Whether your mudroom is in the front of the house or back of the house, these well organized spaces show that you often don't need a whole room as a drop zone — just a wall or a corner will do. Here are a few ideas for tackling those muddy boots and misplaced mittens this winter.
1. Located just inside the back porch, Elsie's mudroom features wooden crates for boots and knickknacks, plus wooden boards with clips and hooks. The clips are a clever way to display favorite photos, as well as hold tickets, shopping lists, and other papers you might need before you run out the door.
2. In this mudroom styled by Eddie Ross, a metal tray keeps dirty shoes from soiling the rest of the room. Snow will melt into the tray while mud stays contained. When needed, the tray can simply be hosed off.
3. Kristin's mudroom maximizes wall space with a floor to ceiling storage unit full of cubbies and baskets. Best of all, it was built from inexpensive materials gussied up with trim and wainscot. Click through to her website to see more pictures from her DIY project.
4. For a family of four (or more), this mudroom from Better Homes and Gardens assigns divided cubbies for each member so that everyone and everything has a place. No more wondering where your keys went!
5. This mudroom from Smith and Vansant Architects is part of the home's laundry room and does double duty in the cleaning department. A small tub with a shower not only washes muddy paws, but also his owner's muddy shoes before entering the main house.
MORE MUDROOMS ON APARTMENT THERAPY:
• Good Looking Mud Rooms
• 10 Tips on Making a Mini Makeshift Mudroom
• Practical Tips for Organizing Mud Rooms & Entryways
(Images: 1. A Beautiful Mess, 2. Eddie Ross, 3. My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, 4. Better Homes and Gardens, 5. Smith and Vansant Architects via Houzz)
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give me some crates and I am happy. Ok, I am biased for this one.
I love mudroom shots where the Wellies have never been touched actual mud.
Yes, exactly SevenWorlds! Our boots are always mucky from mucking around in the garden and yard--and our mudroom/entry foyer floor, and mats, and boot tray are thus always covered in grit, scuffs, etc. It will never look this nice except for the 5 minutes after I clean it (probably once a season...)...sigh. I do LOVE the wooden crates in that first photo, though.
(Although in fairness those wellies in the first photo ARE dusty--which you can see better in the photos on the linked blog. Maybe they just live in a dustier, less mucky climate than I do...:-)
My kingdom for a mudroom. And some rain to produce some mud.
I like the simplicity of the first one with those crates and pictures of who uses each of those hooks. Such a personal touch.
Oh what a luxury it'd be to have an actual ROOM dedicated to the detritus of the kids' comings & going. Alas, an actual mudroom (especially the kind w/ cubbies) is but a dream. I have an extremely narrow entry hallway that allows for little more than a few hooks & a basket overflowing w/shoes.
LOL!
is that dog in the second picture real???
@Brooklynnina actually that's not dust, it's the waxy they use to cover the boots, and it can ooze out. i think people call it a bloom. you can treat the boots so it doesn't come back.
We don't have a mud room but we do have an entryway with room for shoes/backpacks/jackets/whathaveyou. The biggest problem I discovered was that I placed large baskets on the shoe bench to put things in and they became a catchall for everything. I swear my girls see them and think, "Oh hey, a basket! I think I'll throw everything I own in there!" When I clean them out I find the weirdest stuff.
Yet I have a basket just for flip-flops (we live in a warm climate) and those wind up on the floor.
The key to a nice spot like this is to train the members of your family to use it correctly.
Training is exactly the issue, Pendragon! We have no mudroom but a fantastic closet at the front door - and yet my husband and guests inevitably throw their jackets and shoes wherever it's convenient. Opening a closet door seems to be too much to expect, so I think I have to just go with it and build on our little exposed landing strip.
Seriously????!! Those pics are ridiculous. Who lives in these houses? Not 4 kids, 2 adults, 2 cats in a city with 4 seasons!