Mudroom

When we were house-hunting, one of my top priorities was a "mudroom" area. I had seen a new home with a sophisticated hall of lockers, and I swooned. My background includes a lot of snow and outdoor layers, and many people, and always-crowded-coat hooks. Already in my own home I was struggling to fit the mess for our family of five into the little entry closet.

This house had a bedroom that was right off of the front door. And since there were four other bedrooms, I was delighted to claim it as a mudroom (and paino/homework room).

Our church was rebuilding, and it's former building being torn down. God had produced some great works over the building processes and I was set on using some of the old solid oak doors as a locker system. I had a few reasons. 1. Having something to remind me of God's power. I like having reminders in every room. 2. Being "green" and recycling used doors. 3. Paying for labor would still be a far cry cheaper than buying all that quality lumber

Here is one before photo of the room, and then some close ups of how it changed when we moved in.

 

 

I would still like to add in a middle shoe shelf at some point in time. Behind the frame, I painted the wall white, and added a cheap board and  cheap walmart coat hooks (mixed in with hooks that I had on hand) to give a built-in look. I stained the seating and painted the rest white. The baskets were on clearance at Michaels, but I cringed at how pricy baskets can be! The curtains were free, vintage things, and the lettering for the names I simply hand-cut out of contact paper.

 

 

 

This is a photo from my previous house. My brother-in-law had built these benches for me and a neighbor had given me the table. As I reused these peices in our new house, I gave them new life by staining the top of the table, painting the bottom white, and using gray craft paint (about $.89 at Joann Fabrics or Michaels or Walmart) to glaze the benches and table legs. Isn't it amazing how paint can update things?

This piano was the one I grew up playing (from Mrs. F actually. See first post). Above are three wooden shelves that I painted and stuck up with command strips.

And this completes my mudroom. A special room that I am ever-grateful for as we pile up coats and boots and backpacks, out of sight. I love that the kids can be in charge of their own shoes so easily!