Turning a laundry room into a mud room

July 29, 2012

This weekend was momentous – the former laundry/mud room is now just a MUD ROOM.

Can I get an AMEN??

I took this picture minutes before the waster and dryer were moved out:

yes, this is real

It looked like that all. the. time. Every time thought to myself, “Self, are you sure you want to move the washer and dryer downstairs?” I would walk back into this room.

Yep, yep I do.

I tried. Tried to make it work, tried to keep it organized. It was not within my realm of…well…anything. I couldn’t do it.

This room has a long road ahead of it, and all I’ve done so far is move everything that was on the left over to the right (where the washer and dryer were), and it’s made all the difference in the world:

You can now see when I painted this room I didn’t bother to move the W/D – I just painted around them. ;) No one could tell. Till now.

I also didn’t move them to install the beadboard, so that’s coming soon. For now I moved the shelf up about a foot and took the hooks that were on the long wall on the left and hung them underneath:

in between mud room

My goal was to make this room functional before the Bub starts school in a few weeks. (Kindergarten. Sniff. No, I don’t want to talk about it.)

I feel a meeeeellion times more organized already. I feel like we can breath when we walk in and out of our house:

Doesn’t it look AMAZING????? OK, I know it’s kind of a mess still, but I have rose-colored-mud-room glasses on and I think it’s stinkin’ beautiful. ;) I am so thrilled to have such a large, open space as a mud room. (It feels HUGE to me now.)

I have big plans for this room, of course. Beadboard, paint, new trim (casing, baseboards and crown), maybe new lighting, a bench, coat storage and cabinets and storage up to the ceiling in that cubby area.

Oh, and I can take that vinyl down cause it’s not a laundry room anymore:

yellow and black laundry room

Booyah.

Best day ever!! All weekend we noticed the little things – like we can walk out of the house as a family instead of lining up single file. It’s fantastic. :)

I’ve been trying to decide on a wall color for months and I think I found it this weekend. Right now I’m just really excited to put baseboards back in here. See, the little things – it doesn’t take much to make me happy.

Do you have a dedicated mud room? Do you love it? If you don’t have one, have you figured out a way to make your main entry more organized? Do tell!

 

**You can see how I changed out the ugly metal utility doors here and how I installed the peel and stick tile here. And if you’d like to see how this room looked after it’s first redo, check out this post from way back when. ;)

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Comments

  1. So funny I am doing the same thing in my house right now the laundry needs to be a mud room because the everything room that I have going on right now does not work! Fun projects!

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  2. I think it looks amazing!

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  3. I have a lovely mud room coming in from the garage but it's always piled full of crap and shoes. I've never figured a way to keep that from happening. LOL

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  4. Awesome!

    I have those same Target baskets except square, that we use to hold scooters and helmets, outside stuff. A mudroom is going to change your life!

    My oldest starts kindergarten in a few weeks too, no need to talk about it, I get it:)

    Jessica

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  5. Yay, SO excited for you!! I've been following you for quite a while so I know this is something you've been looking forward to for so long. And you've done it! Can't wait to see how it takes shape and revolutionizes your life. (And btw, I like having my laundry in my basement.)

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  6. It already looks so amazing! Can't wait to see the progress!!! We have a lot of home projects (*sigh*). We do not have a mud room. Our kitchen has a door to the backyard and our front door opens into a large, open foyer. I would LOVE a mud room... one days (*another sigh*).

    Anyway can't wait to see more. LOTS OF PICTURES!

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  7. I love your new mudroom space! It is looking great!

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  8. Awesome - I know you're super-pumped about this transformation to a true mudroom, and you should be! I won't say much about kindergarten, except I hope you thoroughly enjoy it and the 12 years that swiftly follow. (My "baby" starts her senior year in a couple weeks. Pass the kleenex, please!!!)

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  9. This is so awesome! Isn't it amazing what a big difference a small shift can make?!? I can't wait to see it's full mudroom transformation!!

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  10. It looks great! I can't wait to see how you transform it!

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  11. It looks great and so much more spacious already, I can't wait to see it when you're done and the laundry room down stairs.

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  12. What a great space! I'm excited to see how the mudroom turns out. My youngest starts kindergarten this year. It's going to be hard walking him into the classroom on the first day.

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  13. I would swoon over a mud room daily if I had one! We just were relocated cross country from a big house to a little house for our family of 5... I went from a laundry/mud room combo... while it wasn't the best setup... I'd give my eye teeth for it now! Now my laundry is in a tiny closet in the kitchen (dislike) and there is NO way to even make a pretend mud room :( Enjoy the new found space!!

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  14. We also have a mudroom/laundry room. It is always a hideous mess. Add thst to the fact that we have a side driveway, so most people enter and exit thru the laundry room. I have nowhere to move my washer and dryer to :(. But I did get rid of two bulky clothes racks and instead put in towel racks for hanging clothes and pull out drying racks to dry stuff. I put them right under the shelves. So much better. I love this space. Can't wait to see what you do next.

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  15. I have a laundry, and I am dying to make it "pretty"---you did a great job so far, and I know you can't wait to get it done. Mine is at the back of the house, no exterior door in there, so at least nobody else sees it. I gotta tell you, I am thrilled to see I am not the only one who lets things get in a mess! I see all the beautiful, perfect, absolutely organized rooms on blogs, and I feel so deficient! I know NOBODY has a house that is always perfect, but sometimes I think that is just my excuse, and everybody does---except me. (Not that your laundry room was a real mess, lol, but you know what I mean)

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  16. So jealous! I wish I had a mud room!!!

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  17. Woohoo! I know how excited you were to do a little magic in there. You have so much more space now!! Our laundry room used to be in our downstairs bath (our house was built in the 70s, and we only have 2 baths)...it drove me nuts. When we built an addition, we added a laundry room. Tiny as it is, it's so nice to have a dedicated space for it! Can't wait to see which wall color you choose. :)

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  18. I can't believe it!! I haven't read your blog in months since you started your basement...I found your blog in the spring b/c we were in the process of starting our basement as well. We also JUST (last week) moved our laundry to the basement...took it out of the mudroom area (YES!) People all thought I was nuts but I love it out of the entry area!! I made a really great laundry space with tons of hanging space--looooove it! I now have tons of storage in my mud room which my house was seriously lacking. (WE used mega Expedits from IKEA--amazing!!!)but haven't figured a bench as of yet. it is so new we haven't even hung the coat hooks (also from IKEA) i am LOVING my new basement...it is fab! I have never submitted any pics on anything like htis but if you ever do a basement submission day i think i would!! PS--Even more ironic--I worked relentlessly wiht my contractor on how to figure for a laundry chute...it just wasn't possible from any convenient location..I am mega jealous of that feature!!

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  19. I have a mud room/laundry room, and no basement to move anything to, but you have got me thinking ...

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  20. I can only imagine the excitement of a dedicated mudroom. Our current house has one entrance - it is all the same entrance for the guests and for us. With 7 people living here, it is NEVER tidy. BUT we are currently building our dream home and it not only has its only laundry room (7' x 8.5') it also has a HUGE mudroom (9'x15') and I cannot wait to see how much easier it will make our life. I just need to figure out what type of lockers to make. I will be watching your room to see what you do.

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  21. Yes, we have a mud room, and we love it. We have pretty much what you're describing; a bench, hooks for hanging stuff, and cubbies above for more stuff. We even have a dog bed for our Shih Tzu and his bowls and food under the bench. It does have a tendency to get junked up, but I just have to keep after it. You're really going to love it!

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  22. Your kitty matches the room!!! lol

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  23. Oh, the joys of being organised!

    I have a favour to ask, if I may: I'm hoping to do a blog series on blogs I enjoy called, oh so originally, 'Blogs I Love'. Could I maybe interview you for it?

    Of course, I know you're super busy, but if you'd like to join in I'd love to do an email interview :)

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  24. It's lovely! What an inspiring space, thanks!

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  25. I just redid my laundry room this weekend! No basement, so no other options. It's crazy what a huge difference it makes. I'm a million times less stressed everytime I walk pass this room and it doesn't look like a bomb anymore!

    Megan
    I Teach. What's Your Super Power?

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  26. I would have loved to have done this years ago! But, now that it will just be the two of us, yes, my BABY is going to COLLEGE in two weeks (and no, no need to talk about it). Can't wait to see you work your magic!!

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  27. Hooray! Looks great! So much more space now!

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  28. So much better!! Wow, that really does make a big difference! An excellent move :)

    And my daughter (my oldest) is starting preschool in a few weeks, too. I can hardly stand to think about it! We'll survive, right?

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  29. AMEN. I share your pain, well your previous pain, now you're all euphoric... I have a laundry room/mudroom, MY family lines up single file to enter the house, MY laundry makes it look constantly messy, and there IS no room for all our shoes, coats etc. However, I don't have a basement so I don't have your option. Waaa.

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  30. Fabulous makeover! I had the same problem in my laundry room and really needed a mudroom. Here's an older post I wrote about how I solved my problem.

    http://becca-homeiswheremystorybegins.blogspot.com/2011/07/when-you-dont-have-mud-room.html

    By the way, I'm a kindergarten teacher and wrote a free ebook on kindergarten readiness. It's available on my blog. I also write a kindergarten blog and a literacy blog if you're interested. They can all be found at www.homeiswheremystorybegins.com.

    Love your room and good luck with kindergarten!

    Becca

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  31. are the pets going to try and get in the chute!?

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  32. Yay for new projects! You'll love having a mudroom!

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  33. Where did you get your vinyl lettering? I've been using http://www.letteringonthecheap.com/ and they do an awesome job!

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  34. I can't wait to see what you do with that room now! I have a mud room which has been in progress for a LONG time now. They are great! Even when they're a mess and unfinished.
    z

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  35. What a great improvement already!! We have a small mudroom by the backdoor and I love having it. Granted, it's not much more than a hallway, but I'll take what I can get. Take a look: http://familylovehome.blogspot.com/2012/02/mudroom-reveal.html

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  36. This is so exciting to watch, Sarah...can't wait to see how you transform this space! :)

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  37. We have a mudroom-and it is just a mudroom- our laundry is in our basement and I would never have it any other way! My mudroom is my favorite room in the whole house!

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  38. Yay! I can see why you love it!
    No, we don't have a mudroom, but on my "list" is organizing the entry from the garage into a dedicated "mudroom" type of space.

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  39. It's off to an awesome start!! That will be so wonderful to use all of that space to get organized.

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  40. LOVE love it!! And I love your statement that you enjoying not having to go single file out of the house, lol. You Go, girl!

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