THE "Mudroom" Beast is Complete

“Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.”

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

After what seemed like a million hours spent putting on a coast of pre-stain conditioner, 2 coats of stain and 2-3 coats of poly depending on where it was on the piece (with sanding in-between), I declare the "mudroom" complete.  And we are in love.  It is absolutely awesome. While we haven't fully stocked it with our stuff, I know that is going to be awesome on a day-to-day basis.  And it fits in seamlessly with the rest of the house.  Looks like it has always been there.  You can follow my journey to the finished product here and here and here and here and here.

my drawings before they came to life

I want to thank the peeps that gave input to the original drawings I posted on the blog-the ideas were so helpful. And thanks to Joe from Dovetail Custom Woodworking for building the beast.  I think it was more than he bargained for when he bid it out.  You should have seen install day...s...

added metal grating for breath-ability as recommended by a reader.  We are still trying to find a way to line the drawers so that we can store (often wet) shoes inside.  I have found some plastic bins that are a pretty close fir for now. 

........so pretty.  Love the brass (aged with brass ager from Rejuvenation) hooks from House of Antique Hardware...all the hardware is actually from there

Ah, the joys a super textured plasters walls.  Lots of paint touch ups.

And a cute tootsie shot to leave you with...more to come soon.

This Beast

While Joe from Dovetail Custom Woodworking isn't quite through with install, I decided to starting staining the "mudroom" beast during nap time today. May not have been the wisest decision as, of course, Q woke shortly after I started but at least now that I have begun, the task doesn't seem so daunting (ask me again when I'm on my third coat of varnish). I also can't wait to start using it and get our old hall tree out of our dining room. 

Here's how it looked New Year's Eve

And here's how we opted to start 2014 (in lieu of me staining). I think a hike was a way better choice :)

"Mudroom" is under way

We got the final sketch ups to approve last week and the "mudroom"/entryway built in is in the works. We have no idea how long it will take to finish, but we can't wait. I hope it will be all in and stained by mid-December. We'll see.

Without further ado, here are the sketches. 

We didn't like the look of the paneling detail in te right side. Taking it out will imitate the design of the paneling by our fireplace. 

Terrible picture but you get the idea. 

I even picked up the metal grating that will go on the lower drawers from Winks Hardware today. I just need to pick out and purchase hooks. We opted for the clover leaf pattern. Should add some nice "breathing" to the drawer as we plan to stow shoes, which are often wet in our climate, in the drawer.