It’s Feature Friday!  On Fridays, I’ll be featuring one room in my house in its current condition even if there are some things I’d like to change about it.  If I do happen to improve something later, I can always revisit it when the time comes.  Plus, I’d kinda feel dishonest if I only focused on “finished” rooms in my house.  And if what they (the professionals) say is true, a room is never really finished anyways…you’re always tweaking it.  Concentrating on just one room weekly should give me some time to tidy it up a bit, too.  At least, I can throw all the toys into another room!

If you were ever-so-observant last week, you may have caught a sneak peek at my mini mudroom reflected in the mirror of the powder room.  The catchall mudroom use to be a poor attempt at a hall closet.  Its door was 1 of 3 that opened into a short hallway leading from the garage to the kitchen.  It was a pain to open the closet door because usually the garage door was still open letting others in, so the 2 doors would just bang each other, back-to-back.  One night I had an epiphany to remove the closet door, widen the doorway, install recessed lighting and add a bench to act as a mudroom of sorts.  Handy Hubby did the dirty work (he’s awesome) and I organized the space with baskets, hooks and hangers.  And we did it all for less than $160!!

Here’s our hardworking mudroom…

I painted and recovered a bench we already had then added baskets to dump shoes into.  This makes a great spot for putting on and removing shoes…which keeps my house a little cleaner.

Hooks provide quick hang-ups for purses, hats, backpacks, lunch boxes and hats.

The wooden hangers get utilized during cooler months for jackets, scarves and heavy coats.  Another basket holds gloves and ear warmers.

The ‘MILLER’ black-and-white photography art was a gift from Handy Hubby’s sister.  She took the pictures in Cincinnati and matted them herself.

More than anything, I love the function of this space.  As the homeowners, we nearly always enter our house through the garage, so it made sense to have our dropzone in proximity to the garage versus the front door.  We use this space daily and it helps keep clutter (shoes, bags, coats, etc.) in check.  It’s amazing how much a small room can do if you utilize it to the best of its abilities!

It seems I struggle to keep a good balance in life.  Between all kinds of things…work and play, doing and being, responsibility and carelessness, mom and wife, the moment and the future, wants and needs, keeping quiet and voicing my opinion, family and friends, anticipating my boys’ next milestones and wishing they would stay little, organization and chaos, time for me and time for others, silence and noise, getting things done and letting things go, saving and spending, cleaning up and making messes, observation and participation, dressing down and dressing up, buy it or DIY it, keeping a straight face and laughing out loud, or early bedtime and late bedtime.  No one is either right or wrong.  But there’s usually a good time for one and another good time for its opposite.

Unlike me, here are some interiors that have the ‘perfect balance’ all figured out…at least, in my eyes they do.  I like a room that plays both sides of style and comfort, light and dark, soft and hard, smooth and textured, shiny and matte, colorful and neutral, fun and restrained, crisp and eclectic, contrite and whimsical, old and new.