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.

"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. 

Mudroom Bids

Remember this project?  Yup.  Haven't forgotten about it.  Haven't even put it on the back burner.  Just S-l-o-w-l-y taking it on.  We don't move quickly on anything around these parts-at least on any house projects.

We actually took a whole bunch of your ideas and updated the design a bit.  So thanks!  The ideas were extremely helpful.

And then I got a few bids.  And wow-sers!  The price of custom cabinets and solid fir never ceases to put me in shock.  Took me a couple weeks to just process the price.  And that's with me staining it all.

But anyways, these are the designs that Joe from Dovetail Custom Woodworking (he did our kitchen) gave back to us. Love that he is doing the sketch-up style designs now.

Here's my question:  What do you think about the full length cabinet being the same depth as the bench seat?  Should it be 20" deep like the seat or just 14" deep like the upper cabinet?  I know I would love the extra storage that the extra depth would bring, but do you think it would look too strange aesthetically?

kiddo luvs his ice cream

little chubs in the Texas sun

And, oh yea, can't forget more kiddo cuteness.  Can you tell that the munchkins hog all of our time these days?  Also time hogging include that we went to Texas ya'll (left Ben behind hence he is not in the pool pix) and I'm back to work part-time.  I feel totally yay and nay about being back to work...good to have a break from full-time parenting but it is totally crazy at work.  However, I do feel so fortunate to have the ability to dabble in work while spending most of my time at home with my munchkins.

River Walk, San Antonio, TX

"Mudroom" Sketch-Up

I finally got the time to start sketching up "mudroom" designs based off of the inspiration photos I posted several weeks ago.  The design above is what we are tending to like the best thus far.  However, I would love any input anyone has to give.
Here are some things I am questioning about the "mudroom"

1. should we add a 1x6 at the base of the cabinet so it is similar to the rest of the built-ins throughout the house?
2. should the large pull drawers at the bottom be real drawers or just tip down/out?
3. On the large right side bank of cabinet doors (3 shown), should it be 3 doors or just two (one upper that will be the same size as the other upper cabinets and one lower)
4. should that bank of cabinets as well as the upper bank come out as far as the seat-18" or more like 14-16"

I would love your opinions and any other ideas!


Outtake Drawings:

 

I love the idea of the baskets but I don't want any "junk" showing (stuff might hang out of the baskets) and I fear that the whole basket rage may be too trendy and not timeless

 

Like the ease that open shelves on the bottom would bring but I fear that it would always look messy.  We are trying to avoid messy in our front entry as much as possible.

Seemed too busy with the 3 drawers to the right

Mudroom Inspiration

I would love to report that we have this magical hidden space in our house for a true mudroom that made sense, but we just don't.
We could put one in the basement by the outside door that allows access to the basement but it wouldn't be practical as the basement door is on the opposite side of the house of the driveway.
So our compromise is going to be to build coat and "stuff" storage in our entryway.  There is a spot behind the front door that is unused and should work for this.  We currently have a mirror and small chest of drawers as well as a hall tree there.  Works but not great. 

Anyways, since our upstairs remodel has been put on the back burner, I think this is a manageable project to take on in the next several months. 

Here are some inspiration photos:

love the full length closed cupboard via

like the dividers by the coat hooks via

closed upper cabinets and pull out bins with double row of hooks via

dividers by coat hooks and baskets above via

closed cabinets on top and bottom via

double row of hooks via

lower drawers; love the concept of closed off coat storage but doesn't seem practical via

Any must haves you recommend for a mudroom spot?  Are you lucky enough to have a mudroom? Now to start the design and get bids!