Wow, so it's been a while since I've posted a blog and I think I've almost forgotten how to do it! :) This year has certainly been a whirlwind, some good, some not so good. However, I'll leave that for another time... I do have a mudroom reveal for you!
Working on this renovation has give me so many emotions. Happy, excited, tired (actually exhausted), anxious, sad and most of all determined. I'm a fairly determined person to begin with and once I have something in my mind I really love to see it come to fruition. This is no exception.
In general our house was a dump. We have (or should I say had) a 1950's rancher (a style of house I actually hate). Although we're still in the process of turning this rancher into a french country house from the outside, things are completely different inside. We bought this house from the original owner which is both good and bad. Good because we know WHO owned the house since the house was built. Bad because I'm not sure they did much to the house in the almost 70 years they owned it. And much of what they did for "improvements" were really not improvements at all, but rather awful half *ss jobs.
The mudroom in the beginning was like an addition to the kitchen that had a second sink, carpeted floor (which they ripped up when the put the house on the market), and just a very odd layout. Honestly after we closed, came directly to the house and I started a plan with my contractor I had a huge wave of anxiety (which I do not typically get). WHAT. HAD. WE. DONE...! Yikes, this was a project like I had never taken on before and there was SO much to do.
One of the reasons I chose to complete the mudroom (and the powder room which I'll blog about next) first is because they are the smallest rooms. I have also finished both the kids bath and guest bath, which I'll post soon also. The mudroom was one of the easiest rooms to renovate. I really didn't change the layout too much other than taking out cabinets and the sink. Since it's directly off the kitchen and on the way to the powder room which guests will use, I definitely wanted a "pretty" mudroom. Many people have commented that they could never have a glass paneled door from their kitchen to the mudroom/laundry but I'm sort of a neat freak so it doesn't bother me much.
Now the pictures here are staged and I don't want you to think my mudroom/laundry looks like this all the time. That would be crazy. I am also planning a second phase, adding some artwork and a washer/dryer base. My husband built one several years ago that we actually left for the new owners and it was awesome. It will raise up the w/d enough to slide my baskets under it. In addition it will be nice not to have to bend down to pull the laundry out which tends to hurt my back. So let's get on with it!
We gutted this room completely. My husband demo'd the cabinets, sink and that crazy half brick wall. I designed a wall from the new kitchen to the new mudroom so there would be designated spaces. My contractor built the wall, created the frame and hung the amazing antique door, relocated plumbing and updated all the electric, and screwed down hardy backer board so I could tile later. My hubby did a great job with the floor, door and window trim!
The new space. I've linked and added all products below.
Taking out the cabinets under the sink and creating a wall gave us more space to add cabinets to the new kitchen. This door is AHmazing. I loved it when I saw them. They are actually a pair and the other door goes to our pantry. The bench is a necessity when you have young kids to hide shoes, boots, hats and whatnot. This is a large bench perfect to hide all of it! The hooks are perfect so my kiddos quickly hang up their coats because if you momma's know, kids cannot take the time to hang up their coats with a hanger. That just takes too long... (la sigh...). I like to have a place to hang shirts, pants and other delicate items as they come out of the dryer directly because it prevents wrinkles. I had a ladder in mind and wanted to hang it from the ceiling (crazy right?). I think it turned out so great and I LOVE the patina on it. The blue blends so beautifully with the door to the garage and the color of the mudroom.
Wow, look at that wallpaper and alllll the baseboard registers. They were everywhere in our house. Although that was a huge undertaking and expensive, I'm so glad we did it!
As you can see we kept the washer and dryer in the same spot. It really only made sense to keep it there. Can we talk about this tile? I had it picked out from the very beginning and I just love the classic, yet farmhouse feel of it. I love adding old farmhouse touches without being too overwhelming. I was super happy to have left over tile to be able to use it in the closet. Because they had carpet in there too (so gross) there was so much glue and until I realized I could tile there, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the floor. So happy to have that left over tile!
Another baseboard banister... I'm telling you they were everywhere and SO heavy to remove.
I got this bench for $40 from my favorite salvage shop in Pittsburgh. There were metal legs on it that I removed and replaced with these round wood legs from Lowes. Very easy to screw on. I spent some time looking for the before picture, but couldn't find it. Basically it was a sort of lime green...
I used Annie Sloan "original white" paint on it. The cup pulls match the ones I used in our kitchen.
I love crisp white washer and dryers. It blends into the space and doesn't really draw attention to them which is what I want. Plus they are typically less money! As I mentioned earlier when my husbands chores come to a close (trimming the upstairs etc), I've requested a w/d pedestal stand. This is part of the phase two! Side note on these w/ds... I LOVE them. They clean extremely well, the washer spins so much that the clothes sometimes feel dry when I put them into the dryer so they dry in no time! They both have a steam function. I love that feature on the dryer because I absolutely detest ironing!
So that is our new mudroom! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
------ Resources ------
Contractor: Total Property, Joe Renz (610) 742 - 7645
**services Philadelphia and surrounding areas**
I can't express how great these guys are. So dependable, professional, great work and priced very reasonable.
Tile : Riad Tile
Rug : Rugs USA
Bench and ladder : Salvage Pgh
Bench cup pulls : Pottery Barn
Broom organizer (love this one! it's the simple things :) : Walmart
Vacuum (amazing, can't live without) : Dyson
Wreath : Wayfair
Door knob : Schlage
Antique door knob : Etsy
**Shop owner was great to work with, answered ALL my questions!**
Paint colors from ACE, Clark & Kensington
Walls : Designer White
Door : Hidden River
xo, Lulu