The family catch-all place tends to be that little room between the garage and the kitchen. Organizing the coats, shoes, backpacks, sports equipment and all of the other trappings of daily comings and goings is usually the goal behind redesigning a mudroom. While adding some lockers and shelves may seem straightforward, there is actually a lot of design and production planning necessary to ensure the homeowners achieve their goals.

My client was looking for a storage solution for her mudroom that would hide all the family mess behind closed doors. She wanted a locker for each of the four family members, as well as shoe storage below and off-season storage above. I also had to consider the constraints created by the layout of the existing space – in this case, a doorway and light switch.

Designing the scale of the unit considered a variety of factors. My goal is always to extend its functionality over the changing lifestyle of the family – from kindergarten to adulthood. In this case, the children were at the age where a lot of equipment and uniforms needed to be stored. The four locker units had to be designed to store everything from adult-sized dress coats to bulky backpacks. Multiple pairs of shoes per person needed to be stored in the lower area and I wanted to make the most of the space left over on top.

The mudroom had high ceilings, so I was able to craft tall lockers. This design meant the interior hooks were fairly high, but if the family still had small children, I would have suggested adding two levels of hooks to grow with them.

The shoe area below was designed to fit all types of footwear – dress shoes, winter boots, sneakers and cleats.

Off-season storage in the upper level would have to be accessed with a ladder, something my client was not worried about. Her goal was to have an off-season closed spot for hats, gloves, holiday decorations, etc.

One of the benefits of building custom storage is that I can match the home’s architectural details. I continued the crown and base moldings in this locker design and crafted the door panels to complement my client’s mission-inspired style.

Since I build as much as I can in my shop to keep the mess and inconvenience minimal for my clients, part of the design planning is understanding how I will get the unit into the home. I build each piece like a puzzle based on the process I will use to install it. There’s no use creating something that cannot fit through the door! In this case, I crafted the unit in four pieces – the bottom shoe cabinet, the top storage, and the 2 locker units. Once the main pieces are installed, I add the trim, hardware and touch up paint.

Most of my clients reach out to me after doing a lot of searching for a piece of furniture. What they discover is that nothing either fits their space or their needs. Redesigning a mudroom based on the available space, family needs and the rest of the home’s design makes for a better end result. For this project, my client not only got everything she wanted, but it looks like it was always a part of the home.

If you are frustrated with the off-the-shelf options for your mudroom, reach out to me. Send me an email, or give me a call at (317) 679-5890.