A few people have wondered (out loud) about the day-to-day usefulness of our mini-mudroom.  (Our DIY closet-turned-mudroom was featured on Young House Love last year here.)  Here’s the staged “after” as a reminder…

I take it as a compliment that some would question the practicality of a lovely little room…meaning they think it’s too pretty to actually use.  Well, I’m here to tell you that after nearly a year of living with this mini-mudroom, it’s a workhorse – albeit, a pretty one.  We use it (and I mean really use it) on a daily basis.  I thought it’d be fun to snap a few “as is” shots of our mudroom in full force.  These were taken just yesterday and they were NOT staged.  I pinky swear.  As you can see, I’ve tweaked the space a bit after discovering what was (and wasn’t) working for us.

In the upper corner, a basket holds winter gloves and hats.  I added wooden hangers for coats.  It’s almost June but we’ve had some chilly mornings here in the Midwest still.  Can’t wait to put the coats away for the summer.

Just below the coats, I added a double hook for our boys’ backpacks.  It’s easier for little arms to reach than the ones above the shoe bench.

This small corner of floor space was originally used to hide our youngest’s mongo diaper bag.  He’s graduated to carrying his own diaper and wipes in his Elmo backpack (because he has to do everything like his big brother who uses a backpack for preschool), so the diaper bag isn’t a daily carry-all anymore.  Instead, I usually stash extra wipes and Wet Ones here…a lone sock is hangin’ out too.

Some more stranded socks…but for the most part the shoes make it into the baskets.  I also switched out the original rug (see the staged picture again) to a sisal one for the winter and spring months.  It’s durable and has held up well against wet and snowy shoes.  The summer rug will make an appearance soon, I hope!

As you can see, our lil’ mudroom lives up to its name – especially lately.  It’s rained nearly every day for the past week.  Hence, the rain boots.  This space works so well for us; definitely much better than when it was simply a coat closet.  Having a place for everything (purse, coats, backpacks, shoes, etc) out in the open (we removed the closet door and widened the doorway) makes it very easy to keep tidy.  I always try to only buy/do things for/to our home that won’t stress me out if it actually gets touched, nicked or even (gasp!) broken.  After all, a house is for living in.  And we’re livin’, baby.