Mudroom - Then and Now

A while back (May to be exact), I showed what we did to update the dining room and asked what room to show next. My sister requested the mudroom, but I showed the kids bathroom next. Then came the family room. I guess maybe now would be as good a time as any to show the mudroom.

When I started writing this post, I realized the mudroom wasn't included in the original before post.  No clue why.

Anywho, here is what it looked like when we had our inpsection.

The previous owner was using it more as a sunroom. As soon as we looked at the house, I saw mudroom. Finally! A place to drop all of our crap without it taking over the rest of house. I couldn't wait!

It had the faux beams that were in the kitchen and the family room. And, below the chair rail was paneling covered with wallpaper, then painted. 

And, here is what it looks like now:

The wall color is Glidden Smooth Stone that we had color matched in Behr's Paint + Primer. Our house is older and the floors aren't nice and flat anymore, so we used a click together tile on the floor. You don't have to put down mortar or backer-board or anything. It goes right over whatever you've got. We went with Avaire tile in Sonoma.  Both the paint and the floor are carried into the kitchen. Sparky and my bro-in-law got most of it cut and put down together, but he did all the grout himself. Which I guessed sucked. In a big way.  The grout is an acrylic grout and dries fast and is really thick and generally just a PITA. (That would be pain in the a@# for those not up on acronyms.)

We liked the look of the chair rail, so decided to put wainscoting backup (it also saved us from "fixing" the walls and painting them). The wainscoting is actually vinyl planks that are two-sided. We used it in the laundry room and they are great. Everything just wipes right off. Like when your 5-year old kicks off his muddy shoes and they hit the wall.

We didn't have anything on the windows for a long time because I couldn't find anything that would fit all three windows that were the same style. I finally found bamboo roman shades I liked at overstock.com. (I heart o.co. Sigh.)

We also wanted a shelf with hooks to hang our up jackets and backpacks, as well as have storage for hats, mittens and all of our other stuff above.

I got the baskets at Michael's for $6 a piece! Score! But, I'm not in love with the shoe situation. I just picked up that rug for $5 at Big Lots. I like the color, but I think we need another one, or a shoe rack on one side. We'll need something different, especially when winter hits and we have shoes and snow boots to deal with.

The church pew I got at an antique mall and probably paid too much for it, but I love it.  Who knew church pews were so hard to come by?

(Obviously, no styling was done before taking this picture. Jackets, bags, backpacks all in a hodge podge. This is pretty much what it looks like all the time. Not very pretty, but it functions.)

We also needed a spot to drop things on our way out to the deck. We had a smaller table there, but it just didn't look right. This is one we picked up at Gordman's. They have a line of furniture made from recycled materials. It fits perfect and I love the way it looks. The art above came from Gordman's. (We don't have HomeGoods stores here and it breaks my heart. Sniff.)

I'm also not a fan of the current garbage/recycling situation. I've been scrounging IKEA's website and keep my eyes peeled whenever I'm at Wally World or Target hoping I'll have an epiphany. So far, nada.

Here's a close up of the side table. So pretty and doesn't look like anything else in our house. I think that's why we like it so much. Sparky is the one that actually found it.

This room (along with all the rest in the house) is a work in progress, but it's already come a long way!

Here's one last before and after.

Todo:
Family pictures/subway art above the church pew
New garbage/recycling cans/containers
Replace big metal flower with a fun bright colored clock
Possibly replace rug going out to the deck
Curtain on deck door to soften up the room?

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