Okay, let's face it, since the very first post of this blog, I've wanted to talk about my future mudroom. Oh my, where to start. This will be the mudroom of all mudrooms. The pivotal point to my happiness and satisfaction lays here in this one room. It will have space for all this utilitarian and all things mundane, and it will be laid out in such an efficient, pleasing way that they will be neither any more. Sigh . . . the mud room of my dreams!
I think I will be dividing the main space up in zones like the photo above (which is adequate for it's purposes, but I will need something bigger I believe!) , and it's important to have other specific rooms adjacent. For starters, in the main room there will be:
- a laundry zone: Washer and dryer, of course. I'm really pleased with the ones I have now and would have no problem bringing them along with me. This area would also have an space for dark, light and really dirty laundry hampers, a bit of a folding surface, some storage (shelving?) for laundry soap etc. Currently I change baby diapers in the laundry area and find it works quite well since I use cloth diapers. If I keep this up, I'd also like space for a cloth diaper stash, a pack of 'sposie diapers, terry wipes and warmer, dirty cloth diaper hamper and dirty 'sposie diaper bin.
-an outdoor wear zone: I'm thinking individual locker-type space for each family member. They would probably be doorless, with room below for boots and shoes, a drawer under a bunch for mitts, hats and odds and ends, the bench to actually sit on and some hooks at a few different heights for a few coats and bags. Up higher would be a cupboard reaching the ceiling space for . . . I don't know what yet. Off season clothes? Rarely used stuff? I'll figure it out. It would also be nice to have a communal set of drawers for stuff like keys, wallets, flashlights, umbrellas, etc.
-a dog zone: doog beds, kennels - possibly built in?, dog food storage, a large laundry tub for baths - could also be used for rinsing sandy/muddy/etc. clothes and boots. I LOVE the floor tub thing in the picture above, it would be great for all those things, but I'm not sure it's in the budget, or very practical for reluctant dogs. . . it would be fantastic for rinsing potatoes and shoes thought, wouldn't it?
-a wet to dry zone: a few boot dryers and a rack for clothes that can't be dried in the dryer as well as sopping snow pants, mitts, and rain coats.
- a mail in/out zone: Here I need to research what would work best for us! Maybe something like the one above, it has a lot of potential! This might be a bit of desk area that transitions into the kitchen. I may make it a larger desk so there's room for at least one computer and a printer as well the phone and all the accompanying bits, books and pieces.
-a cleaning zone: This is where I would keep the broom, mop and bucket, vaccuum (unless I went with a built-in! Heavenly!), a cupboard for rags and a few bottles or boxes.
-a recycling zone: I may include this in the pantry or kitchen, but having an area to store plastic, paper and tin, another for glass, another for refundable containers is a must! This might be something as simple as the slide-out in the photo - that would probably last us a week, the refundables maybe longer.
Ideally there would be a full bathroom off this room, possibly divided into sinks and toilet/bathtub so it would be more functional if the only bathroom in the house - which is best for me as I HATE cleaning bathrooms! I'm also considering a family closet off this room to streamline the laundry process (check out this link for more info on Family Closets). I usually get things washed and dried, I often get things folded, but put away too? My goodness! Actually, that reminds me, I have a basket of folded clothes waiting to be put away. Sigh. The kitchen and walk-in pantry (a whole other post!) would also be near by.
This will be the main entry to the house and I want it to be pretty enough (yet finished in 'can take anything' surfaces) to welcome back both tired family and visiting friends. I would love at least one big window, and, since this is after all, a dream mudroom, a small wrought iron balcony with a french door leading to my clothes line near the washer and dryer.
Now I'm just itching to draw this all out! But it will have to wait - it's late and Oliver wakes up at 530 most mornings. Another day!
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