Mar 24, 2013

Welcome! (aka the Mudroom)

Erin reminded me that I have not shown y'all pictures of my kitchen redo, and I realized that my mudroom has not been posted either.  Then I remembered why.  There are a thousand projects that I want to implement in here before the room is ready to be shown.  Matching bins, and a cute recyclable can, and a dog food bin that is opaque, and ornament containers that are not boxes from the liquor store.  Then I realized I would never show you this room that I love, and I decided to hell with perfection.  Here is some function.

I walk in and out of this door a hundred times a day- it leads to the carport where I park.  This is also our "friends' entry" out of happenstance and habit.  This door used to open into the laundry closet.  Where the desk starts now was a kind of funky outdoor closet.

Ignore the shower curtain draped over the utility sink.  Sewing the curtain into a skirt to cover my utility sink is on the to-do list.  It will probably get done next year.  This whole section was the outdoor closet before.  The new closet behind the folding doors houses brooms, paint, and the hot water heater.  The door on the left leads to the powder room (the one with the beadboard and purple toile wallpaper I showed Friday), which used to be accessible only through the dining room.  That was weird.  Now, it's handy- especially since I invariably need to dash to the restroom the minute I get home.  It's a Pavlovian response.
Speaking of dogs, this is also Buddy's room- the Budroom.  That's his super attractive bin of food he's gazing at.

My desk/office since I now work from home.  The window was the location of the former door to the outdoor closet.  Our contractor used stock cabinets from Home Depot and added the beadboard on the sides.  The butcher block top was from a local salvage place (I found it for a great price in a bad part of town, naturally).  Someday (on the tenth day of never) I will have matching bins, and file folder holders, and all my notebooks will be fabric covered and lovely.

The TV was something I thought ridiculous that Morgan insisted upon.  I am not anti-television, I just want to keep them to one or two rooms of our house (and never, ever in our bedroom).  It is the greatest thing ever.  I can watch TV and cook!  Or iron, or fold clothes!  Amazing.


The door on the left is to the kitchen, and straight ahead is the dining room.  Here's where you need to ignore the hampers, and bubble waiting to be ironed.  Oh, and the picture waiting to be hung.


And the liquor boxes housing Christmas decor.  That's more of the butcher block cabinet, and stock cabinets from Home Depot (or Lowe's- I can't remember, honestly).  The cabinets are painted Georgian Green by Benjamin Moore- one of my go-to colors.

Here's my favorite part.  The Dutch door into the kitchen.  It is awesome.  Perfect for keeping Buddy in his room, but still keeping an eye on him.  Our contractor made it by cutting a stock door in half.  He looked askance when I described what I wanted, then totally got on board.  With multiple dogs and two small kids of his own, I think he is cutting all of the doors in his own house in two now.

The floor is travertine that I found at a close out flooring place for $2.69 a square foot.  It is cheaper than porcelain tile would have been, and it really transformed this area and the kitchen.  Here's a picture of the kitchen that shows the old gray tile from before.



To help with depth perspective, the bin behind the ladder in the before picture is where Buddy is laying in the after.  It's amazing what ditching fluorescent lights will do for a space.

Okay, I'm off to put away some dishes so I can show the kitchen/family room changes later this week.  I also have a bunch of recipes that I will be sharing once I get some get-up and go.

9 comments:

  1. Yay! Oh my goodness. I love a functional mudroom. I bet you spend a huge chunk of time in that space! And I'm all about the TV in there. the desk is beautiful. i love all the light. i adore the dutch door. i mean.... just perfect! i love that buddy has a place that is his. (unrelated--- we all but shaved boudreaux this weekend. the hair was out of control.)

    the floors are gorgeous!

    i can't wait to see the rest of the remodel. i'm loving it!

    also.... go look at the post from the nester that i linked to today because it's all about the "during." and how our lives aren't perfect, so they don't have to look perfect. projects may never be "finished" in the magazine-ready sense of the word, but you're living there in that space. anyway, i loved her post, and i love your post and i'm glad you shared!

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  2. This looks great, Samma! I wish Capitol Hill homes were big enough for functional mudrooms - the layouts just aren't conducive. Nice work!

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  3. I am LOVING all of these home posts. I have such house envy! But in a good way :) it's aspirational envy!

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  4. I have never ever seen a mudroom before and now I want one! But I live in California where I probably would never need one. I love the color you picked for your desk and cabinets above the washer dryer.

    I can't wait to see the kitchen.

    And PS. I love seeing homes as they are really lived in.

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  5. Obsessed with the dutch door. I want one in the new house. Also total score on that tile. Will you come deco my house?

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  6. It looks great! Functional and beautiful! The Dutch door is a great idea and the green cabinets are perfect!

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  7. It looks great. I love the dutch door. We had one in our playroom when I was little. I am sure my mom loved it!

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  8. Oh I love peeking in to your home! Makes me want to pull up a chair and watch while you fix us some elvis enchiladas :) Everything looks really great & I so hope you're enjoying your new gig. xo

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  9. Damn, Gina! Can you come tell me what the heck to do with my whole entire house? I have zero vision. ZERO. But I do know what I like and I LOVE the Dutch doors and the green cabinets and all of it, really. We only have one television at the moment {well, technically, we have another one in the bedroom, but, like you, I am very Anti and therefore it just sits in an armoir, sans cable, just in case we decide to watch a movie in there - something I've done maybe once whilst sick? OMG TANGENT} but my parents got me a small one for our kitchen and I CANNOT WAIT to get it connected... I love me some Brian Williams while I chop veggies.

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