still in the car. Yep. A mudroom helps teach them, hey, there is a hook for your backpack. A hook for your sweatshirt and hat, Slid your shoes under the bench. Get yourself together kid!
- Keep it tidy. If you add on a mudroom to your home, you’ll find it’s just another place to keep clean and organize yet if designed properly and your kids (and husband, ahem) are reminded about what goes where, this part should be fairly easy.
Hope this helps anyone interested in taking the mudroom plunge. I have to say, it’s one of my favorite spaces in the home!
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Courtney
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This is probably the weirdest thing I have ever written, but hardly anyone comes into our home through the front door. Like….ever.
In fact, my BIL recently stated that over the winter they actually did arrive through the front door and he had never even seen the door before. Um…we’ve been here for three years!
That entry has a coat closet, but I could easily see carving out space in our weird laundry room for something like this!
Tia @ Good Genes recently posted…Chill Out
I love how it turned out Courtney!
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Thank you Beth!!