Skip to content
home | decorate | our mudroom

our mudroom

    We bought our house 5 years ago based off a floor plan we found online.  One of our favorite features was this mudroom. It connects the garage to the rest of the house and is such a great dumping ground for our busy family.  The only negative about the space is that there is no window. Which means it is pretty dark. We painted it a dark chocolaty-green-gray color a few years ago and it became even darker {that’s what you get when you use a can of paint you have laying around}. Last summer Ryan added white bead board paneling and a row of hooks on all four walls and that made things a bit lighter and much more functional. But it still needed some freshening up.  I finally finished putting the space together and I’m excited to share it with you today.

    The walls are now Revere Pewter {Benjamin Moore} and it feels so much brighter!

    I moved the woven pinboard in here to put some favorite family photos, art work and mementos – it sure adds a personal touch and some much needed color and cheerfulness to an otherwise boring room.

    We bought these numbers at the hardware store to identify hooks for each backpack.

    Above the hooks is a new print that I just adore.

    This is the wall with the door that goes out to the garage. Its nice to have a little bench in here.

    And the back wall …

    I painted stripes on the ceiling just for fun. I like it. Ryan –  not so much.  We also switched out the light with this industrial one from the hardware store {$25!}.

    One of my very favorite features of the mudroom is the automatic light Ryan so brilliantly installed. It has a movement sensor so it comes on when you walk in the room and turns off after a minute or two. We have a few of these throughout our house in places where its easy to forget to turn off the light {the pantry, under-stairs closet, master closet}.

    Now let me share with you another genius tip I got from The Nester.

    I buy one brand of socks – two lines for the older boys {is it weird that they share socks?} and one line for No. 3. Audrey gets her own girly socks but shares a basket with #3. AND I don’t match and fold them. Just throw them in the basket. It saves on time when folding laundry, makes it easy for the boys to find their socks and best of all, there are no more mismatched socks in our house. Thanks Miss Nester.

    Each kid also has their own bin of shoes.

    Can you tell who already has a shoe-obsession? Naturally, she gets the bigger bin.

    Speaking of shoes … these are her current favorites {and mine too}.

    They are from my favorite shoe designer Joyfolie. Come back tomorrow for a generous discount for JDC readers.

    A few details:

    So that is our mudroom. I love how it turned out. Bright, cheerful, useful, organized and personal.

    And it will never again look as nice as it does in the photos.

    … SOURCES …

    paint color: Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter

    light: warehouse pendant from Home Depot

    be filled with joy print: The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy

    black numbers: Home Depot in the mailbox and house number section

    galvanized wall organizer: PotteryBarn – no longer available

    sock baskets & shoe bins: IKEA

    80 thoughts on “our mudroom”

    1. Hi,

      I don’t know if you get these comments because it is an older post but did you say you got those silver shoe containers at IKEA? What part of the store has them and do you know if they still carry those? I want something just like those and can’t seem to find them.

    2. I am working on our closet organization and I am going to do shoe bins thanks to your brilliant idea! I’m wondering what kind of bins you have for the kids’ shoes – they look great! I’m trying to decide between cute or functional, and yours seem to fit both. :-)

    3. Can you please tell me where you got the hooks for the backpacks? They look super study and i need to have them for my mudroom :)
      Your mudroom is inspiring. Mine is my next project!!

    4. It looks awesome, and I love the lighter paint color!!

      Have you thought about making a built-in bench along the wall under the cork board? That was my first thought as soon as I saw it. I can totally imagine one that would fit all the shoe and sock bins and I’m sure you could come up with a super cute bench cushion. Or, even having an L-shaped bench that wrapped around to the wall where you currently have the little bench. Just an idea!

    5. I LOVE THE STRIPES on the ceiling! So cute. I also LOVE Katie Daisy (being from Oregon, I have a special place in my heart for Oregon artists)! I can’t agree with you more: it is bright, cheerful, and obviously reflects who your family is. I love it!

    6. Looks fabulous! I’m a big fan of the stripes and the woven pinboard looks perfect in that space. I’m totally green with jealously because we don’t have a mudroom. You walk in from the garage right into the living room. Carpeted living room. Argh! The one thing about our house that drives me up the wall!

    7. Such an inspiring post! Love the functionality + style! I searched the entire ikea website for those shoe bins without any luck… any idea what the “name” of those bins are? Thanks!

    8. Love your mudroom! While I can only wish I was as stylish as you, I have to tell you…I painted my basement today Revere Pewter. I had that same light in my basket today but took it out. (I am trying to only get things for the room I am actually working on, instead of piling things up for rooms to come!) I also have three boys then a girl. I would be embarrassed to put in print how many shoes came today from Zulily. She and I both love them! I enjoy your blog! Can’t wait to shop for more shoes now at JoyFolie! thanks!

    9. oh it looks terrific.. I like your bragain light from HD, The stripes are unexpected but I love them. I have seen the lovely prints all over pinterest, very nice job !

    10. beautiful lady! i love all your posts, but this is great! our mudroom is ALWAYS evolving. please PLEASE please show us your laundry room & secrets to keeping it in order! also, where you do you keep your cleaning items, vac, mop, & supplies. so many of us are on a purging, cleaning spree and your wisdom will be so helpful! thanks fellow mama of little ones :)

    11. Oh! I love it!! So much lighter and brighter! I love your posts because you always seem to inspire me to go and tackle some ugly area of my house that I have been meaning to get to. :) So, thanks!

      P.S. Love the sock idea too…I have 3 girls, so when #3 gets a little bigger this idea would come in handy! I hate matching socks.

    12. Great functional space with lots of good organizational ideas. If I could suggest adding anything, it would be a big mirror on the wall next to the door. Great place to add some light and for checking your looks before heading out the door!
      Thanks,
      Paula

    13. such a simple & beautiful space! I just bought my 2.5 yr old daughter those same saidi shoes & found her the other night passed out on the floor of her bedroom…in her jammies WITH her “bew-ful” new shoes on. haha! a girl after my heart…

    14. Emily,

      I love your mudroom! I really loved the numbered hooks & the motion sensored light! I had no idea they made these. I’ll be adding this to my husbands to do list…. I’m going to attempt making your woven pin board this year. Thanks for sharing your home!

    15. Hooray! Isn’t it amazing the amount of happiness even a small well designed place can give you! The mudroom looks great. Give me some ideas of my own for our laundry/mudroom. Thanks for sharing!

    16. I have become a huge fan of pale gray! I have used it a couple of places!

      Also – I am afraid our entire family shares socks. It might be gross – but it is alot easier. My daughter lamented to a Sunday School teacher in 3rd grade that she was sick and tired of sharing underwear with her sister. !!?!!?! We had NO IDEA they were sharing underwear! And of course she tells the world before telling us.
      Enjoy your weekend, Emily.
      -Trish

    17. I want to see your ceiling but the photo isn’t showing up…argh! :)

      Gorgeous and totally inspirational to get our mudroom/pantry/landry room finished!

    18. It looks fantastic!! I love the shoe bins! And I just bought that “Be Filled With Joy” print for my daughter’s room. One of my all-time faves. :) Love the way you framed it too. Such a great room, Emily!

    19. It looks awesome! Love the lighter paint color and those hooks are super cute too.

      One suggestion: Have you thought about making a built-in bench along that wall under the cork board? As soon as I saw that I thought it would look great and if it were wide enough, it could have a shelf underneath that could hold all the bins for shoes and socks. Just an idea. Actually, making it L-shaped and wrapping it around to the wall where you have the current bench would be cute too. I could totally see you doing something cute and creative with the bench cushion. Just an idea! I’m totally jealous as our house opens right up into our living room and doesn’t have a mudroom. :)

      [WORDPRESS HASHCASH] The poster sent us ‘413298962 which is not a hashcash value.

    20. Looks great! I like the woven pinboard in there a lot. Seeing your lighter paint colors makes me want to lighten things up a bit at my house. We’ll see. Thanks for showing off your tidy and bright mudroom!

    21. I love the bins for each of their shoes. Im trying to figure out a similar system here; tough in a super old home with no room in the entryway for bins. And our coat closet(a neat one hidden under our stairs) isnt big enough for bins. I love having all the shoes by the door though and not tracking through the house.
      All the updates you made transformed the space into a bright, functional one. Love it!

    22. Just noticed that someone already quoted your “it will never look as nice as it does in the pics” line, but I was going to already, so I am now I guess. : )

      Soooo true. If only I could get everything to look as nice as it does freshly photographed.

      For some reason, the pic of the striped ceiling (at least I’m assuming that’s what it is) refuses to load, which is a real bummer because I was looking forward to seeing it. : (

      Oh, and great job on the mudroom! I have visions of this for our house someday too, but we’re about to start a major add-on, so this will have to wait.

      Oh, and lights that automatically turn on and off?

      GENIUS!

      P.S. LOVE those Joyfolie shoes and can’t wait to see the discount.

      P.P.S. Apparently, I’m Chatty Cathy today. Sorry.

    23. thanks for the nice comments. Our power is out and is expected to be for the next few days so I cant get on my computer to fix the photo of the ceiling … I will get to it when life returns to normal. Wish us luck!

    24. Love the mudroom! I wish my home had an area to drop shoes (more for me than my kids and hubby). I’m the person that leaves my shoes all over the house. It drives my husband crazy- but I’m trying to teach my kids where to put my shoes. They’re learning. :) Could you share where you purchased the hooks? I’m redoing the kids’ bathroom and need hook ideas. Thanks-

    25. i can’t see the ceiling picture, and i’m so curious to see your stripes.

      all the others i do like very much. i’ve had also the idea with the boxes for our home. next time i’m at ikea, i should get some boxes.

    26. I love it! I so wish we had a mudroom in our house. You have great organization in there…just may steal your sock tip from the nester. :-) Thanks – as always – for sharing a beautiful room.

    27. I love everything about this post! The room looks SO much lighter…and the bead board is gorgeous!! I love those tips at the end: the baskets of socks and the buckets for all their shoes: sorted!! Absolutely the-best-tip-ever, for a mudroom. EXCELLENT job!!

    28. Love it! Thanks for sharing…where are your washing machines if they are not in the mud room?

      I just chose new paint for our home too and one of the colors is ‘revere pewter’ and I really love the change!

    29. I love it! The details are gorgeous.
      From the pictures the Revere Pewter looks more beige than grey. How does it read in person?

    30. I love the fresh, new look that you gave to this room! It makes a pretty, yet functional, place to be greeted by as you come in from your garage. You have such a knack for making spaces, like this one, look great!

    31. I love how much brighter the mud room is with the new paint color! I also think the hooks were a great idea since a mudroom always has randon clothing dropped in it. We used to have a set of tall skinny “cubbies” in ours when we were young and each kid had their own shelf.

    32. Would you mind sharing where you got the shoe bins and the mail sorter/key holder? A mud room is a dream of mine one day. Love what you did with yours!

    33. It’s too cute! I don’t know if my comp is the only one but the picture of your ceiling and light doesn’t show up, it’s just a big empty space. We installed one the automatic lights in our first house’s hallway where the kids rooms were so if they got out at night the light would turn on for them, however since we have animals it kept coming on every time one the pets would walk through it, and was always on! We had to turn it off and forget about the idea.

      Meg

    34. I am so stealing the bins for their shoes idea! Our closet is a train wreck! We only have a front foyer entrance and I am constantly trying new things to keep everyone in line and keep it neat!

    35. Love it! Everything just oozes style yet it’s still functional. I am always inspired by your ideas but often don’t get around to following any of them through. Apart from your burp cloths though. I made some for my friend’s baby shower (my frist attempt at sewing anything) and she raved on about them so much after the baby was born that I am making her more plus going to see if I can sell any online! Thanks xxx

    36. Emily, I’ve been a reader for about a year now but haven’t commented very often , shame on me! But I wanted to tell you that this is just what I needed to inspire my mudroom redesign! I just have two kids but we seem to accumulate jackets and shoes as if we have many more. :) Thanks for all the great ideas! LOVE that sock idea! And I love that Audrey has a bigger shoe bin than her brothers. :)

    37. “And it will never look as nice as it does in the photo” cracked me up!! The room looks happy, functional, and well used..isn’t that what rooms in our homes should be? Love the numbers and the sock bin and the shoe bin ideas…but one of my “kids” wears a men’s size 11…he would kind of need a BIG bin!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *