Mini-mudroom Reveal

I am so excited to show you the finished mini-mudroom!  You can read about phase one here, phase two here, and about how I made some storage crates for the mudroom here.  But, without further ado, I present to you our new, finished mini-mudroom:

I love this space way more than I thought I would.  It is so functional for our family, and I find myself lingering in front of it staring at it adoringly.  Haha, I can't help it!  So, let's take a trip down memory lane.  Shall we?

We started with your builder basic closet:  one bar, two shelves, and a whole lot of wasted space.

From there, I took it down to a blank slate with a nice fresh coat of white paint, and my dad installed a couple shelves and hooks in the top half of the closet.

After that, we got busy on the bottom of the closet.  My dad built a platform and a bench.

From there, I added molding to the platform and to the bench.  I had to play around with different molding heights, which was a bit of a challenge, but in the end it all turned out just right.

I made all of the molding cuts with a hand saw and miter box, and I even surprised myself by successfully notching out the corner piece for the molding that frames the opening inside the closet.

 

After that, I constructed two wooden storage crates for under the bench.

Then, I turned my focus to the top of the bench.  I made three equal sized cushions for the bench by topping pieces of 1/2" plywood with foam, wrapping them in batting, and then covering the whole thing with fabric.

And, then it was just a matter of slapping up some paint.  I had a half gallon of leftover gray paint (Anonymous by Behr) that I used as a jumping off point.  After adding some white, I settled on a nice, medium gray.  (And somewhere along the line, I swapped out those dark baskets up top for some lighter ones.)

 

I also stuck up some fun little battery powered lights for a nice nighttime effect.

And, because I know there are people out there wondering: no, the mini-mudroom does not always look like this.  Of course, it was staged for these photos.  But here's a snapshot of the space on Christmas morning with my vest, Colin's coat and a bag of goodies that was going to my sister's.

Even with the added stuff, I still think the space looks lovely.  Actually, I think it looks better with all of the signs that it is used, and that a real family really does live here.

I totally get that having your coat closet out in the open like this might not work for everyone.  But, for our family, it just works!  We have an extra entire closet dedicated to our coats, so this space can be for our favorite(s), plus my purse, Colin's book bag and anything else that is coming in from or going out to the car.  Plus, with the concealed storage below for shoes and the pretty baskets above for miscellaneous items, we are storing all of the same non-coat items as we were before but in a much more organized way!

And, before I forget, I'd like to give a major shout-out to Shelley and Cason of The House of Smiths.  Their coat closet to mini-mudroom was my inspiration for this whole transformation, and while I did execute the project, all of the inspiration came from the Smiths.  From the idea of the platform below the bench, to the wooden storage crates, to the color scheme, I found much of their design too good to change.  And, while some might find my project a little too copy-cat, I like to think this is just one of the many reasons we DIY bloggers blog in the first place:  to provide inspiration and encouragement and ideas on how to better use and customize the place where you spend much of your day.  Your home sweet home.

xo,

Emily

PS-  I nearly forgot my signature before and after!

**Linking to:
A Bowl Full of Lemons' One Project at a Time
Shabby Creek Cottage's Transformation Thursday