Renovation Diary

Before & After: Meg and Josh’s DIY Mudroom Renovation

Written by

Nancy Mitchell
Nancy Mitchell
As a former Senior Writer at Apartment Therapy, Nancy split her time among looking at beautiful pictures, writing about design, and photographing stylish apartments in and around NYC.
updated Jul 16, 2020
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Post Image
(Image credit: Meg Padgett)

Shortly after moving into their Chinook, Washington home, Meg and Josh decided to tackle a big project: transforming their existing laundry room and breakfast room into a single, open mudroom/breakfast nook combo.

(Image credit: Meg Padgett)

Before the project began, the breakfast room and laundry room were separated by a wall, making the small house seemed more cramped. Meg and Josh envisioned a single, open space the would serve as breakfast nook, laundry room, and mudroom all in one, with lots of built-in storage. (You can see more photos of the original space here.)

After sharing with us their inspiration for the finished space and their projected budget for the project, Meg and Josh got to work. (Click on the links to see more details on each week’s progress.)

(Image credit: Meg Padgett)

Week 1: The fun part – tearing things down.

(Image credit: Meg Padgett)

Week 2: Meg and Josh call in an electrician to install a new electrical panel box, and then do a little extra wiring on their own.

(Image credit: Meg Padgett)

Week 3: Framing for the new half-wall and the laundry closet goes in.

(Image credit: Meg Padgett)

Week 4: The original electrical setup didn’t pass inspection, so this week involved a redo. With a few tweaks, it was ready to go.

(Image credit: Meg Padgett)

Week 5: New drywall goes in, along with the start of the built-ins.

(Image credit: Meg Padgett)

Week 6: Little jobs, like trim work and caulking, take a little longer than anticipated.

(Image credit: Meg Padgett)

Week 7: The last bit of crown molding is installed, along with the lights and the laundry closet door, and it’s a wrap.

Meg and Josh now have a beautiful, multifunctional space that the whole family can enjoy. Tearing down the wall means that the space seems much more open, and putting the stacked washer and dryer in a closet means they’re convenient, but out of view. And all that extra storage will definitely come in handy now that Meg and Josh have welcomed a new baby to the family.

To see more photos of the finished space, check out the Big Reveal here. You can also see Meg and Josh’s final budget for the renovation, and read a list of their tips for other folks considering a renovation.

Congratulations, Meg and Josh!