Mud Room Dreams

Andrew and I have been hunkered down in bed this past week with various winter ailments - the flu and tonsillitis. Yuck! Not exactly what I had in mind for a productive January. But as we are coming out of this thing yet still trying to hang low, I wanted to share our newest house project that began at the start of the New Year.

As many of you know, our summer reno plans evolved into the fall with the completion of our upstairs bathroom and the front exterior of the house. BIG projects. BIG goals. And BIG reveals. We came, we went, we conquered. 

And we promptly needed a break.

So we have added a few small projects to the whiteboard for the winter.  Stuff that is low budget, minimal destruction, but will make a big impact. Starting with my Mud Room Dreams. I have desperately wanted a mud room (and, ahem, laundry room) since we moved in. I've scoured pinterest and drooled over designs like this...

Problem is…we don't really have the space for a traditional mud room upstairs. We don't have any storage or closets at all on our first floor. No place really to act as a catch-all for boots, hats, bags, keys as you walk in the door. One of the truths of buying an old house in an era where people didn't have a lot of belongings and storage was an afterthought.

We DO however have a door off our front entry that goes down into our basement that had a place to hang coats. It just wasn't exactly my cup of tea as you can see.

Seriously, what is up with the old fake stone wall?? And the wood paneling. WOOF. 

It's our hope to turn this super dingy, ugly space into a usable, bright space for our house.  We have mapped out some tall cubbies. Lots of storage and space for coats, hats, shoes, dog food, and general storage. 

So far Andrew has ripped out all the old plaster ceiling, stone wall, old stair treds and wood paneling. Honestly, it already looked better after that! New stair treds & railing posts have been installed, as well as new can lights and wiring. And Andrew is down stairs firing that sheet rock gun as we speak! Those new smooth walls will be up in no time! 

Stay tuned for more winter home improvements and mini projects at the Coughlins! My mud room dreams will be alive in no time! Stay healthy out there friends!