Mud Room Project

My husband spent a couple hours over the past week working on a house project for me. A few weeks ago I finally decided I was fed up with our system at the back door. By 'system' I mean the way we were storing our jackets and children's winter gear. Everything seemed mismanaged and I was sick of having my hubby's work jackets piled on top of my nicer smelling jackets. So naturally I began to peruse Pinterest. This pinterest thing paired with nesting is a very bad idea. We have a very large mudroom that enters through our garage and carries through the pantry, but the space was just not being utilized. Plus we have a large coat and shoe closet, but coats rarely seem to ever get hung up on their hangers. We needed a more convenient and quick way to stash away our 'stuff'. These are the ideas I found:

simple and efficient and we liked
the idea of two rows of hooks
(one for adults one for kids)

these colours go well with our home, and again
a very simple idea, although probably wouldn't use
our storage space for decor

slightly more complicated but a nice
polished look, plus the bench cushion is cute

Loved this one for the use of the corner space
which is exactly what we were dealing with

 

A nice one piece unit

Liked the idea of the overhead cabinets

We talked about the pro's and con's of each idea and came up with three possible options. 1) We built a unit ourselves. Probably more cost efficient but maybe wouldn't be as professional or polished looking 2) try to assemble something ourselves from pre-built pieces such as good ol' Ikea. Again relatively cost effective but would it be durable and reliable for such a dirty and "lived-in" space. 3) Hire a woodworker or carpenter to custom build a unit for us. Least cost effective but would result in a beautiful addition to our home. 

Being pregnant and indecisive we went back and forth and finally settled on doing nothing at all. After allowing some time to pass my husband suggested he give it a whirl. He is not a woodworker by trade but anyone who knows my darling hubby, knows that he can pretty much tackle anything. He is a hands-on kind of guy and is awesome at every project he takes on. From car building to plumbing, to deck building to tree and flower planting, he is seriously amazing! Anyway we decided to go with a shelf row of hooks, followed by a lower row of hooks, followed by a bench. We designed it to have space for baskets on the top shelf as well as under the bench. 

I dont know how he just knows this stuff, but it turned out awesome. I am so pleased with our mudroom now and feel so much more organized. With a second boy on the way I know we are going to need lots of room for muddy boots, hats, winter gear and coats. It is perfect. 

working away with Dad

The mirror that used to hang where

the shelves are now

The finished product.
Still needs a bench cushion but we will
see if I get around to that before baby