Mudrooms/Entryways

[Kindermama]

Anyone have any pictures to share of their organized mudrooms??? I'm looking for inspiration. I'm getting tired of stepping all over shoes!  I'm especially interested in those with 4+ kids! How do you make it work?

[ZakareyasMama]

Pinterest.com is a great website I get a lot of aesthetic inspiration from... here's what comes up with a search for "mudroom"

http://pinterest.com/search/?q=mudroom

Since DS isn't in shoes yet, DH and I manage to keep our shoes pretty easily on a small shoe rack. The out-of-season or rare use shoes hang in one of those shoe storage bags that's hung inside the coat closet on the wall.

I think for multiple kids you would need a shoe bin for each person and maybe a hook each for bags and coats. 

Kinda like this:

[4Marmalade]

We've just started work on our mudroom.  I have dreams of it being done before school starts but that's in 2 weeks!  We have 4 kids and coming in the front door was not working anymore.  The backdoor does come into a small mudroom but it was not organized at all and driving us crazy.  I should show you the "before" picture I took the other day before ripping down a wall and tearing up some tile.  That would at least be a guide as to what not to do .  I spent quite a few hours in google images just looking up pictures of "mudroom cubbies" or "mudroom lockers".  I got a ton of ideas.  Essentially, we're going to build four large-ish cubbies along one wall for the kids.  Working from top to bottom there will be a shelf, the cubby to hold coats/backpacks, a bench for sitting, a small drawer for hats/mitts and an open area underneath for shoes/boots.  We have yet to figure out exactly where dh and I will put our stuff but we have the whole other (albeit narrower) wall to work with and plan to have most of our stuff over there along with some extra storage.

[Kindermama]

Oh, I like the idea of a drawer for hats and mittens. I think I get your design and after checking out Pinterest (thanks Z'sMama), I think that's what my dream mudroom would look like too! We have the same issue in that I have a wall long enough for 4 cubbies but we still need 3 more. I might take the closet out of the other side and build more cubbies across that wall as well. I think it's long enough for 3 cubbies. I'm hoping to make the side of the last cubby some sort of "station" for our keys, calendar and such. I might even paint part of it with blackboard paint for shopping lists and notes. I really wish I did this 5 years ago when we moved in! Now, I just need to ask the carpenter we use if he wants a job to do. Thanks!

[Kindermama]

this is what I bookmarked: http://pinterest.com/pin/100839208/

I think I'd have those two shelves up top go all the way across. I might also leave the shoe shelves open instead of sized to the cubby width. 

[4Marmalade]

Originally Posted by Kindermama 

this is what I bookmarked: http://pinterest.com/pin/100839208/

I think I'd have those two shelves up top go all the way across. I might also leave the shoe shelves open instead of sized to the cubby width. 

Yep, that's kind of what we're going for too.  Two differences:

1)  We don't plan on having a handle on the drawers (just a space to pull them open) because we think they might get in the way.

2)  The bottom area for boots/shoes will be right on the tile floor.  I just know that having to pick shoes up to put them away will be avoided and figure it will be easier to just kick shoes off into the open area.  I'm not necessarily going for pretty.  I will settle for organized chaos .

I now have to decide on a tile and pick the colour of the mudroom.  Almost all the pictures online show white cubbies and while I like the look I can't help but think that it will show all the dirt.  The last thing I want to do is be cleaning the mudroom all the time.

[Kindermama]

I'm thinking the same thing----white is not the way to go. I may paint them a silvery blue or a mossy green. Good point about using the tiles for the shoes! It will be easier to clean and vacuum under there. 

[ZakareyasMama]

Yay I'm glad youo like Pinterest... It's my go-to for recipe and design ideas. White is definitely not practical. I think sometimes designers don't actually have kids and go for a certain look rather than thinking about the utility of it. Tile sounds like a great solution, especially when shoes are wet. In my ideal world I would put doors on these cubbies. You could have them cork boarded or something to leave messages or reminders for each person.

[Kindermama]

Originally Posted by ZakareyasMama 

. In my ideal world I would put doors on these cubbies. You could have them cork boarded or something to leave messages or reminders for each person.

now that is a great idea....hmmm. Can anyone think of any downside to that idea?? I can't. It would be fun to corkboard them or half corkboard/half blackboard them. Thanks for sharing that idea! 

[4Marmalade]

Originally Posted by Kindermama 

now that is a great idea....hmmm. Can anyone think of any downside to that idea?? I can't. It would be fun to corkboard them or half corkboard/half blackboard them. Thanks for sharing that idea! 

I like the idea in theory.  My kids are young (8 and under) so I know that opening a door to hang up a coat will be just one more step that might not get done.  Not to mention I can just picture my younger ones pushing the doors backwards, slamming them, etc... and breaking the hinges.  Maybe if they were older.....

[Kindermama]

Originally Posted by 4Marmalade 

I like the idea in theory.  My kids are young (8 and under) so I know that opening a door to hang up a coat will be just one more step that might not get done.  Not to mention I can just picture my younger ones pushing the doors backwards, slamming them, etc... and breaking the hinges.  Maybe if they were older.....

Good point! I can see my 2 youngest (and the new babe) pushing the doors back to far too! Bummer! I guess I'll stick with corkboard and blackboard on the end/wall/side of the last 2 cubbies. 

[ZakareyasMama]

Also topic have to make sure junk didn't get piled up inside there may be special hinges that would not break with a bit too much force. I used to have doors like that in my classroom and the kids kept their backpacks in them. They managed to hold up well. When the kids would throw them back too hard the hinges would sort of spring back. I don't know if it makes sense. But you might want to look into it if you'd really like doors. The reason I'd like them is that all those bags and coats are mismatched and cluttery haha but thats my obsession...