Minnesota Mudroom Addition Keeps Chaos Out of the Kitchen
The room makes winters more manageable with spots for coats, gloves, boots and more
In Minnesota, especially in winter, it’s important to have a spot where people can drop boots, gloves, hats, coats, scarves and other cold-weather gear when entering a home. That’s why a mudroom is highly prized. And that’s why these homeowners decided that including a mudroom addition in their kitchen renovation was worth the extra expense.
Before: The existing rear entrance to the home stood at the top of several stairs and opened into a tight hallway that included the refrigerator.
After: The 6-by-11-foot addition now beautifully matches the brick-and-stucco exterior of the 1920s- or ’30s-era home.
Before: Here’s a look at the previous back entrance to the home. There was no room in the original kitchen for the refrigerator, so the homeowners tucked one into a former coat closet in this hallway, creating a traffic jam of people and groceries and coats and shoes. “It just didn’t work,” Maney says. “Everything got dumped on something else in the kitchen.”
After: The opening to the right in this photo is the former back door from the previous photo. You can see the mudroom addition through the opening. Maney incorporated the former closet that housed the refrigerator into the kitchen to create a breakfast area with built-in banquette seating. The window on the right in the dining area is in about the same location as the refrigerator was.
Maney used slate-colored tile in the mudroom to complement the soapstone countertops in the home’s kitchen. The walnut bench complements the walnut-top dining table.
The windows shown here were originally exterior windows. The homeowners didn’t want the dining room on the other side to lose too much natural light through them, so Maney dropped the mudroom down about 7 inches from the kitchen to keep the windows and still tuck a shelf beneath some of them.
The drawer below the bench stores leashes and other things for the family dog. A framed bulletin board hangs nearby, acting as a place for posting schedules and important school papers.
The drawer below the bench stores leashes and other things for the family dog. A framed bulletin board hangs nearby, acting as a place for posting schedules and important school papers.
The campaign-style desk to the left provides a spot for dropping keys and mail, or a place to set a laptop and chair if needed.
The homeowners originally weren’t sure if they wanted to add the mudroom during their kitchen renovation, but they’re glad they did. “I think it’s really life-changing for them,” Maney says. “It keeps the chaos out of the kitchen.”
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The homeowners originally weren’t sure if they wanted to add the mudroom during their kitchen renovation, but they’re glad they did. “I think it’s really life-changing for them,” Maney says. “It keeps the chaos out of the kitchen.”
More on Houzz
See more mudroom renovations and design advice
Get entry design ideas for your home
Find an interior designer to help with your project
Shop for home products
Mudroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two girls, ages 10 and 13, and a dog
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Size: 66 square feet (6.1 square meters); 6 by 11 feet
Designer: Mary Maney of Crystal Kitchen + Bath
The new mudroom addition features white shiplap walls (covered in the appropriately named Snowfall White paint by Benjamin Moore) and slate-colored parallelogram-shape porcelain tiles on the floor. “The owners wanted some fun tile, not just generic 12-by-24-inch tile or whatever,” designer Mary Maney says. “These have a unique shape and pattern.”
Hooks corral hats, coats and backpacks, while space beneath a walnut bench offers room for kicking off shoes and boots. A tall cabinet at the far end offers more storage for things like gloves and large coats. Beadboard on the ceiling adds charm and character.
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