Narrow and boring to functional with a flair!
The mudroom in the condo was more like a hallway that connected the front hall to the kitchen and garage, than an actual room. It was narrow, windowless and all doors! There was a big closet with double sliders (that didn't really slide!) and a smaller closet that houses some of the mechanical equipment. We decided to take the sliders out and make a "nook" for hooks and cubbies. This immediately made the space feel like a room versus a hallway. We also removed the door leading to the front hall which made the space feel even bigger.
I did a wainscoting treatment that I had done in our last house. I liked the idea of adding this detail to lighten the majority of the wall space but with accent dark gray at the top for a bit of drama. One again, I took the easy route and purchased on 8' x 4' sheet of finished plywood that I had the guys at Lowes rip down into the 2" wide boards. Afixed mostly with wood glue and with bead caulking to fill the gaps, this project didn't take too long. I still want to add a cap piece at the top but haven't found just what I'm looking for. I did this same treatment and color scheme in the half that that's across the front hall from the mudroom. It adds a bit of continuity to the overall space.
Creating the nook didn't take long and the expense was minimal. We removed the doors and the glide hardware from the frame. The bench, upper and lower shelves are were made using finished 1/2" plywood with some half round edging for a more finished look. I bought the bench legs and the round dowels that connect the lower shelf at Lowes. We put up a string of Edison bulbs on the inside edge for lighting the space without needing an electrician.
We lucked out that an antique pine corner hutch we had from the old house fit perfectly in the corner of the mudroom. This added some greatly appreciated storage for oversized kitchen items, backup paper towels and a shelf for "this and that" things like markers, sunscreen, bug spray etc. that I like having easily accessible but out of sight.
As we did throughout the entire house, we swapped out the brass lever doorknobs and brass hinges for a mat black knob and hinge. This condo-wide change made a pervasive, though subtle design change throughout but didn't break the bank. For less than $350 and a few hours work, they were all changed.
We are really happy with how the mudroom turned out. A few baskets (I love the mixture of wire, wicker and felted containers) help keep things organized. Even when all four kids were home for college break, we were able to stay mostly organized, so long as everyone abided by the "two pair of shoes" limit!
Before and afters!
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