The Room for the Mud and the What Became of the Spilled Paint


Want to see what came of it?
That little episode started us on finally painting the mudroom.
It's not one of those gorgeous mudrooms that you're going to see on Pinterest.  Not even a little bit.  It's a regular old mudroom that actually sees a whole lot of real nitty gritty full of dirtiness mud.  But I want to show it anyway because...well, I blog, and that's what I do.

Here's the before pic taken before we had even put in an offer on this casa which was a whole five years ago:
It's a weird u-shape so it's nearly impossible to take pictures.  But that doesn't stop me from showing them anyway, now does it?  Paneling, chipped paint, holes in the walls, stanky carpet of grossness, and various debris.  And there's the door to the moldy cellar of doom.  That spot where that metal shelf is was where we kept the washer and dryer for a few years after we moved in and before we redid the laundry.  The room isn't heated or insulated so that made for some cold laundry-doing and also some frozen pipes.  So that's what it looked like.


And then Luke spilled the paint a few months ago and we finally decided to make this room a bit more of a pleasant place to be. 

In process and by the grace of God no tears.  This was right after he had spilled the paint.  John Paul had sprayed off a wedgewood blue Luke in the tub and I was scraping paint from the puddle on the steps and putting it right on the wall.  In hindsight, it actually was a convenient place to spill a near half gallon of paint.  Note the handprints on the door frame...  John Paul apparently felt that the moment called for some capturing.

Anyway.  This is what we have now:



Yay!
I'm always amazed at what a coat of paint can do!  This blue was a five dollar gallon of clearanced "oops!" paint at Lowe's.  Five dollars.  I do like the blue.  Darker than what I would probably have picked but I did mention five dollars, right?  We replaced the rotting carpet with some cheapy stuff (the same stuff we used for the laundry so now it's all matchy matchy).  It will get wet, yes, and gross, yes, but that's why we went with the cheapy stuff.  We tried our hand at tiling once in a former home and hated it.  And a hard floor in a mudroom means mopping.  So much mopping and so much hating of the mopping.  I'd much rather vacuum any day.



Remember this shelf I got for FREEEEEEE when God spoke to me in the garbage?
I love that I could rearrange the shelves to go around the window and that I could make a bunch of tiny shelves for the so so many shoes.  Not gonna lie, it may look pretty but all those boy shoes can make the place a bit offensive on the olfactory front.  Yay windows!



We live in the type of climate where all the types of shoes are needed almost all year long.  I suppose I'll be able to put away the sandals soon, at least, but then they're replaced by the snow boots.





It was near impossible to take a good picture in here because of the dark lighting so apologies for that.  In this corner you can see my beloved vacuum and my doula stuff.


Around the other side of the U is the freezer.  Which makes far more sense here than the washer and dryer.  And it's a freezer so it can probably be super cold and be okay, right?  (Don't tell me if that's wrong.)  I love my freezer.  Also, perfect birth ball storage.  Obviously.


Brian put in these simple 1x4's with peg hooks (i.e. dowels) and I love them.  They'd probably look cuter if I like staged them with an umbrella and some slightly worn but pretty gardening gloves and a straw hat.  But this is what it actually looks like and it's a lovely lovely thing to me that it helps organize all the things.

So that's our mudroom.  It ain't winning any Pinterest awards but I am so grateful that it's no longer an ugly scary place to be and that it is the perfect place for all the mud and debris that's picked up nearly every day all day by four little boys and a hard working husband living on a flood zoned tree-filled property.  Because let me tell you that makes for a whole lot of mud.

20 comments

  1. Um, storing the can rings on a string? Genius, stealing that and so jealous of your shelves!

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  2. i just pinned it sooooooo, i guess it is pinterest worthy ;)

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  3. Mary, this is beautiful! I love how you all have transformed your home space by space! You have such a great knack to make things beautiful and y'all are a great team on getting it done! Inspiring! It makes me want to do all the things in our new home! :)

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    1. Oh and your laundry room made me drool a little, but the spilled paint made me want to cry a little. Amazing and so crazy!

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  4. and...i think i could use some of your organizing skillz in my basement and garage. those free shelves look gloriously functional, organized and awesome!

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  5. Looks fantastic! I think the one time I was at your house you wouldn't even let me look at the mud room : )

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  6. It turned out so well! (I've got that same olfactory problem here... ;) )

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  7. You rock, and I think it is pinterest-worthy! :) Finishing any personal / home improvement project is cause for celebration!!!

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    1. Yes, that is true! I definitely LOVE finishing a project!!

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  8. Gah! This is amazing! The way you can just "throw something together real quick" and make it magazine worthy is so inspiring.

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    1. Oh, there is no way any magazine photographers will be showing up here anytime soon. Unless there's a magazine for overwhelmed type A mother types and they need a subject...is there one for those?

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  9. The mud room turned out great! All of the extra shelves and hooks make use of l of the space. I like when shelves go almost to the ceiling so you have a place for those big but not frequently used items. It looks like there might be a spot or my coat and shoes when I visit.

    Pat

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  10. My goodness. I love your mudroom. Although I am a little biased and love every and any mudroom because I want one. I want one so bad. Ideally, mine would include a place to shower for my darling Hunky Husband after his Roto-Router debacles. Because ew.

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  11. That shelf! How perfect! I think it looks lovely: real, pretty, practical, lived in. It says HOME and I love it.

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  12. I do really like the blue. It is really similar to the one I picked for our laundry room. My mud room is our back entry way, so I appreciate how much space you have!

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  13. Love it! really is pin worthy, and got me thinking now for my own space

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  14. Looks great! Really great use of the space. The color looks great and helps brighten up the place a bit.

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