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Discussion Forum

Mudroom Quandary

Jaspell | Posted in General Discussion on December 12, 2005 08:34am

We are in the process of building our new kitchen which will incorparate a mudroom component.  Does anyone out there have any nice ideas for a built in system to organize the chaos of my 5 person family?  Ideally, I would like to use 150″ of wall space giving each of us 30 useable inches.  I think each of us should have at least one and probably 2 hooks, a drawer, a shelf, and a place below to store boots/shoes/cleats, etc.  If anyone has seen anything neat they could sketch or photograph that I can show to my trim carpenter, I would appreciate the help.  Thanks!

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  1. TTF | Dec 12, 2005 08:49am | #1

    You might take a look at the pottery barn web site http://potterybarn.com. I get a lot of design and finish ideas from there.

    I attached a couple pictures.

     

  2. piko | Dec 12, 2005 10:06am | #2

    Look at pp 34-38 of Sarah Susanka's book "Not so Big Solutions for Your Home" - many suggestions there. The one I particularly like is the tray that catches drips from wet clothing abd which doubles as a dog-washing spot.

    All the best...

    To those who know - this may be obvious. To those who don't - I hope I've helped.

     

  3. calvin | Dec 12, 2005 02:41pm | #3

    Customer purchased unfinished 18'' deep x 24 w. pantry units from HD (135 ea).  This is a bit more than a "mudroom" but the goal was the same, provide a place for coats, shoes, book bags etc. Added the bench, shoes under/flip top for blankets.

    A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

    Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

    Quittin' Time

     



    Edited 12/12/2005 6:48 am ET by calvin

    1. User avater
      Nuke | Dec 12, 2005 02:52pm | #4

      Hey Calvin, that's pretty neat. My home has a 'token' hall closet for coats. I assumes you are single, no children, have a jacket, coat, raincoat, and not much more. (I really need to post a pic of the joke/token closet). I bet my 2650-SqFt McMansion has the smallest hall closet known to McMansionites. hahaha

      1. calvin | Dec 12, 2005 03:35pm | #6

        Customers designed it and love it.  Thanks

        I'm married with a grown daughter.

        My wife could use a shoe rack

        a big shoe rack.

        A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

        Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

        Quittin' Time

         

        Edited 12/12/2005 7:39 am ET by calvin

        1. User avater
          Sphere | Dec 12, 2005 09:47pm | #12

          Wait, I know for a fact Joyce has small feet...just how big shoes are we talking here?

          If there is a lot of big shoes that ain't yours..well, I'd be suspicious...like when I found cigar stubs in my ash tray..I was smart, and knew my wife was smoking behind my back.

          Get with the game, or it'll get you..(G) 

        2. rvieceli | Dec 13, 2005 11:46pm | #23

          I keep threatening to put a 20 foot container in the back yard for my wfe's shoes

          1. calvin | Dec 14, 2005 02:34am | #25

            I don't know about yours, but my wife......dressed in those shoes.......well, it's a beautiful thing.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

            Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

            Quittin' Time

             

  4. User avater
    Matt | Dec 12, 2005 03:06pm | #5

    Here is a few pics.  No where near as extensive as what you are talking about, but maybe you can get a few tiny ideas.

    1. PeteVa | Dec 12, 2005 04:45pm | #10

      That's attractive and probably what my wife would dream of. For me though she needs to settle for a tile floor with a drain and a pressure washer, I come in with real mud at times : )

  5. calvin | Dec 12, 2005 03:42pm | #7

    Here's a much more simple shoe and coat station.  A bit crammed into the side entry, but a good imagination might help you.

    A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

    Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

    Quittin' Time

     

    1. User avater
      Nuke | Dec 12, 2005 04:03pm | #8

      Unless a healthy portion of that shoe-rack space is hidden from view, its way too small for my wife. Of course, I had not thought about using inexpensive pre-fabricated cabinetry and just painting/staining either. I usually never get off the hook that easy when it comes to wife-issued chores.

  6. Geode | Dec 12, 2005 04:32pm | #9

    We're in the middle of buiding our new house, and getting the mudroom right was a top priority for me. The new house is only 200 sq ft bigger than our current house and it's all mudroom/entry space.

    For our mudroom, each family member will have their own "locker"--basically a tall cabinet with room for all their coats (hooks), hats, and backpacks, shelves with baskets for mittens/hats, room for a few pairs of shoes each. My DH wants a cell phone charger in his, so we'll put plugs in all of them. Depending on how much money and time we have when we get to this point, we'll either custom build the cabinets or buy stock cabinets and modify them. We might put blackboard or corkboard panels in each door so we can leave messages for people right on their cabinet.

    We'll have a bench that all will share with space for wet boots underneath. We'll have extra hooks for dog leashes and other random stuff. We'll have a mail sorting counter (not very big-maybe 12" wide) with slots above for mail, recycling bin below, and a place to toss keys and change. And then we'll have another cabinet for sports gear that isn't kept in the garage-baseball mitts, roller blades, whatever will fit.

    For guests we'll basically have the same set up that some of the previous posters had pictures of--benches with hooks above and shelves below. Makes it much easier for everyone to find their own belongings. We live very casually, and most of our guests have kids, and hooks are much easier when you're trying to get kids wrestled into their coats.

    Susan Susanka's "Not So BIg Solutions for Your Home" has a section on mudroom design which I found handy.

    No pictures of my own to post, it's all in my head so far.

    Have fun,
    Jo

  7. BryanSayer | Dec 12, 2005 06:48pm | #11

    Consider how changes in season and changes in age effect what people wear/use over time. Also consider whether you want a space for something like snow shovels/salt to exit the door with. I sure wish I had room for those.

  8. DonCanDo | Dec 13, 2005 02:43am | #13

    Here's a picture of a coat cubby that I built for a customer.  I would have preferred a "built-in" cabinet, but there wasn't space for it.

    BTW, the design was loosely based on something she saw at Pottery Barn.  And that's the customer admiring my work in the picture.

    1. calvin | Dec 13, 2005 03:11am | #14

      Don, next time, how about a wide angle lens.

      thanks.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.

      Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.

      Quittin' Time

       

      1. DonCanDo | Dec 13, 2005 04:38am | #16

        Don, next time, how about a wide angle lens.

        Good idea.  I'll look for one on my next digital camera.  The one I'm using now is a 1.3 megapixel Olympus.  It cost about $75.00 and has served me well.  What I like best about it is that I don't have to worry about how I treat it since it cost so little (even though I tend to treat all of my tools with the utmost respect).

        -Don

  9. junkhound | Dec 13, 2005 03:18am | #15

    some actual usage pix

     

     

  10. MNMike | Dec 13, 2005 05:32am | #17

    Here are a couple of photos from a mudroom remodel that I'm just finishing up.  I'm a DIYer, so I'm pretty proud of these (I built the cubbies from scratch, the cabinets and the crown molding treatment above the cubbies and the cabinets are from Kraftmaid).  Also, a photo from the mudroom that I added on to my last house - just a smaller version of the same thing.

     

    1. stinger | Dec 13, 2005 06:16am | #18

      Great work!  I love it when a DIY person comes here and shows us what great work can be done by nonprofessionals.

    2. User avater
      Nuke | Dec 13, 2005 04:02pm | #19

      In the two dsc pictures you have a new white cabinetry in a room with dark cabinetry. Were you trying to balance the WD color with the room's dark-colored dominence?

      1. MNMike | Dec 13, 2005 04:08pm | #20

        Yep - I thought that all cherry would just be too dark.  The only natural light in the room is a fullview 32" door leading out to the deck (to the right of the cherry pantry cabinets as you look at the pictures), so all cherry, with the slate, would have gotten pretty dark.  Besides, the white goes with all of the enameled millwork that we're doing throughout the house (we're painting and remodeling room by room to remove the pervasive 1980s "honey oak").

    3. FHB Editor
      JFink | Dec 13, 2005 05:33pm | #21

      Mike,

      I love that look as well as the concept - a separate cubby for each member of the family is a fantastic use of space, and helps to keep things organized.

      The upright units remind me of the years I spent working at the UConn Ice Arena and going in and out of their locker room.....you just need a giant rug in the center with a Husky logo on it to tie the whole thing together!  ...also the rampant B.O. is essential, but probably not advised for a house...Justin Fink - FHB Editorial

    4. jeffwoodwork | Dec 13, 2005 08:19pm | #22

      Mike nice work, we are doing a whole house remodel of a 70's ranch and I'm going for the same idea.  Couple of ?? we want as much counter space as possible so we are looking at the same W/D setup under counter (Bosch model?).  Do you think that setup limits you down the line for resale or replacement of W/D?  We also have looked at the Neptune-like units but then the counter is 45" or so in height.

      Also how does the shoe area hold up?  For me I think I would have done a 3-4" toe kick and put the shoes up off the floor have a cleaner look and a easier time cleaning between the cubbies.  Still don't take my ideas wrong I really like what you have done looks great and I'm sure will get lot's of use.

      Jeff

      1. BryanSayer | Dec 14, 2005 01:27am | #24

        Can't help with the rest of it, but the Bosch undercounter is the Axxis I think. Either Axxis or Nexxus. Anyway, we have the undercounter model, but stacked, and it seems very nice.

      2. MNMike | Dec 14, 2005 04:00am | #27

        Jeff - thanks for the kudos and comments.  I guess I really didn't give resale a second thought.  In fact, I hope any buyer would appreciate that these units are quite an upgrade, both in terms of quality and economy, from typical W/D units.  We bought these Asko units a year and a half ago when we bought the house with the plan to do this room this way.  I suppose it does limit what sort of appliances you need to replace them, but there is actually quite a variety of under counter units on the market now, with Asko, Bosch, Miele, even Frigidaire (sp?).

        As for the shoe space, my thought was to have a durable surface (the same slate as the rest of the floor) for the shoes to sit on instead of having to take your shoes off, pick them up, and put them on a painted surface (as I suppose would be the case with a toe-kick set up).  This worked out pretty well in the first version of the cubbies from the last house, though you're right, it's kind of a pain to get in there and wash the floor when it does get dirty - especially with the deeper lower section I built this time around.

    5. User avater
      EricPaulson | Dec 14, 2005 02:48am | #26

      Very nice, good work![email protected]

       

       

      It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been

       

       

       

    6. Jaspell | Dec 14, 2005 06:13pm | #28

      Wow, those are awesome.  Nicely done.  I think my wife likes your design the best, lol.

       

       

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