The Mudroom Reveal

The mudroom is finished enough to finally show it off a bit. There are still things to be done - like putting the upper cabinets on the storage units - but I decided I couldn't wait any longer.

At 7' x 11.5' the mudroom is good sized. It's been nothing but an open space with hooks on the walls since we moved in though so storage was, well, awful. Everything constantly ended up strewn over the floor and we'd be stepping over gear, boots, and coats all winter. 

Not any longer!

The small unit is 11 inches deep by 3.5 feet wide with a 16 inch deep bench attached to the front. We didn't put drawers under the bench on this one because we wanted room for tall boots. Hooks on the doors mean it's easy to get to our coats (I really hate digging around in a closet for my coat - make it quick! The dog needs out!).

The small unit

My muck boots fit!

Inside the unit are shelves for, well, whatever we need to store in there. At the moment it's got a bunch of scarves, purses, and dog stuff but that'll all get better organized as I add boxes and trays. What's really neat is the open area just under the bottom shelf. We purposely left that big gap so that I could store tall stuff like my yoga mat and pool cue in there. They just slide right in, stay upright, and no longer get wedged into various corners and tripped over.

Lots of storage shelves

The 1970s gold bins are temporary (and ugly). I just needed something to corral hats and gloves until I could get something nice put in place. Although they do give me an idea of size and function needs.

We put open shelving on the side of the unit. We keep the camera, dog treats (yes, I use a crystal biscuit jar for my dog treats), GPS, and what-not on there. I'll gradually add decorative items too. It's all looking a bit lonely right now.

Side shelves too

The large unit on the other wall is deeper at 20 inches and wider at 5.5 feet. To accommodate the extra closet depth we made the bench seat only 12 inches deep. Other than that the design is basically the same.

The big unit

Oh, except the interior for this one is for hanging storage, not shelves. It amazes me just how many coats we own. We've got coats for hiking on property (the ugly orange ones), coats for working in the woods, coats for dress up, coats for rainy days, and so on. The closet interior is mainly for seasonal storage of all those coats plus permanent storage of rarely used items.

Lots of room inside too

I shopped the house to find the woven canvas bins on the top shelf.  They've been hiding in the hall closet and I think they look much nicer out here.

Have GOT to replace those yellow bins

I even got cute and made hang-tags. They hold gear, gloves, and hats; because in addition to an inordinate quantity of winter coats, we have an incredible number of hand and head warmers.

I might like the tags a bit too much

We put drawers on this boot bench. They contain our everyday gloves/mittens/hats. Quicker to grab than pulling down a bin.

Gorgeous (and convenient) maple drawers

So, still to do: the upper cabinets, paint touch up, decorating the walls and shelves, and coming up with a floor covering.  We've got a runner down right now but it doesn't fill the space appropriately. So there are still lots of finishing touches needed.