I used to be so jealous of people who had a mudroom! That is, until we created our own little mudroom space right in our kitchen. And today I’m so excited to show it to you! Get ready, this is a photo heavy post because I just can’t get enough of this space.
Ok, enough talk of the plans! I am bursting at the seams to show you our completed kitchen mudroom!
Since we wanted this mudroom space to be both pretty and functional, we were careful to select materials that could stand up to the every day use. The backsplash tile was first and foremost in this regard. We had always wanted tile to run the length of the kitchen counters, and it was also important that we have tile below the coat hooks in order to protect the wall from wet jackets and umbrellas.
I am totally in love with the Davinci tile we selected, which is in a random brick pattern and has a combination of glossy and frosted tiles. Not only is it gorgeous, we also got a killer price from Glass Tile Oasis during a major sale!
The bench cushion is a piece of thick foam that my mom covered for us in a black outdoor fabric, making it water resistant. The quaterfoil pillows are actually outdoor pillows, the second layer have a nice velvety-texture, and the flower pillow in the center was a Hobby Lobby find years ago that has been moving around the house and finally found it’s home here on the mudroom bench.
Finally, the rug is very durable and has a short pile that makes it ideal for it’s placement just inside the back door. The size of the rug was also important because I wanted it be span the distance from the door to the end of the bench, allowing plenty of space for multiple people to come in at the same time and remove wet or snowy shoes before continuing on to the hardwood floors. We already had this rug from Target in another room of our house, but when we brought it in to the kitchen it fit so perfectly that we knew it had to stay!
The glass-fronted cabinets above the coat hooks hold all of my vases, serving pitchers, and various other glassware. The cabinets below the bench provide additional storage for kitchen electrics, like our Crockpot and food processor.
Now let’s talk about the coat hooks, shall we?! I am kind of obsessed with them! They are Umbra Flip Hook Racks {affiliate link}, and I adore the way they flip out for use, but fold flat the rest of the time!
That about sums up the “mudroom” portion of the kitchen addition. The cabinet and shelves on the far right provide ample storage for all of my cookbooks, as well as providing display space for some sentimental antiques from our grandparents.
We received quite a collection of cookbooks for our wedding, and I am thrilled to have a place to store all of these gorgeous books on open shelving where they can be seen and appreciated even when not in use. Cookbooks can be easily damaged if stored to close to the stove or in an area where they can get wet, so the location of these cookbook shelves – removed from the kitchen prep area – is ideal.
If you’re from Denver, or have visited, you’ll recognize the blue bear that holds up some of our cookbooks. He’s the miniature version of the 40 feet tall big blue bear that leans against the front of the Colorado Convention Center, peering into the lobby.
Convention center photo via |
The small countertop below these shelves is a perfect place to sit the books while I am flipping through them or while writing out my grocery list.
This small countertop used to also holds a cute little basket for our keys, sunglasses, and other items that we need to grab quickly on our way out the door. These items have since moved to the top drawer of the shoe cabinet that we recently purchased.
The top two shelves display antiques that we were given to us by our grandparents. This is the only area where the contractor didn’t quite deliver as promised. We had requested that a light be wired into the top of the cabinet so that we could light up these antiques. The contractor made the top shelf glass, as requested, to allow the light to shine through, but he failed to install a light. By the time we came home to discover this oversight, it was too late to add a hardwired light without taking down the newly installed cabinets. Instead, I did some research and purchased a thin, battery operated puck light to affix to the top of the cabinet. The light is not quite as bright or natural colored as we had hoped. Nonetheless, the light serves its purpose and I’m happy to have it there.
The Fire King Azurite Milk Glass tea cups and saucers were given to me by my grandma, and originally belonged to my great grandma, who collected them out of oatmeal boxes in the early 1950s. The Indiana Tiara Black Amethyst Glass Diamond Point mugs and covered candy dish were given to us by Scott’s grandparents and are from the 1960s or 1970s.
Lastly, the cabinet below the cookbook shelves provides a bit of extra storage. It holds all of my cookbooks that are less display-worthy, as well as a file box that I use for organizing recipe clippings from magazines and menus for local restaurants. You can read all about that filing system here.
I couldn’t be happier with the way this project turned out! The contractor did such an amazing job of matching the cabinets that you would never know that this mudroom was not part of the original kitchen!
Ok, ok. If you are really observant then you may have noticed the one tiny detail that gives away the fact that the kitchen mudroom was an addition and not original… the feet on the cabinets don’t match.
Unfortunately, the feet used on the original cabinets were discontinued, and despite intensive searching, we were unable to find a similar alternative. But, we were able to find the next best thing – feet that are a nearly identical match to those on the oven. It’s the little details!
For a little more perspective, here’s how the mudroom corner of the kitchen looks from a bit further back…
Finally, I’ll leave you with a few comparison photos so you can really appreciate this transformation.
First let’s look at how the finished mudroom space compares to the rendering that I created during the planning phase. It’s really rewarding to see a plan come to life!
And finally, here are the before and after photos! Even though we lived with the empty space in our kitchen for years before adding in the “mudroom,” it’s hard for me to remember it ever looking like the before photo.
Of all of the ways that we could have utilized this formerly-dead space in our kitchen, I can’t imagine any plan that would have better served the needs of our family! As a result of the custom cabinetry, this certainly wasn’t the cheapest of the home improvement projects we’ve undertaken, but I can say without hesitation that it was worth every penny to have the kitchen mudroom feel like it was there from day one!