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!
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Gorgeous! (Even better with the Steelers hat hanging up!)
great use of space! all of our closets have those little spaces behind the wall, but I never thought of installing shelving back there!
love the personalized artwork, too! we did something similar with numbers on a clock:
http://buckcanuck.blogspot.com/2010/01/picture-clock-project.html
Jenna – I wondered if anyone would notice that…especially since we’re in Bengals country!
Wow! This is really a great idea for a closet. I would love to have something like this near my garage door! Our goes straight into the kitchen. Good work!
I LOVE the photo of your last name “letters,” such a great idea!
MEP – That artwork was actually a gift from my artsy sister-in-law. She took all the photos herself downtown in Cincinnati and then DIY’d the black matting too. She’s awesome!
I know I’m late to the party… but this mudroom idea is FANTASTIC! I think that you’ve executed it beautifully – lovely post!
Stacy
Is the paint color the same Valspar Bonsai or is it different? It looks a little greener and I didn’t know if it was the lighting! Thanks
Brittani – Here’s a post where I disclosed the paint colors used in our home…
http://www.housetweaking.com/2010/09/14/you-asked-for-it-paint-colors/
i love those pillows! can i ask where you got them?
Have you posted these photos before? I ask, because I’ve found them a few times on the Internet.
It is quite lovely, btw.
Irene – My mini mudroom was featured on Young House Love a while back so that’s probably why you’ve seen ‘em before.
Malissa – The flowered ones are from an Etsy seller, Maries Cosy Cushions. The white textured one in the corner was a cheap Kmart find. They’ve all held up really well against our family!
Malissa – The floral prints are covers from an Etsy seller here. The white textured pillow in the corner was a great cheap find from Meijer! They’ve all held up nicely against our family.
Malissa – The flowered ones are from an Etsy seller, Maries Cosy Cushions. The white textured one in the corner was a cheap Kmart find. They’ve all held up really well against our family!
Hi! LOVE the closet-turned-mudroom idea! I am having a small house built this year and as I would love the budget for adding an actual mudroom to said house, it won’t be a reality. I will have a foyer with a closet and am wondering if you can tell me the dimensions of your closet? It is difficult to tell from the photos…Thanks so much! Love your style!
Kelly-Anne – The closet/mini mudroom is ~ 66″ wide, 24″ deep and we widened the ‘door’ opening to 39″. Hope that helps get your wheels turning!
I love your mudroom. And I love your Miller photo. I planned on doing something like that for our home. I just keep forgetting to grab my camera and look for interesting things that look like letters!
http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/entryway/in-the-closet-mini-mudroomhouse-tweaking-143079 featured!!
Missy – Wow! Thanks for the link!!
Do you remember where you bought these wall hooks?
Kelly – All wall hooks came from Target, Lowe’s or Home Depot.
This is the best idea I’ve seen in a LONG time!! I’m so impressed with your projects!! Thanks for sharing!
Where will I put my vacuum?…..
Apron Appeal – While this small closet was our only ‘closet’ on the first floor of our previous home, we had a decent-sized pantry where I kept the vacuum…and broom and dust pan.
I had considered doing something like this but wasn’t sure how it would turn out. Thank you for showing me that its amazing! (I saw this on Pinterest) Our house also has three doors that open into a small hallway/entryway. I hate it! This will solve all my “guests can’t figure out which door they should exit from” problems. Thank you!
I love this idea, but just one important question: If you got rid of a closet, where do you hand the coats that once went there? We live in Minnesota and have a LOT of cold weather gear.
I’m a transplanted Steeler fan, too!
Jeanine – We have hooks and baskets galore in the mini mudroom to contain our winter gear. I also hung a set of hooks with a basket on the floor near the front door to accommodate guests’ belongings.