Turning a Closet Into a “Mudroom”
Years ago, I remember sharing a room reveal and one of the first comments I received was along the lines of: “The room reveal is great, but where are you storing your kids’ shoes and backpacks?” I remember being a bit flabbergasted that THAT was the question after sharing so many creative solutions in the post. But all these years later, that comment has stuck with me because it hits on what we all really want to know:
How do you store all the “nuisance but necessary” items of life so they are “put away” but also totally accessible?
Carving out some sort of “mudroom” is actually one of the very first projects I tackle each time we move into a new home. Because if I don’t…the shoes and backpacks and coats and papers become a serious problem…and fast! Read on to see the clever spot we outfitted this time around!
Sliding Door Dilemma
In our current home, there was zero space for a “drop zone,” except for one small closet right inside the garage door.
But it had one (serious) problem…
Sliding doors.
Gah – I hate sliding closet doors!
Because half of the closet is always “closed” at any given time, it’s really difficult to access (and therefore optimally organize!) anything inside.
(Admit it. It’s just too easy to slide the door open a few inches, stuff things inside, and close it again! Am I right?!?)
Plus, with sliding the doors back and forth and back and forth, they constantly fall off their rails, making it even MORE difficult to open the closet at all!
Are you sensing my exasperation?
So we took the doors down.
And suddenly, we had a big(ish) blank canvas for a family drop zone!
Fun Fact: I pulled this “makeover” off using 100% items we already owned! So this one was functional AND thrifty!
Turning a Closet Into a Mudroom
This closet is not large, measuring about 45” wide and 24″ deep.
But without the doors blocking half the closet, it meant I could outfit the full area exactly as we needed.
I started by wallpapering the closet wall with two rolls of paper I had on hand, simply because I am me and I can’t resist a patterned nook.
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While the wallpaper isn’t necessary, the change in wall color does help visually set the closet off as its own dedicated spot.
Next, we put a 2×2 Kallax into the corner (mounted on feet to make it counter height) and filled the cubbies with baskets for shoes, purses, and our stash reusable grocery bags.
Why didn’t I use a (taller) 4×2 Kallax for even more cubbies? It certainly would have fit!
I opted for the shorter shelf because we like having a “counter” to drop mail/keys/hats and hold items we always seem to reach for as we walk out the door (e.g., sunscreen, daily medications, inhaler.)
We love cubbies for kids’ shoes (and socks!) but they are NOT great for backpacks. So putting a set of hooks right at kid height allows the little boys to hang up their backpacks when they come in the door.
Above the hooks are my favorite felt bulletin board tiles.
We’ve used these in home after home, as they are such a chic way to display kids artwork, important reminders, and things we can’t lose track of.
At the start of every month, I usually clear it off and we add to it (straight from the kids’ backpacks!) all month long.
Finally, we mounted a clear acrylic “frame” (repurposed from this project) to the left side, behind which we stick a non-dated calendar (using double-sided tape).
We populate the calendar with important dates and events (with a white chalk marker) to be a quick reference for the whole family.
All together, this closet is a super functional and happy way to corral that “mess” that comes in the door every single day.
And to think…none of it would have been possible if those terrible doors stayed in place!
Key Takeaways
While a “mudroom” can certainly be established on any bare wall, tucking it into a closet keeps it 100% out of the way of foot traffic and makes it feel like a separate, dedicated area.
Adding in decorative details and specific furniture really helps a drop zone look purposeful (rather than a mess shoved into an empty closet!)
And finally, you can leave doors on a “mudroom” closet, but removing them will give you much more space to work with. And since the inside of the closet is always visible, it forces you to create a setup that looks good (and keep it that way!)
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Dive Deeper Into This Project
Looking for more info on this project? Below are my voice notes about where we store all the closet doors we take off and what we do with coats now that our coat closet is repurposed!
Megan
4 Comments on “Turning a Closet Into a “Mudroom””
That turned out so well. We lived with bedroom closets like that for forty years. They went all the way to the ceiling and rode on a track on the floor. Inside the closet was cedar plank and ouside carpet. We lived with them and hated them. Now I have a laundry room that has no hookups. The builder put them in the garage. I created a combo shallow kitchen overflow cabinet with pieces from ikea. We had a three drawer base cabinet leftover from our old kitchen where they shipped one that was too small and it was during Covid so we couldn’t return it. So it’s now here in the mudroom formerly called laundry room. It’s on the left wall up against the corner and to its right up against the wall is our little chest freezer. That left enough space for a basket holding my reusable grocery bags. And a place to hang my Dyson. Hooks hold keys and hats.
I, too, hate sliding doors on a closet. Took me almost 40 years to convince DH that our closet would function better with the doors off and just a nice drape in front.
And every closet had ’em.
Add to that that the doors were smaller than the width of the closet so there was dead space at each end.
It i so important to have a place for everything!
Absolutely love you showing a closet doesn’t need to be covered up AT ALL when done as beautifully as you do it!
Do you recommend keeping the rod up to still use for guests? Or can it be stored?
Since your Kallax is in such nice shape, what do you have under the metal baskets that has kept melamine from scratching? Felt strips?
Brilliant! I wonder about taking the doors off of our front entry closet. We have a split entry (raised ranch) home, so when you enter the front door, you go up a half flight or down a half flight from a 6 ftx8 ft landing. You have my wheels turning!