Is a mudroom/entry worth it? Most useful features?

[Anonymous]

Trying to decide whether to create a small mudroom/entry area, and wondering whether folks feel like having one is worth it? What do you have there? What features are most useful? Are there things you thought you'd use/appreciate that it turns out you actually don't really? Are there things about yours that don't work well or you wish were different? Any tips on layout?

(Extra-appreciated if you share the ages of your kids and give insight on what's needed/helpful/annoying in a mudroom when you have school-age kids and/or teens...)

[Anonymous]

Built in bench with landing zone for backpack, shoes, dog leash, etc. We each have a hook and a shoe cubby and there's a place to charge things. Small mirror, small trash can. Bike helmets and extra bags in a cupboard above.

There is not a place for wet stuff like wet boots or raincoats, I wish we had that but it would be a different and bigger layout.

I regret having it made with cabinetry vs built in place and stained. It was the faster choice but I can tell it is more prone to scuffs and dings.

Family of 3 and a dog, the child is in MS. DH is the biggest offender as far as shoes and emptying pockets everywhere.

[Anonymous]

My kids (DS in particular) put the “mud” in mudroom. Soccer/baseball cleats are a top offender.
I like being able to close the door to it either to let roomba run in there and sweep the dirt, or to close off the piles of shoes if guests come over.

We have a ton of hooks for coats and bags but frankly could use even more.

[Anonymous]

We have 18 hooks and they're still not enough.

Shoe bench and mirror are nice to have.

A landing area where we can drop off keys, sunglasses, mittens, etc., is also handy.

The floor of our mudroom is LVP, so we don't worry about wet stuff on the floor, but I have an old rubber boot tray that works well for wood floors.

There is a coat closet nearby, but everyone just uses the hooks and frankly it's a lot easier.

[Anonymous]

100% mine are now 14 and 10 and it's full of sports gear, shoes, umbrellas, coats, etc. It's maybe 7x7 with a closet and wall of builtins.

[Anonymous]

I have a metal and wood bench that has hooks and a shelf at the top and bottom. It sits across from the coat closet off of the entryway. I like it because it's not permanent and when my kids are grown I can replace it with a nice entry table.

[Anonymous]

We converted the double-door coat closet next to our garage door to an entry area— removed the doors, added a bench, hooks, and cubbies/shelves. There wasn’t room for a true mud room, so wet stuff and sports gear lands in the garage or laundry room (which is also right there next to the garage). I use labeled baskets in the small cubbies for dog gear, sunscreen/bug spray, hats, etc. Large cubbies under the bench hold baskets of shoes. If I could go back, I would have installed some kind of shoe cabinet or hidden shelves. The baskets keep shoes corralled and out of sight, but it can be hard to find shoes sometimes.

[Anonymous]

Just finished a renovation and I was almost as excited about the mudroom as I was about the kitchen. We have 2 boys, 11 and 15. Both play soccer, swim, ski, bike, etc. I have a wall of shelves for shoes and a wall of just hooks for backpacks, jackets, towels etc. I chose to eschew the customary bench and lockers because in our house, the bench immediately becomes an unruly pile of hoodies, mail, and backpacks. Also, it is uncomfortable to sit with your back against the hanging coats and backpacks, and you can never fit as many people on the bench at the same time as you would think.

Instead, I placed a couple of stools for the kids to use that stay empty. I have a large storage closet off the mudroom that I turned into the workhorse mudroom and filled the whole thing with the container store closet system. This room has rods for hanging jackets, shelves for helmets, towels, out of season shoes, drawers for mittens, hats, ski socks, and a wall of shelves for all the daily stuff we use like sunscreen, band aids, etc.

[Anonymous]

We would never buy a house without a mudroom. Our preference is for that also to be the laundry room because then any dirty clothes can go straight into the washer.

We have bench, lots of coat hooks, lots of shoe storage. It has tile floor with a drain in the floor. It is between garage and rest of house.

[Anonymous]

Lighting and shoe storage
Water proofing

[Anonymous]

Mine isn't huge, just about 5 x 9 feet including the footprint of the closet (5 x 2), inside the back door, which is where I come and go 90% of the time. But I had *no* transitional space before and I love this. I wouldn't go back to the before times.

I have a closet with hangers/rod on one end for nicer and out of season coats and hooks on the other for jackets, shopping bags, and dog leashes. Plenty of space for shoes and some room to tuck big bags of dog food out of the way when they arrive from Chewy. Oh, and a vacuum and ladder fit in there, too.

I also have an antique but not fussy small dresser with a drawer for keys and other back-of-house stuff, and space on top to put down a purse and have a basket for stuff from pockets. Having a designated landing space for stuff I come in with and need to take with me when I go has made a huge difference to how organized my life feels. A chair sits next to the dresser for sitting down to put on shoes if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine isn't huge, just about 5 x 9 feet including the footprint of the closet (5 x 2), inside the back door, which is where I come and go 90% of the time. But I had *no* transitional space before and I love this. I wouldn't go back to the before times.

I have a closet with hangers/rod on one end for nicer and out of season coats and hooks on the other for jackets, shopping bags, and dog leashes. Plenty of space for shoes and some room to tuck big bags of dog food out of the way when they arrive from Chewy. Oh, and a vacuum and ladder fit in there, too.

I also have an antique but not fussy small dresser with a drawer for keys and other back-of-house stuff, and space on top to put down a purse and have a basket for stuff from pockets. Having a designated landing space for stuff I come in with and need to take with me when I go has made a huge difference to how organized my life feels. A chair sits next to the dresser for sitting down to put on shoes if needed.

So true. It also helps us all get out the door faster, because we know where our stuff is. No more searching for keys or running upstairs for socks.

[Anonymous]

We recently converted a small one car garage to a mudroom laundry room and it was so expensive (I’ll never admit how much) but it’s been already such a massive change to the family - having everything contained makes the rest of the house nicer and cleaner, getting in and out is a breeze where before it would take forever to get everyone’s bags and things compiled. We went from literally nothing to this so maybe it wouldn’t have been such a change if it starting from zero

Kids ages 3 and 5

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We recently converted a small one car garage to a mudroom laundry room and it was so expensive (I’ll never admit how much) but it’s been already such a massive change to the family - having everything contained makes the rest of the house nicer and cleaner, getting in and out is a breeze where before it would take forever to get everyone’s bags and things compiled. We went from literally nothing to this so maybe it wouldn’t have been such a change if it starting from zero

Kids ages 3 and 5

Yes, it’s like an airlock/decontamination room in the best sense. Bold move to change a garage to a mudroom, sounds like it was worth it. You will only appreciate it more as your kids get older.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely worth it to have an organized entry. Both for storing our family’s things and for having space and a nice setup for guests- room to come in, seats for putting shoes on and off, place to hang coats and bags. We have three young kids and our storage is all closed cabinets . Some say that kids won’t bother to put their stuff away but we’ve required it from the start and it is great. Everything stays organized and contained.