What is a Mudroom and How You Can Use It
Mudrooms are fantastic! The mudroom is the one room in your home where you can decide how it’s used. Not sure what a mudroom is? You’re not alone. We’re excited to explain not only what a mudroom is but how you can best utilize and adapt it to your family’s needs and living patterns as your family evolves and grows. The expert home designers at Hyde Homes also give you some great design ideas that give it that wow factor every time you come home.
What is a Mudroom?
It’s the first room you enter when walking into your home from the garage, side or back entrance. It’s a place where family members have plenty of room to take off their jackets and shoes without getting the rest of the house dirty. The mudroom also provides the necessary space to store everyday items.
What Should a Mudroom Include?
Storage
There are tons of storage options to use in your mudroom, including cubbies, lockers, drawers, shelves, cabinets and benches for shoes, boots, coats, backpacks, hats, gloves and scarves.
Mudrooms Keep You Organized!
Install baskets, hooks, pegs, pegboards, storage cabinets and/or shelves with electrical outlets and charging stations to help keep things within your grasp in an orderly fashion.
Bench Seating
Mudrooms are perfect for bench seating to take off your shoes or boots. Are you heading out? You can put on your gloves, mittens and a scarf or raincoat because it’s the perfect place to keep those items you often can’t find at the last minute.
Cubbies or Lockers Help Keep Your Home Clutter-Free
The mudroom is a great place to have cubbies or lockers for each family member to store book bags, backpacks, messenger bags or briefcases.
How to Best Utilize a Mudroom
There are dozens of uses for a mudroom because it’s the most versatile and frequented room in the house, whether it’s used as a laundry room, pet room, pantry/storage room, family communications center or all of the above!
The Mudroom is the Perfect Laundry Room
Having the laundry hamper when you walk in the door is super convenient and cuts down on trekking mud, dirt or grass through the house. The mudroom easily doubles as the laundry room for your washer, dryer and utility sink.
A Mudroom is also Your Family Communication Center!
The mudroom is guaranteed to be the nerve center of your new Hyde home. So why not make it the family communications center? Have a bulletin board or dry-erase board to post kids’ schedules, chores or reminders.
The Mudroom is Perfect for Storage, Including a Second Food Pantry
The mudroom is in a central location with floor-to-ceiling storage options. Part of it can be used to store seasonal items and clothing. It can even be your overflow pantry room when buying bulk food items. It’s close to the kitchen, so it’s super convenient!
A Mudroom is an Ideal Place for an Extra Refrigerator or Freezer
The mudroom is the perfect place for an extra refrigerator or freezer to store soda, cold drinks, and bulk food items like meat and seafood. It’s also a great place to keep restricted beverages under lock and key, safe and out of the way.
The Mudroom Is the Ideal Pet Room!
Over 70% of families own a pet! The mudroom is great for pets and all their items: pet cage, dog bed, litter box, etc. Give your dog or cat their own cubby or locker to store leashes, toys, pet food and treats. Install a sink nearby so they’re easy to rinse down or give a quick bath.
Your Mudroom is the Perfect First Aid Station for a Growing Family
The mudroom is a perfect first aid station. Create a special shelf or drawer for all your first aid supplies so everything is there right when you need them. Don’t forget about first aid for your home! Assemble a simple toolbox to fix those things that get banged up, ripped, broken or torn around the house. Heck, throw in a sewing kit too!
Your Mudroom as a Staging Area
The mudroom is the ideal room in the house to assemble everything you need for the next day or the next big event so you’re not scrambling around in the morning.
Decorating and Design Ideas for Your Mudroom
The Mudroom is the Family Foyer
There’s an old saying among home builders in Alabama “you shape the home, then the home shapes you!” Let the unwinding begin the moment you walk into your home and take off your shoes, in the mudroom of course!
Pillows and Cushions Create a Warm and Inviting Atmosphere!
Make a warm and inviting space by placing cushions and throw pillows on the benches. It feels AH-MAZING and creates a relaxing space immediately upon entering the house.
The Right Flooring Sets the Tone
Use ceramic, stone or wood flooring to create a warm, sophisticated yet practical atmosphere. You can still put in a nice, plush, washable area rug that feels great on your feet. Let your Hyde Homes professional show you dozens of options.
Deck the Walls!
Walls are always the first thing you notice walking into a room, so make your entrance room as grand as the foyer. This room can be just as beautiful as any other room in your home with some durable but stylish wall coverings. Don’t forget to add a personal touch with some photographs in whimsical frames.
Great Lighting Options Make All the Difference
Whether you go with recessed incandescent lighting, versatile track lighting or really fun industrial wall sconces, the lighting profile sets the mood for your whole home experience and can be used to offset the decor of the rest of the home.
Give us a Call!
A mudroom is an excellent asset to any home. It's the one room where you can decide how it's used. You can use it as a dumping ground for all your stuff or you can use it as a space to help organize your life. The expert home builders at Hyde Homes have some great design ideas that give it that wow factor every time you come home. Contact us today and let us help you build the perfect mudroom for your family.
