mudroom makeover

In 2013, we turned our closet right by the garage door into a "mudroom". Now, 3 more kids later, it was no longer big enough for our needs. We disassembled the former mudroom, moved most of what was in the former cabinet/drop station area into the small closet across from it (after Chris added 5 shelves), moved the extra coats from that closet to the basement closet (that was the best idea we could come up with) and went to work making it more useable.

1. After I patched tons of holes, my Mom painted the interior of the closet for us.

1. I bought a 5 cube organizer from Walmart (like the Kallax units we already have several of from IKEA, but IKEA no longer makes a 1x5 unit). This was actually about 1/4" too long (I knew going into it) so, after a lot of debate, we chopped up one end and forced it into place.

2. I bought 5 Drona boxes from IKEA and added an initial to each box. This is where the kids and I store frequently worn shoes and probably the kids hats/mittens that they wear to school in the winter. Chris continues to store his shoes in a rack in the second closet which he has done since 2013.

4. I bought one more Lack shelf from IKEA to go along the top (we already had one). 

5. After thinking about how to make the back wall a little more finished looking, Chris and I went to Lowes to buy beadboard and some trim. I then painted it white. 

6. We added 6 hooks (one per person) to the back wall for coats/jackets.

7. Along the side walls, we added a trim board and I attached these foldable hooks from IKEA to be used for back packs.
8. Along the wall next to the closet, I added a cork board, magnetic board, and white board for notes and papers.
I think the total cost for this was $200-$300, but I was able to sell some of the old items to offset the cost a little. 

Hopefully this works for several more years!

how it was:

memo wall

new mudroom: