It might sound like a weird name for a room, but a mudroom is actually an important place in your home. When it comes to the rooms in a house, the mudroom gets barely a cursory glance, but it’s definitely a spot you visit multiple times a day.
The most overlooked room in a house
A mudroom is often overlooked when designing homes because it doesn’t seem like much of an investment compared to larger rooms like kitchens or living rooms.
A mudroom is a place where you take off your footwear and store them before entering the house. It’s also a space that can store any other items such as coats, bags, and sports equipment. Mudrooms provide convenience and protection from dirt and mud, snow, or rain. It gives you a place to wipe your muddy boots on a mat or rug before getting inside the house.
You can also make it into a laundry area like we did. That way, it’s where dirty and wet clothes are left at the door and can be cleaned. This helps keep down the mess and wet that gets brought in normally and keeps our home cleaner.
As an added upgrade, we included a washing station, storage for sporting equipment, and other miscellaneous items (like out-of-season items and wet umbrellas.)
Benefits of having a mudroom
A mudroom is a good way to keep the rest of your house clean. It’s a nice entrance for the family coming in from an attached garage that has everything you need to go outside.
It’s nice to be able to take off your shoes and not track mud throughout the house, especially if you have white carpets or are concerned about staining polished hardwood floors.
Many people do not have a garage, so everything they own gets brought into the house via back doors after being outdoors. Having a place where you can take off muddy shoes, wet boots, or other outdoor gear will help keep your living space clean.
The mudroom is also a great place to store all of the kids’ sports equipment, jackets, and bags. Doing so means they’ll never have to go looking for their soccer ball again. Having a dedicated space where you can provide storage space for all of their outdoor items is a great benefit of having a mudroom.
Benefits of combing a mudroom and laundry room
Having your mudroom in the laundry room as a single room is a great way to cut down on extra home space while making it a designated spot for all dirty things. In other words, this is the dumping ground for the family home.
Mudroom basics
So what do I put in the mudroom? Here’s a list of mudroom basics.
- Shoe racks and shoe storage
- Coat hooks or pegs
- Umbrella stand or holder
- Laundry hamper
- Bench or seating area
- Cabinet for storing items such as umbrellas, rain boots, and any other seasonally used items
Umbrella stand or holder There are a lot of things that can be done with a mudroom. Our main goal was to provide a place where we could store our shoes and wet coats, but we achieved so much more than that!
Mudroom Upgrades
Here are some ideas for other things you can add to your mudroom. These should help inspire you when you design yours:
- Lockers for each family member
- Closets
- Storage bins & baskets to keep the floor clear
- A bench or furniture pieces
- Mudroom countertop workspace
- Washer and dryer
- Hanging racks for clothing
- Utility sink for washing close
- A shoe cubby. (If you have a place where you can put shoes, consider adding a cubby for each member of your family.)
Of course, these are just personal preferences. Talk with your family members to see what they would like. For instance, nobody wanted a bench seat in our home, but we all wanted heavy-duty hangers on the wall so we could hang our heavy coats when we would come in in the wintertime. Another thing was a laundry area with counter space to fold laundry when we were done.
What are must-have things in a mudroom?
Some of the most important things in a mudroom are a mirror, hooks for hanging coats and bags, shelves for storage, and a mat or rug to wipe your feet on. You may also want to include a coat rack with space for hats, gloves, scarves, and other items.
Your mudroom needs to be open and inviting. It’s not a place where you want to feel closed in or cramped, so make sure there’s ample space for people to enter the room without bumping into each other. You might also want to include benches or chairs where family members can sit while taking off their shoes.
Why should you have a mudroom?
A mudroom is an investment that will pay off in the long run. It provides convenience and protection from dirt, snow, or rain by wiping your feet on a mat or rug before getting inside the house. It’s also nice to be able to take off your shoes without tracking dirt everywhere or having to go back out the front door.
What are mudrooms used for?
A mudroom is used as the primary entry point for the family. It is a place where you take off your footwear and store them before entering the house. It’s also a space that can be used for storing any other items such as coats, bags, and sports equipment. Mudrooms provide convenience and protection from dirt and mud, snow, or rain by wiping your feet on a mat or rug before getting inside the house.
Where is a mudroom located?
The mudroom is usually located at the side entrance of the house, either at the back or side door. It can be the entrance of the attached garage or the back door where house members come in from the back porch.
How do I customize my mudroom?
A mudroom is best customized with storage options that are organized and easily accessible. There are many different kinds of customizations to choose from, like benches, cabinets, cubbies, and hooks.
A bench is a nice way to add some extra seating while also providing storage for shoes, bags, or any other items you may want to store.
Cabinets are an excellent way to organize supplies such as cleaning equipment, tools, or sports equipment. An ideal cabinet includes cabinet doors with closed compartments on top and open shelves underneath.
Mudroom cubbies and hooks offer great, simple storage options for kids’ school bags and outfits—that way, they aren’t being brought into the rest of the house.
What do you think of mudrooms?
I love the convenience of our mudroom area so much that I’m actually looking to upgrade the one in my house soon. I’ve already started collecting items needed to renovate it and have been looking online for the best deals on added features, such as coat racks and benches.
Mudrooms are so convenient and nice to have! In fact, they’re probably one of my favorite rooms in a house now mostly because they help keep the rest of the house cleaner.
Related: What Is A Florida Room In A House?
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