MUD ROOMS
WINTER WEATHER IS AROUND THE CORNER
And, that means; coats, mittens, muddy Wellies, piles of school books, wet dogs and umbrellas!
MUD ROOM TIME!
Most people think of mud rooms as an "extra luxury" when building or remodeling a house, but anyone with a life knows it's a logical necessity - not a luxury...unless you actually like the dorm look.
Now, our busy, physically active lives generate so much more "stuff" ... tennis racquet's, hockey sticks, book bags, backpacks, boots, etc.
And we sure as hell don't want to keep our Babolat tennis racquet's or our copious designer coats in the garage, now do we....?
My mantra:
"A place for everything, and everything in its place"
When planning a mud room, first identify how you will use your mud room, not by what you see at other peoples houses. What's your mud room need?
Consider the following items:
- Storage for coats, gloves, hats, shoes, boots, briefcases.
- Storage for sports equipment: e.g. tennis racquet's, bike helmet, biking shoes, ski boots, bats and balls, footballs, basketballs, skis, snow shoes, etc.
- Storage for music instruments.
- Golfing equipment.
- Hunting or fishing gear.
- Storage for horse-riding equipment.
- Gardening hats, gloves, clothing.
- Outgoing mail, or package pick-up area.
- Dry cleaning area if you have home pick up and delivery.
- An extra refrigerator for the kids lunches, their sports drinks on the way out, or cool bottles of water for the delivery-man or lawn-man.
- Laundry basket and dirty shoe basket.
- Keys.
- Phone and blackberry charger(s).
- Beach or pool items.
- Bathroom off the mud room.
- Dog bed area.
- Dog or cat food storage.
- Dog leashes and poop bags.
- Cat litter box.
- Cat playroom.
- Individual lockers for each household member.
- Open shelves.
- Drawers for miscellaneous "stuff".
- Coat hooks for each member of the household and guests.
- Blackboard, bulletin board or memo board for messages.
- Place to sit when removing shoes.
- Doggy door.
- Umbrella stand.
- Bins for separating recyclables.
- Water dispenser so children or games players don't have to come all the way into the house for water.
LET'S BEGIN WITH THE EASIEST
AND LEAST EXPENSIVE FIRST!
A HOOK HERE, A BENCH THERE AND SO ON....
The old English county house "visual" certainly comes to mind when creating a mud room. These are both obviously "childless" homes above. The one on the right is pretentious too "staged" looking. Whereas, the one on the left looks oft-used and cozy.
This is a wonderful glazed porch which acts like a mudroom. Simple, clean looking, etc... I love the idea of boot rack for the Wellie's - but don't know why they're elevated - they need a drip tray - not open floor.
These are just plain old "back halls" that have been tricked out for practical use.
Exposed hooks or pegs are great for coats.
Boots/shoes/joggers sitting on the floor are fine.
Bench to put your shoes on, or outgoing mail and school-books.
More adult only mudrooms - attractive, decorated and useful.
Simple, practical, stylish, cheap and fun!
These two versions of identical spaces, one modern and one country totally give you the narrative when you walk in..."Yo dude, I'm the mudroom, kick your shoes off and hang your coat here, bro".
What a great way to recycle all those old armoire's and linen presses that previously held those gigantic TV's! The top is perfect for hats, and the drawers can hold small items like gloves, scarves, dog leashes, tennis balls, etc...
A European Vestibule
I love the flooring tiles and paneling. It's staged a bit - but looks swell with the canes, hats, racquet's and fishing basket.
OPEN SHELVING
This is one of my favorites; it's practical, easy to navigate and forces tidiness. Things are exposed but that's OK, it's the "look".
These built-ins are awesome as they have all the bells and whistles; bench, hooks, overhead storage, shoe cubby's. They're also in a stained finish which does hide a certain amount of bumps and dirt.
OMG he's soooo gay!!!
The bike helmets all lined up; the white orchids; the pictures of himself; the mirror
and the best part... the sunglasses on individual shelves!
This well thought-out mud room has a "wash area" for muddy boots, dogs, mop buckets, etc...
Mud rooms don't always deal with mud ... sand is an issue for certain homes. This colorful space give the owners a place to keep their beach hats, towels and a bench to sit beach bags on.
Another beach-house mudroom is zhuzh'd up with the painted floor and green shutters used as closet doors. The banquette and the bucket holding the beach towels are all very "beachy".
The perfect mudroom!
- Tile floor.
- Powder room.
- Lockers for each person.
- A door to close it off from the rest of the house.
- Message boxes for each family member.
- Good lighting.
- Chalk board for daily messages.
OPEN SHELVES WITH BASKETS
Open shelves with baskets for the small items that should be hidden or don't stow well.
These two mudrooms are in ski-resort homes. They have stone floors, old-world style woodwork and baskets to keep the insulated socks, mittens, goggles, hand warmers, ski-masks and lift passes in!
PURPOSE-BUILT CABINETRY
This mud room has totally concealed storage for the occupants. No one has to be tidy here...not a bad idea either...
This is one of my favorite spaces in this missive! There's room for several people to suit up at the same time; hanging storage in the closet, junk storage under the banquette seats, hooks for the most used coats and cubby's for the daily detritus. Love the soft gray color too!
These colonial homes have "architecturally appropriate" built-in's. The wing-back benches, brick floors and coat-hooks are all great, timeless and easy to use.
The Humvee of mudrooms - this baby has it all! Open hanging for several kids, closed storage, overhead bins, a bulletin board and a work area/home crafts space for Mildred! Best part is ...it's all stock cabinetry!
For the wood lovers: Natural wood, all enclosed cabinetry with the necessary hooks and bench.
This is the prettiest mudroom of this missive.
This room looks nice and well decorated, however, its gonna be a pain in the ass to open those cupboard doors with that seat cushion and throw pillows in front of them. Everything needs to be clear of obstacles.
IDEAS FOR MUD ROOMS
Individual lockers for each person.
BEFORE AFTER
The addition of the file drawers to hold all the various equipment and toys with the fun pink paint make this room 100% better.
Make sure your hooks are at the right height for whomever is hanging their coat
DOUBLE DUTY ROOMS
A practical combination of rooms are the laundry and mud room...the dirty clothes can go straight into the washer. Hooks and bins are a essential in both rooms.
SPECIALTY CLOSETS
Another consideration is whether or not you would want a specialty room or closet off of the mud room designated for your hobby such as hunting, fishing, golfing, horse riding, dogs or dog training, cat playroom, or other equipment.
You can do it, I'm here to help!