Our family of four struggled to cram all the necessities into the tiny drop zone, sandwiched between the garage entry and kitchen. Old house living is a charming existence in many ways, but often storage may not be included in the captivating package. Despite our best efforts, our mini mudroom always ended up with a pile of things on the floor and heaping bins...
We live in Des Moines, Iowa, where we can experience all four seasons within a week. Boots and flip flops and parkas and windbreakers often coexist, so when it comes to keeping organized, only the best mudroom ideas make the cut.
Although we only had a small space to work with, we still desired to have room for a mail drop, sunglasses and even a spot for the occasional return.
The mini mudroom before
Local, The Kitchen & Bath Company offered to partner to find a solution to our entry closet chaos, in conjunction with Organized Living closet systems. We started with drawings from The Kitchen & Bath Company. We went a few rounds with their designer, keeping in mind the heights of backpacks and kiddo coat lengths, as well as space for adult shoes and jackets. I was excited to use all their clever ideas to take advantage of every inch. This system was selected because it is modular and can be adapted as our needs change and the kids grow. Once we settled on the perfect design, I set out to pretty up the space before the Organized Living system would be installed.
Patch, Prime & Paint
After priming, I covered the walls in Benjamin Moore Gardenia, matching the trim in our adjacent kitchen. Next I patched the back wall, primed and then painted it and the closet trim in two coats of Benjamin Moore, Nicolson Green.
- DIY: How to paint trim.
Lattice
I’ve always admired walls clad in lattice and was itching to give it a DIY go. I had some leftover vinyl lattice from an outdoor project and this little space seemed like a manageable spot to try out the look. First, we trimmed the leftover lattice to fit. I installed it using finishing nails and sealed the seams with caulk.
Ceiling wallpaper
The first place I always check for wallpaper for small projects is eBay. It is such a great place to find leftover, designer wallpaper for a fraction of retail. I found the perfect roll of Thibaut paper to pair with the lattice accent wall.
Thibaut paper retails for $200-$300 a double roll and I snagged this one for $25. Small spaces are also the perfect place to cheat a bit on install. I used Duck Brand, double sided tape to attach the paper to the ceiling. I created a tape grid to attach the paper and trimmed it to fit.
Closet system installation
Local, The Kitchen & Bath Company handled all the installation of the Organized Living system. All the pieces were custom cut on site to utilize every inch of our wonky, old house closet. The side wall was outfitted with baskets with just 6 inches in depth. Even the door to the garage entrance was outfitted with shoe storage. We opted to keep the bench, built a year prior, and slid baskets below for additional storage.
Real Costs:
- Lattice: leftover from previous project
- Caulk: on hand
- Paint: Quart of Benjamin Moore Nicolson Green for trim and back wall $17
- Wallpaper: Thibaut found on Ebay $25
- Curtains: $50
- Tension Rod: $6
- Double sided duck tape: $8
- Closet System: *Partnership with The Kitchen and Bath Company and Organized Living* Product and labor retail value $782
Total: *$888
Mini mudroom makeover results
Our maxed out mudroom has been in use for three months. I’m happy to report that although it doesn’t look like styled to perfection on the daily, since the mudroom makeover, it is no longer a chaotic catchall. The kids are even hitting at about 80 percent accuracy in hanging up their backpacks and putting away shoes. It’s a delight to enter our home without the hazard of tripping on a floor pile or being assaulted visually by chaos.
