If I only had a mudroom...
Included in my long list of house wishes is a beautiful mudroom.
One with shoe storage and lockers where the kids all magically hang up their coats (Hey, a girl can dream!) Since that wasn't happening anytime soon, I decided to makeover our downstairs hall coat closet. Anyone else have one of those awful closets? You know the one packed with anything you can possibly cram in it?
My amazingly talented father agreed to help me out (ok, whatever, he did everything. Po-tay-toe/Po-tah-toe.) I knew I wanted a bench for seating, some shelving for baskets (hat/scarf storage), some hooks for the boys to hang up their own coats (angels sing) and some rolling bins for shoe storage. And, voila... he made it happen.
This gorgeous bench cushion was made by Custom Sewing by Cathy. Cathy had this cute fabric by Waverly and she whipped together this amazing (washable!!!), custom bench seat cushion that is still holding up well... two years later.
We had these awkward spaces to the left and right of the bench. Rather than closing it up, we decided to use it as additional storage. I purchased some waterhog floor mats and put them down into the holes to protect the floor against wet boots and umbrellas. It has worked out really well for additional storage.
The bead board really helped add some texture and visual interest to this nook, and the grey paint was a nice change from white trim (Bonus: it helps disguise dirty finger prints!) We used some small arch wood corbels that we found at Home Depot. There are a lot of options out there. We bought some hooks from Pottery Barn (12 total) and these awesome National Metal Bins from Restoration Hardware.
And how cool are these rolling bins?! I have been collecting vintage yard sticks on eBay (husband rolls eyes). Luckily, my father was willing to entertain my crazy idea and build me these gorgeous bins for shoe storage. It's a lot easier for the boys to put their shoes away (after being reminded 12 times) and there is one for each of them.
My dad built the boxes out of pine and then we surrounded the outside with the yardsticks, painted the inside and added some trim to the top, as well as a 6" classic satin nickel pull from Pottery Barn. I am beyond thrilled with how they turned out!
