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.

Nope.  Don’t worry.  This isn’t about the guys’ restroom.  Our lil’ guy, Everett (aka E.J.), just turned 2. 

That means he’s getting pretty close to sleeping in a Big Boy Bed.  Our older son, Layne (now 5), didn’t kick the crib until he was 3.  He never tried to climb out and was very content sleeping all cozied up in a corner of the crib.  I think he’d still be sleeping in that crib if we hadn’t needed it for Everett!  But, alas, Everett seems to be doing everything sooner than Layne did…the curse of the second-born, I hear.  He’s 2 going on 7.  He sees no difference between him and big kids.  Like when he pleads to ride a 2-wheel bike without training wheels even though he can’t reach the pedals OR handle bars OR see through the bike helmet that’s waaaay too big and slides down over his eyes.  If he could, he would swear to you that he can ride a 2-wheel bike.  (Politics may or may not be in his future.)

In anticipation of Everett ditching his crib sooner rather than later, we ordered a Big Boy Bed.  It arrived 2 weeks ago.

This is what the living room looked like once I finally removed all the packaging.  Let’s just say a few choice words were shared between me and the cardboard boxes slathered in a ridiculous amount of packaging tape.

Because I’m a mean Mom (and because I had to share a room with a sibling until I was 14), I’m putting my boys together in the same bedroom even though we have bedrooms to spare.  I think they may hate me now but love me later.  I’m hoping it will bring them closer since they are more than 3 years apart.  And I’m hoping it will make them appreciate their own space when they finally get it…at, say, age 12.  Of course, this could completely backfire on me and it probably will.

To avoid any added frustrations that may come along with pairing our boys up in the same room, I got Everett the same exact bed that Layne already has.  It’s a twin platform bed made of solid wood stained a nice dark mocha color.  I have visions of matching linen headboards (that I would totally DIY) and pops of fun color.  Nothing too theme-y.  Something similar to this…minus the floral drapery…

This is what Layne wants his and Everett’s room to look like…

Oh, the horror.  I really don’t want to decorate their room without acknowledging their love of cars (omg, they looooooove anything with wheels) but could we do it a little less conspicuously?  Please guys? 

The good news is that I reconciled with the cardboard packaging and helped Layne make a “Tape Box Derby” track while Everett napped. 

Initially, we tried running cars down the cardboard track but they kept getting stuck.  Rolls of tape worked much better.  Tape Box Derby kept Layne occupied for 2 hours!

I’ve found that some of the best “toys” are ones we invent ourselves with little or no money involved.  (See how Handy Hubby conctructed Mission Control for Layne’s super space-y birthday party here.)  Gotta love that!  Now, if I could just get him to let go of the Disney Cars theme.  I don’t want to redo their room in a year because they’re into a new movie.  We’ll see…