Create A Functional Mudroom

A mudroom is a great room to have in your house, especially if your family loves the great outdoors!

A mudroom serves as a barrier between the outside and the rest of your home.

This area can be used to:

– remove wet clothes and shoes without ruining the rest of the house

– store items intended for outdoor use only like umbrellas, shopping totes, certain toys and sports equipment

– maintain organisation of items that children need every time they walk out the door e.g. backpacks

– provide space for pets that are wet or dirty when they come in from the outside

– leave shopping lists plus messages and reminders for the rest of the family

When planning a mudroom, think about how your family lives. Choose a location and then design that space to suit those needs. The ultimate goal should be to simplify life for an active family!

Remember, you don’t need to take up an entire room to reap the benefits of a mudroom. A mudroom can be a cluster of hard-working spaces or a small section of space located by the back door or just inside the garage – the ultimate pick-up and drop-off spot!

The perfect mudroom is designed to be tidy and clean in terms of organisation. However it is intended to get messy, so focus on durability when you are choosing furniture and flooring. Stone, concrete or tiled floors are simple to clean and will look good for years to come. Make sure that there is also a place for people to wipe their feet as they come in.

A place to sit while putting on or taking off shoes is a smart addition to any mudroom. A bench that has integrated storage will also be handy when it comes to stashing outdoor footwear.

Wall hooks are ideal for organising bags, jackets and dog leashes. Be sure to include a few extra hooks for your friends’ coats and bags too!

Open lockers are a stylish, functional way to deal with outdoor gear. Wire baskets can be used to hold sports equipment and can also be tucked into locker niches. To keep things simple, it certainly makes sense to give each member of the family their own locker. The individual, open format of our modular storage lockers here at NEST https://www.nestdesigns.co.za/products/storage/storage-systems/uno-s-storage/ will help youngsters zone in on their own clothing and equipment, giving them instant access to whatever is stored inside.

Additional floor-level cubby storage and stackable boxes are also important in a mudroom and will assist in keeping clutter to a minimum. Shelving will also help put walls to work. Even the narrowest space can accommodate an area for shelves.

If you can, it is also useful to have a sink in a mudroom – this allows for washing up before entering the rest of the home.

Last but not least, why not consider a message board?

Your new mudroom may just become a convenient communication hub and the centre for household management!