Mudrooms are a big deal in the United States of America and for genuine reasons. Families and communities have been embracing this concept with open arms and doors.
Let’s answer the primary question, which calls for what’s a mudroom. Mudrooms function as entryways at the front or back entrance of a house while providing a transition between the interior and exterior.
Suburban American houses possess a rear entrance that works as a substitute entrance with the intent of removing and storing wet clothes, footwear, and other outerwear before entering the focal areas. These old school rear entrances lead into the kitchen or the laundry room.
A mudroom carries the potential to be one of the most convenient and practical design choices for your home as it promises cleanliness and an organized environment. Now, who would want to say no to that?!
Mudroom, More Like (Must)Room!
Source: Houzz
Is your front door a land of mismatched shoes lying around paired with a pile of coats? The children think of it as a dumping ground for their bags after school? Doesn’t the floor remind you of a hiking trail borne thanks to the soil from the shoes and the water droplets from the wet umbrellas?
These unwelcoming attributes could vanish if you had a mudroom. A mudroom is “the” place for shoes and wet outdoor clothes to live and thrive without having to drag them through the rest of your house.
It allows your home to stay relatively clean and reduces your time spent with the vacuum cleaner cleaning afterward. And the homeowners of the world do need for themselves a clean house, don’t they?! (Friends, if you know it, you know it!).
Residential architects know very well that a well-planned and efficiently designed mudroom is a bonus to keep houses tidy. In most cases, mudrooms are the entryways to homes; that the inhabitants will use regularly, it needs to create a functional impact.
So, it seems that your home MUST have a mudroom.
Benefits of A Mudroom
If you’re planning a new home, consider all the aspects that could tap into the maximum potential. A mudroom provides you with an area that could remain concealed from the guests while keeping the rest of the house clutter-free.
Freedom to Customize
Mudrooms are probably the most versatile spaces in a house. How you use it is detrimental to the size of your family and lifestyle. So, here’s how your mudroom will shape up and take on its layout and design.
Another exciting quality about these spaces is that you can customize them according to your will. Consider your spaces through the parameters such as the flooring, cabinets, plumbing, and the layout of the laundry area.
If your mudroom might be frequent to moisture from the shoes or the wet outerwear, this should be a primary factor when you finalize on the flooring. A residential architect could help you steer in the right direction.
Containment Zone
An efficient mudroom will act as a buffer to the clutter and dirt and contain it right there. Mudrooms are one of the best ways to curtail the amount of dirt and clutter around your home.
Homes that have young children or pets could highly benefit from mudrooms because they serve the purpose of being a containment zone to collect all the dirt from the shoes and other outerwear.
Now whether your children play around in the garden treehouse or your dog comes back from its playtime covered in mud, your main house is going to be a no-go zone.
Saves You Some Money
You may not think over this much, but cleaning products take out a lot of money from your wallets. With a mudroom in your house, you’ll add years to the service life of your flooring and carpets.
Additionally, you’ll save yourself the hassle of regular dusting and cleaning.
Extra Storage and More Organization
Source: Houzz
Mudrooms are a great way to incorporate additional storage in your homes. It’s such a benefit that could add more functional value as well.
Typically, mudrooms witness a greater traffic flow from the guests and family members. As such, their design prioritizes efficiency over charm. Efficiency makes your life much easier and saves you precious time.
The Perfect Mudroom
Several pointers come into action when talking about the perfect mudroom. So, let’s get reading!
Storage Needs
When you’re thinking about a perfect mudroom for your home, it’s critical to consider the current and upcoming storage needs. Conceiving the correct blend of storage choices could be a necessary mudroom tip.
Why would you want to deal with the needless dirt and clutter or trip over wet shoes when you could store them most conveniently? When it comes to storage solutions for your mudroom, most people consider hooks for coats or umbrellas and drawers for their hats and other trinkets.
Parents could benefit by creating a small niche for their young ones to dump their bags after school. And your pets don’t need to roam around the house searching for the perfect spot anymore. They could get themselves a cozy and clean space right in your mudroom.
Designate the Spaces
To avoid the early morning screaming matches between your kids, it could be a fun idea to designate the hooks to each family member. Your kids could use the hooks for their bags while others could hang up their briefcases, handbags, and such.
Don’t shy away from creativity. If you and your family enjoy outdoor activities such as sports or hiking, you could use the mudroom to store your gear. So, when the next adventure calls, you know where the necessary equipment is.
It’s A Bench, It’s A Cubby, It’s Both
A bench with in-built storage could be an ideal way for you to sit to put on or take off your shoes. Additionally, it’ll also provide you with temporary storage space for the stuff you’re carrying.
It’s the proper way to allow for the room to grow while taking maximum advantage of your mudroom.
Extra Features
Once you nail down the storage requirements, you can think about how to add features to enhance the efficiency of your mudroom. It’s a platform where your ideas could be functional yet creative.
Lighting
Some natural light in your mudroom could help create a pleasant atmosphere along with providing it with an airy appearance. The use of windows or a skylight in your mudroom could be a great way to harness the natural sunlight during the day.
However, you could also play with some artificial lighting to accommodate night time. Recessed lighting could be useful as it provides sufficient light without eating away at the space.
Flooring
The flooring is probably the most crucial aspect when it comes to designing a mudroom. Tile or vinyl are acceptable materials when considering a durable and sturdy mudroom floor.
Your residential architect may even suggest a drain inside the floor to help with the cleaning. Durability and low maintenance are two parameters to consider when choosing the materials.
You want something that will withstand years of wear and tear in one of the busiest places in your home.
Point of Entry
Most homeowners prefer a side entrance for their mudrooms for comfortable access while concealing it from the guests on their arrival. The transition space works to create a balance between the interior and exterior of your house.
A lot of families prefer keeping their mudrooms at the rear of their houses for more practical utilization. The back entrance allows for more freedom and a convenient passage to the main house through the kitchen without the hassle of carrying your shoes, coats, or other outdoor material.
Should You Have A Mudroom?
All through the article, you’ve looked at why you should have a mudroom. Now the question remains should you have a mudroom?
YES! You should have a mudroom.
As an individual in modern times, it makes sense to acclimate your house with today’s functional and essential trends. If you speak with any residential architect, you’ll get the same answers with more technical backing and proof.
Over the year’s mudrooms have become necessary features of new and upcoming homes with even traditional homeowners accommodating them with open arms. After all, who wants muddy shoes and wet umbrellas inside their main house?!
Time for A Change
The best mudrooms have an almost grand feel to them with loads of light, space, efficiency, and versatility. You could make it into a room that feels welcoming to you and brings with itself the comfort of a clean and spotless home.
If you’re geared up to get started on a mudroom, contact a residential architect for the best guidance along with serviceable yet expressive ideas.
The next time you come back to your home on a rainy day, with muddy shoes, a wet umbrella, and a drenching trench coat, the mudroom will cater to its share of the work.
And that’s why we say Mudroom, More Like “Must” Room!