How often have you walked with dirty shoes in your home only to regret it the next moment? The cleaning after is horrific, and the conditions worsen during the monsoons. Thankfully, you can stop worrying about cleaning, dirt stains, and clutter in your home by adding a mudroom.
A mudroom in your garage will keep your home more organized. It will give you extra space to get rid of your muddy boots, wet umbrella or sports equipment lest you carry everything inside the house.
Oh, don’t worry; adding a mudroom will not drill a hole in your pocket. You need to determine the ideal space and the right size to get started. We will fill in the details for you in the piece below.
What is a Mudroom?
A mudroom is an entry point that operates as a drop zone or a storage space. As suggested by the name, it’s derived from dirt or mud.
It’s usually located at the rear end of the home, where one can remove their dirty shoes, jackets, and outerwear. Often a mudroom is clubbed with the laundry space.
There are many benefits of having a garage mudroom space in your home. For starters, it keeps the house cleaner. Imagine walking home during heavy rain.
You come back with muddy boots or wet shoes, which would make the floors dirty. In such cases, you require a space to sit, remove your dirty shoes, and take them directly for washing, and the mudroom provides you with all that.
Besides keeping your home clean, a mudroom provides the required space as extra storage to keep your shoes, coats, and umbrellas. No more pilling of shoes anywhere. Overall investing in a mudroom has a high Return on Investment if you need a utility space.
Tips to add mudroom in garage
Planning for setting up a mudroom will require some consideration if you want to make the most of it. You need to think of the perfect location and ideal size and determine how to go about the actual plumbing and flooring of the areas. The section below will provide some pointers to chew on.
💁Choosing the Right Location
Ideally, the perfect location for a garage mudroom should be next to the garage entry door. This is perfect as you can use this space to hang your gardening equipment after you do some work or store your dusty boots.
You need the mudroom cabinet to the entry door to limit the spreading of dirt throughout the house. Plus, when the mudroom is closest to the door, you save a lot of space.
💁Selecting the Right Size
A mudroom take limited space. However, the idea is to optimize space utilization. Ideally, a 25 square footage space is good for constructing a mudroom.
Though the space may seem small, you can add all your utilities, including adequate storage and a seating area with proper planning. As a rule of thumb, the mudroom’s size should be proportional to the number of people in the house.
💁Identifying the Actual Purpose
Though most often, people use a mudroom to keep their dirty clothes, equipment and shoes, you need to determine what’s your purpose before you set up a mudroom. Do you want the mudroom only for storage? Will you be using it frequently?
Once you have the details figured out, it will be easier to create the space you need for your mudroom as per your requirement. For instance, adding cabinets will be required if you want it essentially for storage. Similarly, if you plan to use it as a landing area, ensure ample seating space.
💁Arranging Plans for Flooring, Plumbing and Wiring
You need to determine a proper flooring and wiring plan for your mudroom based on your needs. If it’s a landing area, sufficient lighting is required to store things without causing other things to topple.
Likewise, if you plan to use your mudroom as a washing area, proper plumbing should be in place. Additionally, the floors should be made to handle water and mud without making them difficult to clean. concrete floor is perfect for that.
💁Planning if the Space is Less
If your mudroom is next to your garage, you might not have a lot of space; thus, vertical space might be effective. As the name suggests, vertical space uses the walls instead of the floor space.
So, you can use hangers and hooks to store your things. Besides, vertical storage provides different ways to get creative and optimize space utilization.
How to Furnish the Mudroom with Essentials?
At this stage, you know all about getting started with your mudroom. Once the construction is done comes the tricky part, getting the space ready for use.
Depending on how you will be using the mudroom, the following are a few essentials you will require to furnish your mudroom.
💁Mudroom Landing Area
It’s not challenging to furnish this area. Your primary target is to prevent mud from accumulating and stop water and dirt from entering the house.
You can start by setting up a place where you will keep all your dirty shoes and clothes before taking them into the house. To that end, you can consider the following options.
- Hooks: These are perfect for hanging small things, keys, or even your coats and umbrella. There are different varieties of hooks available.
- Shoe Rack: A shoe rack or a tray will be great for keeping your muddy boots. However, make sure the tray or rack is easy to clean. The Honey-Can-Do SHO-01599 Bamboo 3-Tier Shoe Shelf on Amazon is a good pick.
- Floor Mats: Floor mats on the landing area will help you keep the dirt in check. However, like the shoe racks, these too should be easy to clean. Rubber floor mats are a good option.
💁Mudroom Washing Area
If you plan to use your mudroom as a washing area, have a few things to make the space useful, like a utility sink and drying rack.
Drying Rack
A drying rack will give you the required space to dry the things you wash in your utility sink. Instead of buying the two units separately, you can opt for a utility sink with a drying rack to save money and space. You can even use a solo shelf to function as a drying rack.
Utility Sink
A sink will help you wash all the gunk and mud you bring from the outside. To that end, you can check a standalone sink. Either you can set it up yourself or get a plumber to have it set for you.
Mustee Free Standing Utility Sink is a good option available on Amazon if you want to shop online. Users like the sink for its small size, and ease of installation, making it a perfect pick for your garage.
💁Mudroom Seating Area
Many people often use their mudroom as seating space for taking off their dirty shoes or wet coats before entering the house. If you plan to use your mudroom for the same purpose, you must consider the following.
Seating Space
A garage mudroom must have a seating area. You need a mudroom bench space to sit while taking off your shoes lest you fall into other things and have an accident. Now, may DIY enthusiasts get a seating area made while many buy online.
Amazon has a few amazing pics, and one is the ClosetMaid cube bench. It’s ideal for small garages and can easily seat two people at a time.
Area Rug
An area rug will be required in your seating area to absorb the water or mud you might carry inside your home. Without an area rug, the entire floor will become increasingly difficult to clean. However, while buying the area rug, ensure that it’s easy to clean and is washable.
💁Mudroom storage Area
A proper storage in your mudroom is essential if you have a lot of clutter in your home. Storage spaces in your mudroom will keep the rest of the house clean; however, ensure to organize and hide the storage spaces well for aesthetic purposes and avoid clutter.
Cabinet
There are often things in the garage that you require occasionally. These things can be locked away at other times, and you can do that with lockable garage cabinets. Such cabinets are ideal for storing dangerous stuff like pesticides, motor oil, and lubricants.
Wall Hanger
If you use your mudroom for storage, you need wall hangers. These come in handy for hanging almost anything, from keys to umbrellas. Ideally, hooks help you hang all the things you need on the go.
Of course, you can get DIY hooks, but if you’re planning on buying off the shelve, check out HBCY Creations Rustic Coat Rack Shelf. This 24-inch shelf gives you the perfect space to keep all your essentials.
Modular Shelving
Modular shelves are popular for their smart usability. Setting them up, taking them down, and even configuring them to a whole new look is as easy. Thus having one such setup in your garage mudroom will give you the utmost scope of functionality and allow you to keep the look of your storage organized.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Does a Mudroom Add Value?
Mudrooms are popular for their beauty and functionality. These rooms allow users to organize well and offer more storage spaces which are highly required, especially if you have too many things in your house. These mudrooms surely add value and also helps in protecting your investment in your home.
2. How much does it cost to add a mudroom?
The cost of creating a mudroom will depend on the size of the room. Besides, it will depend on whether you are converting an existing space or creating one from scratch. For freshly building a new mudroom, the costs should be somehow between $100-$200 per square foot.
3. Does a mudroom need a foundation?
Irrespective of the size of your mudroom, it will be a part of your home, which means you will have to follow building codes and include a foundation. Ideally, the foundation should be 4 feet into the ground.
Conclusion:
Having a mudroom in your home has multiple benefits, from clearing clutter to taking the beat from your muddy shoes; a mudroom ensures that your home stays prim and proper, so if you are considering setting up a mudroom, don’t ponder, get it made and these tips to add mudroom in garage will come in handy for sure.
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