Small but Mighty: Designing a Mudroom in Tight Spaces

The names of many rooms in your home reflect their purpose, and the mudroom is no exception. Frankly, it’s the place you go to take off your muddy boots and clothes after a time of working in the garden or tramping around in rain or snow. It’s also a place to put wet bathing suits and towels after a dip in the pool. That’s why many larger mudrooms may also have a laundry center. But what if the space you want for your mudroom is small? How do you design a mudroom in a small, aesthetically pleasing, and serviceable space?

Utilize an area in an otherwise empty space

Do you have an empty area around your front or back door that you don’t know how to decorate? Do you have an uninspiring utility room? It may be the perfect place for a mudroom. Install a bench against a wall with cubbies beneath it for shoes, a rack of hooks for coats and scarves above it, and a rack for boots beside it.

Install a place to wash up

If there’s no room for a washing machine, even a small mudroom might accommodate a small sink or a shower big enough for one person. Some mudrooms even have a spigot that can be attached to a garden hose to help water plants just outside the door or hose down muddy boots or muddy dogs before they come inside.

You can splurge on flooring materials

Your mudroom is very much like a powder room. Because it occupies such a small space, you can splurge a bit on materials. This includes flooring. Though a vinyl plank floor that mimics exotic and pricey hardwood is great for a tiny mudroom, you can also consider installing real stone such as marble, slate, travertine, and others. You can also spring for beautiful ceramic tiles in various colors and patterns. Though these materials can be prohibitively expensive in a large area, they might be perfectly affordable in a small mudroom.

Renovate a closet

You might be able to convert the foyer closet into a mudroom. Again, you can add a bench with cubbies, hooks to hang outdoor clothes, and a couple of custom-built storage areas. You can replace that old, ugly doormat people wiped their feet on with an attractive, water-resistant, easy-to-clean runner.

Use pegboards

The humble pegboard is amazingly versatile. A pegboard in a mudroom can hold everything from gardening equipment to pool noodles to a bicycle. Fortunately, pegboards come in all sorts of colors that can complement the overall color scheme of your mudroom. They can also be cut down to the perfect size for the space.

There’s no need to forego a mudroom just because you think you don’t have space for one. To learn more about mudrooms, visit AskHomey.com or go to our Instagram and Facebook pages.