Reinterpreting the Hall Closet to a Mini Mudroom

Reinterpreting the Hall Closet to a Mini Mudroom

Submitted By My Kids Eat Kale

One of my biggest gripes with our home is our coat closet.  It is a very crucial area for us and all we get is a dinky closet.


My dreams are filled with large mudrooms...

So last year I thought about what I could do to maximize space in our tiny closet.  

First and foremost, we took off the door.  Didn't help it's cause when within an hour or two of arriving in our home (before the movers even showed up) a nice little hole was punched into it from the door to the garage opening and hitting it.  Nice design there.  {To see our home's layout, scroll to the bottom of this post, although it's backwards, but you'll get the point of our awkward garage entry way.}   I never filled in the hinge holes though, just painted them...can't decide if it's worth it or not....  Then I took down the standard white wire hanging shelf (that was too high for the kids to reach so their coats were constantly lining the floor), and I created 2 hanging hook racks for one side and searched high and low for the perfect shelf for the other side.  Well, when the closet is only a little wider than the door frame itself, it was very difficult.  So I made do with our old shoe rack and a couple baskets (one for hats, gloves and other *extras* and the other for the kids shoes).  This design worked out alright.  The girls could hang up and get their own coats and backpacks, but it still seemed like it could be better...especially when the kids dumped the basket to find their shoes...

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From Hallway to Organized Mudroom

When I saw this party link, I felt like I had entered mudroom heaven.   Check out what Megan of Honey We're Home did to liven up the hallway entrance from her garage into a functional and beautiful mudroom!

It’s been quite a week for our little mudroom or mud “hallway”.  My goal was to transform this transition space into something a bit cherrier since it’s the way we enter our home from the garage.  We started with this:

Cleared the decks and began fresh:

Painted some stripes and inserted decorative storage baskets {Target $9.99} into the cubbies:

Made a no-sew bench seat and added a mirror {Hobby Lobby- $25 on sale}:

   

{mirror before a couple of coats of white spray paint}

And finally, adorned the bench with a few pillows made from scratch with my brand new sewing machine!  I’ve never sewn before, so this is a new adventure for me.  Be kind. 

HOW TO SEW A PILLOW

I basically followed the tutorial by Janell at Isabella & Max Rooms, except I didn’t use a pillow insert, I used poly stuffing.  And although I did iron my fabric before sewing, I didn’t iron the seams. 

1.  Lay the fabric inside out, use chalk to make an outline for where to sew, and secure with straight pins.

    

2.  Sew your stitches leaving a 6-inch opening to insert the stuffing, trim the excess fabric.

     

3.  Turn the fabric right-side out and stuff the pillow full being mindful of lumps.

  

4.  Pin the final opening and handstitch closed while watching Top Chef.

  

After adding a few more pillows, our mudroom now looks like this:

 

And because I love a good “before” and “after”:

 BEFORE

AFTER

 

Now that’s a space I’m happy to come home to!  Have a great weekend y’all!  I’ve got fall decor on my mind for the weekend, hmmm . . . .

Aren't we all dreaming of a space like this for our own houses? I know I have it on my dream house list!  What about you?  What is your favorite part about the space?

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From Closet to Mudroom, Makeover and Reveal!

This closet to mudroom transformation is amaz-z-zing (name that movie, although I have only sen it once, and can't remember it's title...) You may have already seen it, but I have to share it anyway. Because it goes to show a well organized space is a beauty to behold. Check out what Ashli of Maillardville Manor had done:

Well it's been a long time coming but we finally finished our mudroom/ front entrance. It's really a hybrid of the two, since it's the only entrance to our house technically it's a front entrance. But because it's the only entrance we needed it to function, well, like a mudroom.

The room is only 4 feet by 5 feet and that included the closet space. It had bi-fold doors on the closet. The doors took up way too much space when opened and made the already tiny room smaller when closed, so the first thing we did was remove them.
Once the doors were off we Lee painted Large Green Stripes on the wall using Martha Stewarts new line of paint. We used her Bay Leaf color and I couldn't be more in love with it. Lee also said he really liked her paint, it went on smoothly, although bubbled a bit when rolling, he suggested using a foam roller when painting. As an added bonus, we only had to purchase a $5 tester and that was enough for the stripes. Talk about big impact, low price. 

Then we installed a simple, very inexpensive closet unit. I know they aren't the most attractive unit's but the price was right, and with a few lovely baskets they looked a lot nicer.

We installed a mirror for a quick hair checks on the way out the door, but to add a little extra to it, we ordered a vinyl decal from Etsy. The decal came in four pieces. The Big M was one, The Malinek Family was another and Established 2006 was another. In case you were wondering why 2006 it's because we were married in January of 2006.

Underneath the mirror are these fabulous Ikea hooks. Because the room is so tiny, any amount of saved space is welcomed, even if it is only an inch. These little hooks unfold to hold jackets and purses, and fold away to save space when they aren't in use. Genius, Ikea has such smart ideas sometimes.

Of coarse you remember the boot tray project from Mondays Post. I love the boot tray so much I still wanted to show you more pictures about it! It's pretty and functional. And anytime function and style meet makes me happy!

We also added two little hooks, also from Ikea, to hang the dog leash from.

So there is our Mudroom. I tried to add as much style without compromising at all on the function. And all on a budget.
Budget Breakdown:
Mirror: Home Depot $19.99
Decal: Etsy $12.99Hooks: Ikea $10.00 / 3Leash Hooks: Ikea$4.99/ 2
Closet unit: Home Depot $40.00Baskets: Ikea $45.00 /3 ($14.99 each)Boot Tray Project: (Rocks Ikea, tray Bed Bath and Beyond) $17.50Small Baskets: Ikea $18.00 /3 ($5.99 each)
Hangers: $5.99 Paint: Home Depot $4.99 (Martha Stewart's Bay Leaf)

Grand Total: $179.45

Oh, and Max Loves the New Mudroom too:

Doesn't it look beautiful?

What is your favorite part?

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