Today’s mudrooms are no longer a design afterthought. The entry spaces have morphed into something much more than a transitional area for shedding shoes and leaving bags. Savvy interior designers and builders are making these rooms functional by including storage for seasonal and day-to-day gear and also aesthetically pleasing with on-trend finishes and décor.
To learn how to design the perfect mudroom, BUILDER consulted Nevada-based interior designer Joanna Branzell and project manager Robbie Jamison of Mark Tanner Construction. Below they detail mudroom must-haves, details that are typically left out, their opinions on combo laundry/mudrooms, and more.
What are your top three considerations when designing a new mudroom space?
Branzell: Storage and functionality is always the top request. Second, a really great unique design that doesn’t feel utilitarian. The design should be exciting. The mudroom is a place that most families keep all of their seasonal belongings that they use day to day. So, you have to ask your homeowner, “what are you wanting to keep in here, seasonally and daily?” And lastly, since the mudroom is likely the most used and seen room in most of our Tahoe or West Coast designs, the space has to be durable.
Jamison: How the client intends to use the space. Storage for all necessary equipment and or clothing and determining the design on how it will express the client’s design interests.
What features should today’s mudrooms include?
Branzell: The features of a mudroom should really include the following:
- Cubbies, whether they’re open or closed.
- Hooks for coats, bags, hats.
- A really fun bench, whether attached to the cabinets or an off-the-shelf piece. The seat cushion is always a nice touch, in which it’s upholstered in a gorgeous fabric.
- Larger cabinet space with doors that have a metal mesh to allow air to escape, if the homeowner hangs up wet or used jackets in the cabinet. The open cabinet door allows there to be a way for the moisture to escape.
- In some cases, plugs for charging your electronics.
Jamison: One of our most favorite options for mudrooms is obtaining not only enough space for seasonal clothing but also footwear and components of drying all clothing from our winter environment. Air flow is something very important for keeping a space neat and sanitary.
What details are typically left out?
Branzell: The seat depth for the bench is something that gets missed in the overall concept. Measuring a “global” basket size for the open cubbies, that is something that I feel gets missed by many. Again, the cubbies; get the specs on items like ski boots directly from your clients.
Jamison: How the clothing is going to be stored and the size of each locker space for the mudroom. Individual storage compartments, such as hooks, hanging rods, and seating areas, are something that could be limited in the design, yet crucial for having a mudroom excel in usable space.
What is no longer useful and a waste of space?
Branzell: If a mudroom is designed properly, there should be no waste of space. If anything, functionality can be pushed more. It just comes down to the budget for the construction of the design.
Jamison: Storing golf clubs or skis in a locker space. It used to be a component that was important to clients; however, it defeats the purpose of indoor clean storage. When accommodating these larger items, it does not leave enough space for clothing or accessories.
What features are more luxury but worth the investment?
Branzell:
- Boot warmers under the bench seat or in the lower individual cubbies.
- Drawers! Drawers! Drawers!
- Designing the mudroom “locker” to go all the way to the ceiling. Utilize as much storage space as you can.
- Ski or snowboard pegs to house your gear behind a door. That’s always a fun plus.
Jamison: Boot dryers and good wire mesh or metal that allows the mudroom lockers to breathe. Solid doors don’t always allow proper ventilation for storing items that come into the home that are wet or damp from winter or rainy days. Boot dryers are fairly expensive; however, they provide wonderful capabilities for drying gloves, boots, or other clothing.
Where are today’s mudrooms typically located?
Branzell: With current architectural designs, the mudrooms have been located off the garage to the house entrance.
Jamison: Mudrooms are typically located as close to the garage as possible since this is typically the main access point into homes. Having them located near laundry rooms also aids in keeping clothing and accessories close access to proper cleaning. Typically the laundry room and mudroom play together in the overall design intent for auxiliary areas of the home.
Any opinions on the combo laundry/mudrooms?
Branzell: I personally believe that the mudroom and laundry room should be separate. If the size of the home doesn’t allow this, however, the “combo’d” room still looks gorgeous and is designed beautifully. You just may not get as much “mudroom locker” storage as you might hope.
Jamison: Laundry rooms and mudrooms should be in close proximity since these two areas serve similar purposes. The two areas do not necessarily need to be connected; however, separated by walls and/or doors, the two areas act as their own individual space.
Any final thoughts on overall mudroom design?
Branzell: Most homeowners do focus on the mudroom and its design, much like a powder bath. It’s really a space that you likely come home to first, plop down, and take a load off, even before you utilize the rest of your home. I believe that the mudroom is as essential as the laundry room and the kitchen, mainly for the functionality of organizing your day-to-day garments. The mudroom, in my opinion, is like a good life hack, if you design it well. The mudroom can serve your family a purpose of ease for your daily routine. Keeping all of your items in one single place, and where you know where to find them, seems like a thing of magic to me.
Jamison: Mudrooms typically are areas that get high traffic, and selection of materials is very important for long-lasting wear and tear. Using high-grade paint and or prefinished products has been a new trend that some of our clients have been using. Mudrooms don’t always have to match the other designs in the home and have the ability to stand out as its own individual utilitarian component. The homes where we use durable products, we have found scratches from ski boots or other heavy artillery do not show damage as easily.
