Before & After: A Laundry Room Into A Mudroom

Well fam, we made it. We’re finally here! The mudroom is officially done. I looked back at the very first post about transforming this space, and it was one year ago, almost to the day. On the one hand, I feel a little deflated that it took us a year. And on the other hand, the room was used for nothing before, so it was kind of this background project that has only added value over time and now that it is finished, it has completely transformed the way we function as a family for the better.

Pendant Light | Cabinet Knobs | Cabinet Pulls | Cup Pulls | Wallpaper

Wall Hook (similar) | Velvet Upholstery Fabric | Picture Light | Wall Mirror | Wallpaper | Wallpapered Switch Plates | Floor Tile

After we moved our laundry room upstairs, this small room off the kitchen sat for about a year with no real purpose, until inspiration struck–what if we made this our mudroom and added an additional exterior door to our home so we didn’t have to walk through the dining room every time we entered in through the back. It could be a landing spot for shoes and backpacks and dog necessities and keys! And let’s fill it to the brim with storage—and over the last year, we did exactly that.

Shop the Mudroom

I feel like this project is such a true representation of what home projects are while you’re living in the home, and working, and raising kids. We’re so overwhelmingly happy with how it turned out as it feels like we have added so much square footage to our home just by turning a room that was not so functional into one that WORKS for us. Although a very utilitarian space, when I start designing, I love to see where I can add the beauty and charm and the unexpected. From the Preference Red paint color by Farrow & Ball on the trim and cabinetry, to the grasscloth Spoonflower wallpaper, to the custom tile. Making the window into a new entry into our house!! This work room has both form and function. 

If you missed any part of the project, you’ll want to reference these posts!

The Dimensions

Shop The Mudroom

Turns out you don’t need a ton of space for a fully functioning, hard-working mudroom with more storage than I know what to do with. We’ve had a lot of questions about the dimensions of this space, so I wanted to share those here:

Ceilings: 10′ H
Entire mudroom: 81″ D x 95″ W
Lockers: 16.75″ D x 16″ W x 57″ H (There are three of these) – the height is exclusive of the shoe drawer
Shoes drawer: 14″ D x 14″ W x 11″ H
Cricket’s water station: 13″ D x 33.25″ W x 24″ H
Chris & Julia’s locker: 14.75″ D x 33.5″ W x 51″ H
Bench area: 21.25″ D x 39″ W x 58″ H

The Finishing Touches

Upholstered Cushion

We’ve used the little bench nook already so much to sit down on that it was almost funny to have a cushion on it finally. I went to a local fabric shop (Mill’s Outlet if you’re in the Raleigh area!) and stewed over the fabric forever. I finally landed on a burgundy tone-on-tone. The finishing touch was a really cool piping detail I found at the same fabric store that had black and gold diamonds. I always like to create little callback moments to other design elements in every room. That piping goes so well with the wallpaper, it’s almost uncanny. I had a local seamstress make it for me and she used a 3″ foam for the interior and a zipper on the back. It looks so…regal…in place and is very comfortable to sit on when we’re putting shoes on.

Door Knob

The very very last thing that came in was our door knob. Our other door knobs use a level lock, which is a type of smart lock that looks like a normal lock but can open through an app. And we really wanted to have that ability in the mudroom. It works so well for our whole family and I like that I was able to still get a knob that matches our traditional exterior vibe. We ordered our level lock through Rejuvenation — I love the way it looks and functions. (All sources linked below, too!)

Budget Breakdown and Sources

There were a lot of smaller projects within the mudroom (ok, some weren’t that small like adding an entire exterior door), but I’m going to try to give ballpark figures for each major renovation. When I did the a mudroom mood board for under $1,400 recently, I found these pre-fab lockers that would save a bunch. We’ve used a lot of different cabinetry in our house. We’ve used Lowe’s cabinetry in our laundry room. We’ve ordered premade cabinetry for the lockers in the bonus room and Greta’s vanity. We did Stoffer cabinetry in our kitchen. These cabinets and the ones in the study we had locally made so Chris and I designed them for our needs.

Paint: $250 (Preference Red by Farrow & Ball)
Tile floors: Approximately $1,800
Wallpaper: $230 for 2 rolls
Custom cabinetry (lockers and bench): $18,000 including cabinetry build, paint, install and hardware install.
Cabinet Knobs: $47 each
Cabinet Pulls: $380 each
Cup Pulls: $65 each
Overhead Pendant: $419
Picture light: $599
Wall mirror: $849
Hook rack: No longer sold, purchased years ago from Anthropologie, and it was waiting for the perfect home here. (Similar options found here!)
Hooks in lockers: $20 for 4
Waterproof liner for shoe drawer: $10/roll
Mirror tile backsplash: Leftover from our appliance garage backsplash
Pot filler: Bought for the kitchen 3 years ago and never used it
Upholstered cushion: fabric + labor $250
Arched door: We custom ordered this arch door through Simpson door and it was gifted. Door 37570, half round on top/ 3ft wide and 8 ft tall/ prehung and primed.
Door knob: $998

How We’re Using the Mudroom

Interior Hooks

The mudroom was finished just in time for back-to-school season this year, so the girls are already using their lockers! We designed a locker for each girl with a drawer under each for shoes (lined with some waterproof liner in the drawers). Chris and I share a larger locker over Cricket’s feeding station (see below). We bought pre-made lockers for the bonus room a couple years ago and the girls will continue to use those to store other things in. It’s actually really nice that each has their own storage throughout the house.

Girls Silver Loafers | Cup Pulls

There are still many empty cabinets in the mudroom, for now!, but some I have already started filling and organizing according to how we live. For instance, this door leads out to our backyard and pool so I stored all the pool towels here which we’re already benefitting so much from. Previously, we had them stored upstairs in the laundry room and this is just one of those little things that make. so. much. sense. 

Striped Beach Towels | Pendant Light | Cabinet Pulls

In the seating nook, we hung a rack of hooks for guests to utilize (although I’ve already been guilty of storing my purse there in a pinch. And above that area, I’ve stashed party supplies, toilet paper, paper towels. All of those things that I don’t really need access to every day, but I want to keep handy. 

Large Acrylic Bin | Small Acrylic Bin | Woven Basket

Sunglasses Tray | Dog Bowl | Cabinet Knob

Chris and I each have a drawer on the left side of the room. We put a sunglasses organizer in one and it makes me happy every time I open the drawer. 
And, OF COURSE, Cricket has her own locker, too. Filled with treats, supplies, medications and leashes. In the base of her locker, there’s an outlet and we’ve put a charging station there for the iPads and the girls’ phones that they can plug in when they get home from school. 

Storage Baskets | Glass Canisters | Charging Station

Cabinet Knobs | Mirrored Tile | Pot Filler | Hammered Copper Dog Bowls

Door Hardware | Exterior Wall Lantern | Double Ball Topiary

The arched door, the bold tile and paint and wallpaper–all make my heart skip every time I enter our home here. It feels like a fairytale. We just passed our 3 year mark of living here and I’m so grateful that we took our time to figure out our pain points with this area of the house and came up with a solid plan to improve it for how we live here. In just the few weeks we’ve been using this room, it has been such an incredible addition to our home and every day.