Mud Rooms

[monkeywrangler71]

Who has one and how do you keep it neat and organized?

We have a walkout basement, the door is at the end of the rec room. I'm thinking of using it as a mudroom, but it has to be attractive because it is open to the rest of the room.

Here is a picture if anyone has any advice of how I can set up an attractive and functional space. This is from before we bought it, that freezer is gone, the carpet has been ripped out, the fake brick has been painted over. That ledge is covering the foundation and goes all the way around that end wall, so it can't be removed and is kind of in the way of any low storage.

P.S. There is no Ikea or closet/container store here

[zakity]

What about a coat rack on the wall and some bins for mittens and such? You could use some of those wire mesh cube things for shoes.

Hmmm... Another idea is old lockers. They would hide the stuff well and everyone could have their own locker.

[Libby]

Can you hang wall hooks on the same wall as the door for coats etc as you come in? Put a shelf on top so you can store bins of hats & mittens and other misc things?

On the long wall - I picture a bench of some sort with storage underneath as well. Can you hang a long mirror over top the bench and add another shelf below it (for mail/keys) and another set of hooks to hold bags or smaller items that need to go out the door so you don't forget?

Not necessarily with paneling like this up the wall but I like the shelf/bench/hook idea. You can buy 1 bench, a bunch of hooks (3-5 on a board) and mount them halfway up the wall...put a shelf over top of that and then a rectangle mirror over top the shelf. That kinda idea...mount it to the wall, not buy a pre-made unless thats what you want. Not sure you know what I'm trying to say here.



You can put a chair in the corner similar to this except your window is on the other side of the chair.



Or if you want to be really budget conscious - what about a chair in corner, coat tree or coat hanging shelf thing where you use hangers and put a high table (the kind that goes behind the sofa) along the wall and either hang pics or a smaller mirror over top?

[Molemommy]

Mine is where everyone walks in and it is seen by all ... we put a wood bench on one wall and a coat tree to hang coats on and I got a old dome top trunk and all the shoes are chucked in there. also have a washstand there to hold purse keys phones etc.

[frugal is fun]

I have a side porch that basically serves as a mudroom.

On one side of the room there are two chairs that were my grandmothers. My ex husband refinished them for me and when I was married they really didn't have a home. Once I bought my own house they just naturally belonged in this room.

On the other side it gets a bit more crowded. I keep my recycle bin in the corner. Next to that is a very small bench that my ex husband and son built together. Its kind of like a cheap shoe rack you can get at target but its made out of wood so it pretty sturdy. This is where my son sits to put his shoes on and where his shoes and maybe a pair of mine are kept. Next to that in the corner I have a standing coat rack I think I got from Bed & Bath for maybe $30. On the wall next to that I have four hooks kid heigh so my son can hang up his own stuff.

There is a fairly large basket on my son's bench for his "stuff". Those small misc toys that always end up in and out of the car. In the winter I just add another basket to hold hats and gloves.

Its functional and it works.

Do I dream of the wall rack like in the picture posted above...absolutely but right now thats last on my list of priorities.

I'm attaching a "before" picture, my sons hooks are there and my grandmothers chairs but the rest of the stuff that's there now isn't there in this picture.