Creative Ideas for Making a Mudroom

Mudrooms are a very coveted part of any home that deals with wet weather. If you live in a rainy climate or deal with snow half of the year, a mudroom can save your sanity and your cleaning bills for your home.

Even though this room needs to function as a place for your family to get rid of the dirty shoes and raincoats when entering the house, it still needs to fit in with your decor. See below for some great tips on how to make a stylish and functional mudroom.

Have lots of storage. A lot of people choose to add built-in shelving to their entryway to create the mudroom, but it’s not necessary. If you can select one dedicated wall to make a space for all of the dirty things that can enter the house, you can have a specific mudroom area. Hang wall hooks to hang coats, hats and scarves so that they can dry properly and not end up strewn on the floor in the main areas. Take a few canvas cubes that can be found at any home store to keep things like flip-flops or other small items that are needed for the outdoors.

Think about everything you would need on your way in or out. It’s a great idea to keep an umbrella holder in the corner, and maybe a basket full of clean towels to dry off and clean up after coming in from the cold. You can even keep more practical items like a small box of facial tissue or a hairbrush to spruce up before leaving again. Everything should be organized and within easy reach, even for little hands.

Have a place to sit. It may not be the first thing you think of when creating a mudroom, but you will need a place to sit down and take off heavy boots and other awkward items. A covered storage bench is great for this purpose and can double as storage for blankets or other things you don’t want out regularly. If you can’t afford a storage bench or don’t have space for one, consider including a small chair that can be moved out of a closet or put away in a corner when not in use.

Consider how you will clean the flooring. Carpet or rugs in a mudroom are not the most practical idea. The thought of this room is that it will need regular cleaning quite frequently. If you want to make this task easier, be sure to get a hard flooring that is easy to sweep and mop with a quick run of the steam cleaner. Linoleum, laminate or vinyl flooring are the best choices for a mudroom.

Decorate it. Take a few candid photos of the kids playing in the last rainstorm, and frame them in your favorite vintage picture frame, or hang a gorgeous oval mirror for a quick once-over before you leave the house again. A jersey display case will add a sports element if you are focusing on a place for all of those dirty jerseys and cleats to come off. Just be sure to make it space you can love to look at as well as be a functional area of your home.