It's hard to believe that last month we celebrated the one year mark of home ownership, and when I think back to what made my heart sing when we first toured the house it was a small, but mighty space: the mudroom.
Here are my 3 tips for making your mudroom beautiful yet, functional...
We've moved a lot over the years from three different apartments in New York City, two in New Jersey and one in New Hampshire before landing here in Boston so most of the time I just retro-fit previous items into our new spaces. Hence, the carryover of our original brown door mat above.
When Wayfair reached out to me with the opportunity to beautify our mudroom with an ELLE Decor Collection accent rug by Home Dynamix I knew the Wilmington design would match perfectly with our existing mudroom's color palette. I know white and gray decor is all the rage right now, but something that attracted us to our home were the warm colors of cream, brown and tan.
2) Wrangle the Shoes
I've shared extensively before why we're a no-shoe household and when pinning away for years I'd pour over images of beautiful mudrooms hoping that someday we'd have a home with one. Shoe clutter has driven me batty over the years - despite having a rack and shoe trays, the shoes still seem to stray. The best solution? Have dedicated cubbies. From Grayson's size 8 shoes up to Mr. Lovebird's size 17 shoes, I love that the cubbies fit everyone.
I also appreciate how the curtain rod covers them all beautifully, keeping them out of sight. Looking ahead if I can get my act together, I'd like to swap out the curtain for holidays/seasons.
3) Make Hooks Accessible for All
One of the selling points of our home was how the previous owners kept children in mind from lower hooks in the mudroom and their bathroom, to a second lower railing on the stairs. These little touches make a difference and makes for an easy habit of the kids coming in from school and putting away their things. If permanent hooks aren't an option in your space, consider adding decorative removable hooks.
The kids immediately noticed our little mudroom refresh and agreed that they like it as well - the new rug has just the right about of cushion for Grayson when he plays with his magnets! While I was a bit nervous about the lighter color of our new rug getting soiled so far after three days of rain last week and a crazy storm last night leaving our shoes all muddy, so far the rug is holding up well. I especially like that it's machine washable too.
Head over the Wayfair to check more of their beautiful utility rugs and let me know your mudroom solutions in the comments below!
