So, what better time than "back to school" to re-examine how we can all carve out a little space to store the menagerie of backpacks, boots, and coats that comes with being a bustling family?
The following photos show alternative ways to salute the mudroom - ways that defy the limited space in our homes and the challenges that accompany working with what we have:
This mudroom area was built in the home owner's garage (see the garage door mechanism overhead?). But, it could just as easily have been created in the basement of a home with a basement entry...
photo source: Southern Living
photo source: Southern LivingHere is another mudroom space in the basement of a home. Anyone out there with a split-entry style home? This would work for you!
photo source: Design Inc.ca
And yet another garage mudroom:
photographer: Thomas J. Storey
Do you have a small foyer? Here are two great examples of creating your own mudroom area within:
both photos: Southern Living
What about a back porch? Front porch? If storage is really your dilemma, haul out the wicker furniture from the space and add some great hooks, benches, and cubbies. Make your home work for you!!
photo: Tria Giovan, Cottage Living
photo: Country Home
Hi, I was laughing because I actually have MUD in my mudroom. I make our kids drop their clothes and shoes in the washroom, mudroom and then proceed to the bathroom. They do chores outside and then bring in 20 pounds of dirt. I don't know how they do it! I love the mudroom pictures you showed, beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBlessings, Debbie
Oh I'd love to have the space for a mudroom. It's almost a necessity in my corner. I like the one eked out of space in the foyer because, if I had a mudroom, I wouldn't want it to look a lot like one.
ReplyDeleteI'd love room for a mudroom, we live in a 1930's semi and so we have to settle with a cupboard and a sideboard with baskets for shoes. Still next house we'll have one ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the great ideas and photos! I have a mudroom off the garage but the front door gets a lot of action, too, and I might adapt one of these ideas to work for us. Thanks for the ideas!
ReplyDelete-Carrie
There is never too much mudroom talk for me , my options are still basement , which I am working on , or garage , which is a much bigger endevour , so that will probably never happen, so I will make a mudroom in the basement so I can send my girls down with their coats , and back packs , save some space upstairs , thanks for the reminders .
ReplyDeleteI feel like getting a move on the construction.
Chris
I love the mudroom talk! We have a small one in our new home and I'm trying to decide how to outfit the space. I love all of these suggestions. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love mudrooms and wish I had one. I also wished I lived in a world where our family only owned one coat and two pairs of boots :0)
ReplyDeleteThose are some great mudrooms. I have never had the luxury of having one but it sure would have been nice when my children were young.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
LeAnn:)
Oh - i have a mud room on my list of wants for a house when we build one!
ReplyDeleteI just popped over from Oliver Rain's as I noticed the title to your post! I'm in the process of creating a mudroom in the basement of our bungalow. (The basement itself has been reconstructed.) My mudroom was based on the Style at Home article that accompanied one of your photos!
ReplyDeleteNow those are some great ideas of mudrooms. I have a walk in two car garage and just might have to make some use of part of it. Thanks for sharing. Learned a lot. Great photos.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
Hugs;
Alaura
Interesting..... This has given me a reason to think I COULD get a mudroom/area carved out of my laundry room!! Thanks for the great pictures! Karol
ReplyDeleteI do love a good mudroom, so I always enjoy the posts you do about them! One of my must-haves when we moved to this house was a mudroom.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, our new house didn't have one, but we made it work by moving the laundry upstairs and using the laundry room off the garage as a mudroom.
Now I have a washer and dryer in a closet we had built in our master bathroom, which is much more convenient than schlepping the clothes downstairs and through the kitchen to the back door anyway! -Julia :-)
How I long for a mudroom. Our little 50's house doesn't even have a closet in the front room. The back door opens right on the steps to the basement so putting a "mudroom" there is not possible. We don't have a garage, only a carport. How does one make your front room a entryway/front room/mudroom without looking horrible? It's been a huge dilemma for me. Need more ideas!
ReplyDeleteI love the first mud room that has the initials on the doors.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for your kind comments on my blog.
I would love to have a mud room, would be great in the winter with all the coats and boots.
ReplyDeleteLove these ideas! Sadly, I really don't have ANY room for a mudroom anywhere... Maybe someday!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing - I will keep these in my mind for future homes.
This post came at a great time since our laundry/mudroom has had extensive water damage. I'm looking for ways to make the room really efficient during before we rebuild!
ReplyDeleteBlessins to you and yours!
Great post! I'm sprucing up our mudroom for fall and winter. This is just what I needed!
ReplyDeleteI am desperate for a mudroom...my home was built before mudrooms came into vogue. I have the perfect area in my garage, but I have an extra fridge there. The fridge comes in quite handy, so alas, no mudroom for me. Maybe in my next home!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the Washington Post 'blog watch' this week.
Oh it would be so lovely to have a mudroom! There's no room in our little 1920's cottage for one so it seems so luxurious to me. Even to have a laundry room - our washer/dryer is in our unfinished (and very SCARY) basement. Ah, to have a laundry/mudroom...what a dream! thanks for the inspiring pics as always! It's good to be back and browse over your posts I missed. :-)
ReplyDeleteI need one of those with six little kiddies. They have to track through the whole house to get places. It the worse when I JUST cleaned the wood floors. Scream (LOL)!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your lovely comment, the cake didn't last long never does.
ReplyDeleteYou have a wonderful family home your kitchen is to die for.
Hopefully my hubby will clear our small shed out sometime soon and I get my way and turn it into a mudroom. Some lovely ideas here.
I'm big on mudrooms too and these are wonderful ideas.
ReplyDeleteI always dreamed of having a mud room, then when we moved to our current home I inherited a screened in back porch. Judging by the mud that gets left on the floor, I guess I finally got one.
ReplyDeletemy favorite is the middle white one with lots and lots of cubbies.
ReplyDeleteand that bottom one is so rustic and cool.
Great post Linda! The service areas of houses are usually my favorite part when well done and organized. I love seeing how other people keep things organized.
ReplyDeleteI love mudrooms! It's my favorite area to decorate. I love the one in the garage b/c there are simply things I don't want coming in my house like cleats, boots etc. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSandy Toes at www.shellinyourpocket.blogspot.com
Congratulations for being named a must click blog of the week by The Washington Post! I really enjoyed your post!
ReplyDeleteSuch yumminess! Thanks for the inspiration. I soooo need to lighten my laundry room up..that is our mudroom lol. cherry
ReplyDeleteYou are so right I found your site by Googling Garage Mud rooms ! I Love my House but when you walk into the front door you walk right into the living room! I have a small 1.5 car garage that I would love to eek out a mud room area. I'm recouping from 6 rounds of Chemo so Im planning a project to keep me busy. Any ideas are appreciated and YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH MUD ROOM TALK! Thank You!
ReplyDelete