As the main entrance of the house, as well as being in eyesight from the kitchen, Sarah's mudroom was her dirty little secret that she wasn't really able to keep a secret. But after 5 years living with her entryway as an eyesore, she finally decided to tackle the project. Since she lives close to the water, it wasn't a stretch that she decided on a nautical theme for the room.
After emptying out the collection of junk that had accumulated over the years, the mudroom looked twice as big. The old shelving was taken down and the wood paneling was painted with Benjamin Moore Simply White. Sarah added two wood folding chairs that she said inspired the idea for the nautical theme. A wire basket stows the kids shoes and 8 boat cleats, picked up at a ship supply store, serve as hooks for bags and other belongings. The old nautical rope she picked up at the same store inspired her to spell out "ahoy" as a welcoming message on one wall and "bon voyage" above the exit door. The room was topped off by using the remaining rope as a border along the molding. The new space is bright, organized and airy — a drastic improvement from the old drab and cluttered mudroom!
Read More: Chateau & Bungalow: Mudroom Makeover Brings a Welcome Change
(Images: Chateau & Bungalow)
Apartment Therapy's Sofa Shopping Guide
Nikki’s Sweet and Cheery Print Studio
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Sprout Side Table
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
What a refreshing update! I swear, white paint is magical.
And I really love the rope typography. (As a web designer, I have a secret hankering to use a goofy rope typeface at work but that just doesn't work in a world of Gotham and Futura.)
Looks like the mud room became a dumping ground for everyone who was a wee bit lazy to put anything away. Easily done for sure...
The after feels like a breath of fresh air; literally. Very nice and those large canvas bags are super cool and fit right in.
The rope wording is a really nice touch.
What a change. Bright and decluttered, yet still in high use. I like it. So many pic of magazine mudrooms look so organized and pristine I can hardly imagine using them. Nice to see a practical make over.
Idk its a little tacky for my taste. Its okay to be nautical but why so literal? I do love the paint color really opens up the room. But then again white in a mud room would be difficult to keep clean.
The WAY you made the letters, i.e. the "font," is absolutely perfect. And I so love the trim around the top, too!
Y'know, I'd second your thought to leave the ceiling alone. Like you say, IF everything above it is shipshape (heh heh) then maybe it's worth it. But if not, and I speak from experience, it can be a huge hassle to re-do especially all the edges (unless you just replace this ceiling with another, and why bother to do that.)
Also, since the floor is a hard surface, the fact that the ceiling tiles are acoustical will be a plus in reducing noise levels.
Darn knotty-pine paneling, huh? I once rented a house that had it in one room and the owners had painted it a tan color and I thought it was such a tragedy. It just looked dull and, well, painted. But now I have it in my living room and those knots, I've decided, make everything just look messy. In a cottage situation I think the painting looks ok or even, like in your case, great, but in a living room? Ack. I'd be interested to know if you had to do anything to help cover the knots (like several coats of primer!) and also whether you had to do a ton of sanding before you painted.
Congrats, this is really, REALLY cute and attractive. What a success!
Love how de-cluttered this place feels now! Key to a functional mudroom = hooks, hooks, and more hooks!
I like the white, but I wonder what it would have looked like if she had just cleaned the clutter and then implemented a nautical theme. I mean, I think it would have looked really cool with the wood walls, almost like being below deck of a ship.
BTW, while it's true some nautical-themed decor is tacky, yours is NOT. Some AT commenters use the site to take out their frustrations. Ah, well.
I disagree with AMC. You added two obviously nautical items -- the words ahoy and bon voyage. The bags and the boat cleats are very subtle and and the white wall background is very neutral. You could change it out almost instantly just by removing the two words and putting just about anything else in there as an accessory. The rope trim could even stay. And white is the EASIEST to keep clean. You see see the dirt and you CLEAN it up. Good job.
I'm with Pi. The de-cluttering was great, and I bet the walls would have looked lovely (and warmer and even more nautical) without white paint. Anyhow, if it works for the owner, it works :-)
I wish that AT would use the same angles for the 'After' shots as they do for the 'Before' shots.
lelizaparker - If you would like to see more photos, including one with the same shot as the "before", please take the time to view the original post (link is included above). The "after" picture shown was the best shot of the room in it's entirety.
Lovely! And it reminds me that I need to clean my mud room. :)
I too would like to see the same angle for the before and after. I know that many of the entries do have links where they might be available, as @KimberM points out. Frankly, I need to have more of a reason to go to another site than to see if there is a "same angle" picture. The most effective way to show a dramatic change is to show the before and after from the same angle on the AT page. Then I might be interested in finding out more.
AT editors - please take note!
"After" looks so crisp & clean. The rope letters are the prefect whimsical touch for a house near the water. Very nice!
Okay, guys, calm down. It's just photos of a room. The before and after shots may not be from the same angle, but they are of the same wall, and if you check the link, you'll find another shot looking right at that same door. Boom. Mystery solved!
The white looks great--a nice coat of white is a great way to update wood paneling, and it's an easy way to fix an ugly wood door.