Tidy Up: Easy-to-Install Mudrooms
POSTED ON Tuesday, July 16, 2019 IN Laundry Room
Storage solutions to clear up the clutter in your entryway
That space in your home that seems to serve as a catch-all storage space for shoes, coats, backpacks, and all manner of other items that tend to find refuge there as people pass in and out of the house? There’s a name for that: a mudroom.
Your mudroom, whether by design or simply by convenience, does not have to be a makeshift way station. It can be organized and customized to not only make your life easier, but also serve as a visually appealing area of your home and clear up the clutter that naturally collects from people transitioning between the indoors and the outdoors.
Choose a space for your mudroom
When determining where to place your mudroom, it does not necessarily have to be a room, despite what the name suggests. It can simply be a space near an entrance into your home, whether it be in your garage, inside the garage door, or near your front or back door. You can even transform a small hallway into an effective and efficient mudroom for your home.
The location is what is most important. Identify where most of the traffic is in your home and place your mudroom within close proximity of that space. If your mudroom is not in a convenient location for the flow of traffic, it will go unused and your work will have been for naught.
Determine your mudroom storage needs
Don’t design your mudroom to store things you don’t need to store. When building your mudroom, work backwards by compiling a list of the most common items that are normally found around your entryway. Who uses that entryway most frequently? What items do they regularly leave at the door when they come in? What items might they need to take with them on their way out the door? These are the important questions to consider.
Once you’ve identified your storage needs, then you can move on to the actual storage.
Storage solutions for your mudroom
Think of your mudroom as a “drop zone.” Shoes, coats, backpacks, mail, keys, sports equipment, and other outdoor accessories are among the items that are most likely to get dropped near the entryway of your home. The storage solutions for each of these items should be determined based on size, organization, and ease of access.
For shoes or boots, consider creating storage at the floor level, such as cubbies or a shoe rack. Coats and backpacks would be better suited to hooks, as would keys. Locker-type storage would be ideal for outdoor accessories and sports equipment Mail items can be stored easily in baskets hanging from the wall or shelving with labeled baskets. In general, baskets or shelves would provide suitable storage for organizing miscellaneous items such as mittens or scarves.
Mudroom benches with storage
Need a place to sit down and take off or put on your shoes? Consider a mudroom with a bench. This can be an especially appealing option if you’re operating within a small space. You don’t have to have an elaborate storage unit to create a more efficient mudroom space.
Benches can also provide a custom storage solution for your mudroom. Tailor the design of the bench to fit whatever space you’ve identified as your ideal mudroom and decide whether to incorporate open cubbies, drawers, and labeled baskets to complement it.
If you don’t need a lot of storage, the addition of a bench can not only provide a simple space to keep your shoes out of sight, but it can serve a decorative purpose as well.
Cabinet space for your mudroom
Cabinets are an ideal addition to your mudroom, especially for those in need of extra storage space. If you are looking for a place to put large items like coats, backpacks, and sports equipment, cabinets offer ample space and ease of access.
You can even customize your cabinets to provide personal units dedicated to each member of your household. It doesn’t even have to be a traditional cabinet at all, if you feel a wardrobe or a locker would be a better fit for the aesthetic of your mudroom space.
There is also the added incentive that comes with incorporating a custom-built cabinet into your mudroom. When your cabinet serves as a decorative piece, working in concert with the moldings and details, it creates a more cohesive space. You might even feel more inclined to keep the area clean and tidy so that it remains presentable.
This Verona birch olive mudroom is an example of an all-in-one solution. The locker-type storage utilizes hooks for coats, umbrellas, and sports equipment. Beneath the hooks is ample space for shoes or baskets for collecting outerwear such as winter gloves and hats. The open cubbies up top offer space for hats and towels. You also have cupboards at the top and drawers at the bottom for storing any number of miscellaneous items.
It may be an all-in-one storage solution, but it is certainly not the only solution. Your own storage needs will determine your ideal storage solution. Fortunately, Bertch is in the business of providing solutions that are tailored to your needs. To start designing and organizing your own mudroom, visit our nearest showroom to see our storage solutions up close and in person.
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