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Jamie here! I happened to see this mudroom built-in closet makeover post in one of my Facebook groups and I begged the author to share her Before/After Mini Mudroom project. It's just SO GOOD. Without further ado – let me introduce Heather who is awesome at DIY!
Mudroom Built-In Ideas
Looking for ideas to makeover your entryway closet into mudroom? We've got you covered with this one!
Heather here! We live in a relatively small home with a pretty tight-feeling entryway that was just not functional for us, nor that inviting to guests. The closet also had bi-fold doors that if left open would prohibit the front door from opening…. and with three kids that happened all too frequently. After seeing some inspiration about closets being converted to a more open mudroom storage space I knew it was something we needed.
From Closet to Entryway Mudroom
First, we demoed the existing closet-shelving and removed the bifold doors and tracks. We had some reclaimed barn wood laying around that we had salvaged from a family member's property a few years ago. Luckily we had just enough left for the back wall of the closet. We sealed the barn wood with a thick locking primer from Zinsser to stop any possible old paint chipping off and to seal in any old odors as well. I had found a building plan on Ana White's Blog that I thought could work great for our needs. I did need to rework and customize a few parts of the building plans to better accommodate a custom built-in for our particular closet, but still stuck to a similar overall finished product from her design. The cost of building materials for the bench and shelving was around $150.
Mudroom Bench Construction:
We prebuilt the lower section of the bench as one piece and then installed it in place after it had been painted. The top boards of the bench are stained with Minwax Special Walnut first and then I did a super light coat of Minwax Simply White over top just to tone down the tannins and then finally finished it off with their polyurethane.
The bench cubbies are only the depth of half of the closet with a plywood back on them, and then the back half of the bench is open space that is accessed with piano hinged bench tops. We utilize that space for boots and backpacks that had always seemed to be a tripping hazard before. The back bench tops have leather pulls on them from Amazon.
Jamie interrupting here to say THIS IS SUCH A SMART IDEA!!! I love that she used shallower cubbies to allow for a hidden storage compartment in back!
Mudroom Storage Side Shelves:
We made the built-in mudroom side shelving from 1×2 pine cleats on all three walls. The cleats are topped with a 1/2”sheet of plywood then faced with a 1×3 pine board. It gives the illusion of a thicker shelf without the cost of one. We painted the walls and shelving in Benjamin Moore’s Onyx 2133-10. I used their semi-gloss paint just for durability for everyday wear and tear use. If I didn’t have busy little kids I would have chosen a satin or matte finish instead. The shelves became a little lost in the space after painting everything black so I found this peel and stick wallpaper at Target. It gave a little light and dimension to the corner of the closet.
Mudroom Lighting:
Then I was ready to accessorize the space. I knew I wanted a statement piece of lighting and we had tried a few options out but nothing felt quite right. Then I found the heavily raved about Bamboo Pendant Light at Aldi in their finds section! I got it for only $49.99 – a steal compared to similar options at other stores. This Amazon option is almost identical! I opted for the plug in version instead of the hard wired one because there was already an outlet wired into the ceiling area. But we had to find a solution for easy on/off of the light as well since the switch was up by the ceiling. After some searching on Amazon I found the perfect product.
These lights gave us the ease of an app controlled smart bulb, but also have the added feature of a button. Tap the button for on/ off, dimming and to change the temperature of the bulbs color. It has a little dock that mounts wherever you want it. We put it on the underside of one of the shelves so it is hidden but easily accessible. The button is magnetized to the dock so it can stay there or easily be taken with you elsewhere in the house as well if needed.
Decorating the Space:
The coat hooks on the wall are surprisingly very heavy duty and more of a XL size. They can hold more than just one item at a time without things falling off. The ones I got at Target are no longer available – but these on Amazon are very similar.
The bins under the bench are Brightroom stacking bins from Target. They fit beautifully in the space they are the perfect size for many things depending on your needs – shoes, hats, mittens, dog walking supplies, bubbles, chalk, etc.
Built-In Mudroom Shelf Decor:
- Accent pillows are from Target
- Faux Plant is from Target
- Framed Sketch Canvas from Target
- The face vases were a 2022 Summer Aldi Find but they have a new similar release currently in stores!
I hope you enjoyed this project and please ask if you have any more questions along the way!
I’ve wanted to do something with our front closet as well but wasn’t sure where to start. This looks amazing! No if only I could get the hubs on board…
I know you are “staging” this for photos, but wouldn’t your shelves be better used for baskets with gloves, hats, and other items?
The wall shelving is there and originally created for possible overflow storage, yes. But I completed this project almost a month ago and with real world use as a family of 5 in the upper Midwest it still hasn’t been needed for anything more so as of now it will still be used for *pretty things* the bins under the bench have held all the random things no problem so far.
I love this idea!! This is something my husband and I would love to save up and do in our front closet! We’ve always loved the look of a mud room but haven’t had room to put one into our house, so this might be the perfect solution for us!!
Woohoo!! We would love to see what y’all come up with!