simple of blogs: Mudroom Update

A few weeks ago, during a typical messy-house-tantrum, I decided that I wanted a more organized mudroom area in our kitchen. When we renovated the kitchen, our initial plan was to have a bench seat with a painting or something graphic above it and perhaps a table with a little chandy for eat-in breakfasts with future kids.....but after a few months of use, I realized that it needed to be more functional than that. You live and learn, folks, SERIOUSLY! If I can impart one piece of knowledge to you DIYers out there, I would have to say that you should definitely live in a space long enough to know how you use it before making any big renovation decisions. For us, most of our renovation just happened to work out perfectly, but a few things definitely had to be re-done after we realized how we would function in the house. Por ejemplo.......our mudroom/pantry area......

This is what we were dealing with when we moved in. The previous owners seemed to use it as an extra little sitting area, maybe even a den. To be honest, I do like the idea of having a warm and welcoming place for guests to be greeted in a home (maybe not on a shag sofa, specifically), but in a more updated and functional way.

So, our first order of business was to tie in the space with the rest of the kitchen. We did this by adding some pantry storage (with cabinet doors matching the existing pine cabinets that we painted in the kitchen) and a bench to store shoes, coats, cleaning supplies and lots and lots of canned goods and toilet paper. (Side note: I love Costco!!)

Here she is after phase 1 of the kitchen re-design:

But after a few months of living in the space we realized that we needed something more.

So B and I ventured out to HD for some materials:

(1) sheet of 4' x 8' MDF beadboard (wainscotting)
(2) 5' piece of molding (of your choosing)....we went with quarter-round
(1) 1"x5" piece of pine cut to 5' to attach the hooks
(1) 1"x5" piece of pine cut to 5' to use as a shelf
(6) hooks for hanging coats

I think the total for everything was about $30 or so, maybe even less.

The first order of business was to put up the wainscotting.

Luckily we have the deck right outside the slider doors now,
so we can set up our table saw for cutting when we do projects like this!!

We just used a little bit of Liquid Nails along the back of the wainscotting,
then pressed it into place on the wall

We added some small finish nails to the top
(which would be hidden by the shelf anyway) to add a little more security

Our next step was to add the facing piece/piece that would hold up the shelf. Since I chose to use door knobs for the hooks, we had to screw them on before we nailed the piece to the wall. In retrospect, it was not the smartest choice, since we cannot remove them short of ripping down the whole piece, but I doubt I will ever need to change them out anyway!! So, if you are planning to do something like this, you are probably better off finding the screw-in hooks. But its up to you!!

I don't have a picture from that step, but here it is all put together:

After the facing piece was installed, we simply added a piece of quarter round molding to the bottom of the pine board (to add a little dimension and make it look more custom). Next, we installed the shelf, which is secured on both sides through the inside of the cabinet (for extra support). And finally, we added another piece of more decorative quarter round underneath the shelf to add a little extra support and make it look more like one big piece of molding.

The final step was to paint everything white. Since the wainscotting is already pre-primed, we just did 2 coats of semi-gloss white on everything. In all honesty, it could probably use another coat for good measure, but it looks fine to me so I'm not going to push the envelope!!

Please excuse the mess on the floor, but here she is all completed. I still have to do some decorating and add a little montage to the shelf, but I'm still trying to figure out what I want up there. It's almost like having a second mantle in the house. SO much pressure!!!

I'm really excited about having the extra storage space though, and it seems so much more functional now than it was before. I can't get enough organization in my life!! We can hang our coats and hats up there, and it honestly just seems a lot more finished than it did before. It seems more deliberate, if that makes sense.

YAY for functionality!!

Before we go, here is a quick recap of the before and after (I'm such a sucker for these):