Moi Featured !?!

I am so excited to have the mudroom reveal featured at the Pinterest Power Party today. I was selected by Amanda at Dixie Delights and I am over the moon thrilled. If you have yet to check out her blog, you simply must. Her home is gorgeous….there isn't a single room I don't adore. And I am quite certain that when you look up the definition of southern belle, Amanda's picture comes up. So head on over there and look around, I promise you'll be hooked!

Oh and while you're there, be sure to check out her second pick, a beautiful kitchen reno by Southern Soul Mates. You know I love painted cabinets & crystal chandeliers in a kitchen:-)

I'm off to pick up a craiglist find this afternoon that I'm super excited to share with you all soon!

XXXX
Amelia

Mudroom Final Reveal

Well it was nearly 3 years in the making, but I am pleased to announce that the B family now has a beautifully adorned & functional mudroom. The lengthy struggle came to an end when "pinspiration" struck. Once I scrolled upon this image on Pinterest, I set to work brainstorming ways to go about recreating it.

source

It all boiled down to two keys:

• Treating this narrow space as a corridor rather than a room 
• Minimal accessories that are just as functional as they are pretty

By using trim to mimicking the look of cubbies on the wall the width of the room wouldn't decrease…something that was critical if the space was to function more like a hallway rather than a room.  (As a side note, the room's colors match the inspiration very closely. But without any source of natural light, it is a pain to photograph this space.)

Hubby & my Dad created the board and batten walls out of inexpensive furrowing strips and added coat hooks I painted ORB. For a total cost of less than $30.00 I was able to achieve the functionality and style of my original inspiration photo tailored for my space & budget.

To improve flow, I also removed the door to the former coat closet & Hubby hung our Ikea shoes cubbies inside. The bins above hold items I deemed "must haves" and are organized by category. 

I tossed around the idea of adding vinyl numbers to the cubby fronts, but in the end opted against it. I liked the neatness of the pure black. Plus I thought that visually the numbers might compete with the  family mission statement I hung over the laundry sink.

To bring the rest of the room out of the 80's, the formerly oak cabinets received a coat of gray paint (BM Eagle Rock) along with the door leading to the garage. For a little bling and to bring some femininity to the space, the cabinet knobs are a delicate mercury glass-like finish. They still make me smile every time I walk in the house. They are the pearls of the room (and you all know how much this girl loves her pearls).

The chandelier was purchased for Bear's nursery and arrived with a bent frame from shipping damage. The company sent a replacement (now in Bear's room) and told us to keep the damaged fixture. We did our best to straighten out the frame & figured for the price it was perfect. I originally toyed with the idea of attaching oyster shells to the frame in one way or another, but didn't care for the results. 

On the far wall, the magazine sorter holds Belle & Peanut's school work along with library books. The sunburst mirror above it hangs at the perfect height for a quick hair and makeup check before heading out the door. And on a design note, it has a patina effect on the glass that ties in perfectly with the cabinet knobs.

Now it is your turn. Tell me, have you struggled with the layout of a room in your house? We're you struck by "pinspiration"? I'd love to hear your story. Oh and check back tomorrow for the big front door reveal…I am in love with my house all over again folks!

See the utter disaster this room was and read all about my first failed makeover here and the second here.

Linking Up to:
Thrify Decor Chick Before & After Party
Cedar Hill Ranch's Scoop
DIY by Design
Pinterest Spring Challenge @ Bower Power & YHL
Wow Us Wednesday
Pinterest Power @ Dixie Delights
Tips & Tutorials @ StoneGable
Open House Party@ No Minimalist Here

Mudroom Contents

Turns out Bear is cutting his molars already! So this has made for a very clingy baby boy. As a result, here is the abridged version of the mudroom contents.

 I pared down the mass of clutter to only the three bins above.

The first bin is the "craft bin".  

It houses:

• Hammer
• Glue guns & glue sticks
• Various sized Command strips
• An assortment of picture hangers
• Tape Measure
• Screwdrivers

The center bin is "home maintenance". 

Contents are:

• Various forms of tape; Frog, Masking, Duck, Packing
• Clothes pins
• Carpet protectors
• Furniture pads
• Locks
• Velcro strips

The final bin is "Misc/Personal" with:

• Band aids
• Kleenex
• Hand warmers
• Headlamps 
• Shoe polish
• Leather conditioner (for purses)
• Football under eye black strips (no clue what the official term is for those)

Along with the bins, the former closet houses our battery caddy which I  L.O.V.E.  It is tucked around the corner and out of sight, but still easily accessible for all those multiple battery changes we do around these parts.

I returned the cleaning and laundering supplies to their former home above the washing machine. The closet to the left is the laundry shoot (love that too).

So folks, that is all that made it back to the space and after a week I am please to report that things are still running smoothly. I picked up the Threshold mirror from Target today and hope to get that hung soon. Slow but steady progress.

Mudroom Mess: Where it all went

So part of the mudroom project was the arduous task of organizing everything we had jam packed into that small space. The closet, cubbies & cabinets were brimming with useful, but random items that we had collected over the years. To give a taste of what I'm talking about some of the lovelies I discovered including things like pocket hand warmers, landscape light bulbs and a even a fire extinguisher purchased in 1992! Not to mention a enough hats & scarves to cloth an entire snowman version of the Dugar family (that is way too many snowmen folks).

In order to keep the newly redesigned room clean and functional, I had to declutter and find creative ways to rework other storage areas of our house. We are lucky to have two coat closets flanking the front door in our foyer. For the past three years Hubby & I each claimed single occupancy of one of these closets while the kiddos shared the mudroom closet. With the mudroom closet turned into shoe storage the kiddies closet was eliminated. The new mudroom hooks would hold a few coats, but they still needed closet space to hang dress coats, vests, windbreakers etc.

After a little shuffling, what use to be solely my coat closet now houses the aforementioned coats, our winter boots & a shoe cubby system that was originally in the mudroom closet.

Hubby's closet is still largely his and was reworked to include another shoe cubby and two bins containing his baseball caps.

As for our winter gear, I sorted through and removed duplicate or worn out items. Then I brought up two sets of square storage ottomans that use to live in the playroom. They are great for storing items that will not be used on a daily basis, but still need to be within easy reach.

I nestled the pair of ottomans under the mirrored parsons table in the foyer. As for their appearance, lime green isn't quite what I had in mind. I am thinking of reupholstering them down the road or perhaps even painting the fabric (saw them do that on HGTV once). I'm also contemplating skirting the table so that would make their color a non issue. For now though I like the weight they bring to the bottom of the table plus they match my Easter egg topiaries. If only I could leave those out year round.

Back to organizing (see what a tedious task it is). While weeding through the piles and piles of stuff amassed in that room I came across quite a few tools. All of these, with the exception of a hammer and two screwdrivers, were relocated to the workbench in the basement.

This box of extension cords went to the garage.

Of course life doesn't work out perfectly, after I put together the entire puzzle I found one last piece…the vacuum. Not quite sure where it will end up, but for now the dining room works just fine.

And that Ladies & Gents is how I managed to squeeze our mudroom rejects into other areas of the home. How about you, do you enjoy organizing? Or are you like me and get easily distracted? And those Dugars, what are your thoughts? Just imagine the mudroom they need. Tomorrow I'll share what "necessities" I brought back into the space.

Mudroom's New Look

The mudroom is back in operation. It took a good portion of Spring Break to de-clutter, trim out, paint & restock the room. It wasn't until it dawned on me to treat the space as a corridor rather than a room, that I was able to decide on a layout that was both practical and pleasing to the eye. Remember my inspiration picture I shared with you all? Well it finally hit me that I could recreate the "cubby" style without actually having the cubbies in place (the room is too narrow to accommodate them). From that spark, the board and batten wall was born.

A huge thank you to Hubby & Bopi who installed the board and batten. When my original plan (having Home Depot rip 2" strips out of a sheet of plywood) wasn't panning out, those two put there heads together and came up with the idea of using furrowing strips (4' x 1 3/4" x 1/4"). The best part of all…the price $11.00!!! Seriously Ladies and Gents. The only thing I love more than white crisp molding, is when said molding cost less than a trip to Starbucks!

The cabinets were 1980's orange oak, but that was easily remedied with a few coats of paint. I added mercury glass-esque knobs that I snatch up a year ago from HomeGoods. The knobs were on our bathroom vanity awaiting the perfect home. I love how they bring a bit of polish to a utilitarian space. After all, we all deserve to see something that makes us smile each and every time we walk into our home.

At the far end of the room, I hung the rack I found during my HomeGoods expedition. I actually like the finish even though I blogged about painting the piece. I'll just have to wait and see how the room comes together before I make my final decision. Belle's pocket is to the left. Peanut is center. And one day Bear will be to the right.

On a whim, I painted the door to the garage the same grey as the cabinets. Mainly because the door is always covered in dirty finger prints and shoe scuffs. Also, I wanted to unify the space and provide a pop of color on that side of the room. I am crushing big time on brass and grey combos. How about you? 

One final thing I did to help improve the flow was remove the closet door (pictured below to the right). When the kids get ready in the morning they open the door there by blocking the mudroom entrance and creating a traffic jam. By taking down the door the obstacle is eliminated.  

Inside the closet I removed the hanger bar and Hubby installed our Ikea shoe bins. Since this closet is visible from the kitchen dinette I need it to appear tidy. These bins hid away shoes, hats, and kiddie clutter. I am tossing around the idea of adding white vinyl numbers (script font) to the bin fronts….thoughts?

So the basics are in place and now the fun begins. I still need to:

Purchase a rug: bought this one but it was too narrow

Reinvent an old chandelier (lighting in here is poor): thinking of using the discarded oyster shells 

Add some wall decor: fawning over the texture of this mirror  but need to see it in person

For now though I am just grateful to have the room back in order….not so grateful that Spring Break is over though:( Happy Monday everyone!

Sources

Trim Paint: BM Dove White

Wall Paint: BM Nature's Essence

Cabinet Paint: BM Eagle Rock

Knobs: HomeGoods

Magazine Rack: HomeGoods

Coat Hooks: Home Depot (nickel painted ORB)

Key Hook: Gilt.com

To see the room before click here and here.

Mudroom Update

Painting is finished…whoot whoot!

Now it is time to put it all back together and tackling this pile………..

Guess where I'll be today.

Nailing Out the Mudroom

Today is Day 1 of Spring Break around here and I couldn't be happier to be at home. Lest you feel bad for us, the whole B family will be soaking up the Florida sun in the near future; but for now we are staying put.

Since no one will need book bags, boots (yes, it is still freezing here), paperwork or lunch bags for the next week, Spring Break lends itself to the perfect opportunity to tackle the mudroom.

One day we plan to move the laundry upstairs and this would be my ideal mudroom.
But for now, we'll work with what we've got. Hoping to channel this inspiration.

So if anyone needs me, I'll be up to my eyeballs in paint, clutter & indecisiveness……sounds like fun huh? But the payoff will be so worth it. Let's just hope I've finally figured out a layout that works (catch up on the saga here and here). Anyone else have Spring Break DIY plans?

Mudroom: Take Two

Awhile back I posted about my nemesis: the mudroom and the futile attempts I've made to organize the room. (Catch up on all the drama here) After our initial rework of the space, Hubby & I agreed that a thorough test run was is in order before we moved onto painting and decorating. 

So after roughly 6 weeks of living with the new layout. This is what the mudroom looks like:

A plethora of Belle's stylish kicks strewn about the floor…they never quite make it into the cubby. Which by the way, "cubby" has now become a dirty word in our house. Peanut has declared, "I don't like that word mommy" since I ask him on countless occasions to return his shoes to their storage destination.

The sink is often a holding tank for miscellaneous items awaiting some tlc or the trash. Their final resting place all depends on what time of day I get around to addressing them.

And the idea to repurpose the bookshelf as a bench seat didn't quite turn out as we envisioned. 

So I returned the aforementioned bench seat to its original bookshelf position. It appears to function better for the space, but time will tell if it serves us well or not. As of right now, I'm leaning towards removing it all together. I'm pretty sure that there is going to be a Take 3 and quite possibly Take 4 before we nail this mudroom layout. 

If anyone has suggestions for a long, narrow mudroom/laundry that must house all the necessities for a family of 5 please share. (Awkward sentence huh? I've reworked it so many times, but I just can't get it down…so forgive me.)