OH MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY DO I HAVE ONE FOR YOU. This lady, Mrs. Mudroom, is quite possibly my favorite room in the house (rivaled by the kitchen, sunroom, and our bathroom, TBH). I’m not joking that every single time I walk into it I feel joy and happiness through the sense of light, space, and sheer ease of function. All the design elements came together just as they did in my mind – NO, even better. At this point in the farmhouse reveal/progress postings, you’ve heard me walk you through my regrets and disappointments (to an almost painful degree…for all of us) so I hope that when I say I truly love something you believe me. I’m not trying to brag or pat myself on the back here, although to hell with it – I’m going to celebrate this room today and every time I walk into it because pulling together a room that you truly love, after putting so much hard work into a space, especially in the midst of a larger stressful renovation is worthy of a GD local parade. Floats! Fireworks! If you can relate to this at all, I encourage you to CELEBRATE EVERY SINGLE WIN. I made and own a lot of my personal mistakes and regrets in this house that I have to fix publicly (and am now excited to) but this room, this wonderful hardworking space that I’m so lucky to call ours, had (almost) nothing I would change about it when we moved in this past September. Sure, there is the hilarious and totally permanent overlook/mistake that none of us caught which I’ll explain below, but it doesn’t bother me anymore, and hell, maybe it is even better. If you really want to know what’s happening in this brain, I just got back from a 4 day spiritual/wellness retreat with two of my closest friends because this last year and a half I was not my best self, and I feel totally realigned with joy, capital L Love, the universe, God, nature – all of it/us. And y’all, I’m going to try to bring that energy here every day. Starting today with this happy hardworking space that I can’t wait to tell you about.
The Design Plan + Functional Needs
We’ve never had a mudroom before because in Los Angeles the need is more for a “drop zone” which we barely had, but it was fine. Up here in the PNW, mud and wet shoes are a part of our daily lives so people often carve out mudrooms from other spaces if they don’t have one. Same with us. This room was very much prioritized to mitigate the mud/dirt/coats/shoes in the rest of the house. I feel like I can’t say with full honesty that the kids and dogs solely use this room because we are still landscaping and the flagstone path to those exterior doors just got installed over Christmas. But yes, as of two weeks ago we are now trying to ONLY use those doors when we go in and out to walk the dogs or play in the backyard on nice days. To accomplish this lofty goal, the kids are getting a piece of candy every time they come in via that room. Like seals. They do their trick, they get a candy. More specifically every time they drop their shoes/stuff in the mudroom, take/unload their lunchbox to the sink we throw them their tiny treat. It’s absolutely questionable parenting and yet totally working.
We thought about all design elements through the lens of durability and ease to clean. In the name of not being boring, I still compromised here and there for beauty, as I’ll explain in a different post (and dabble in today). Btw if you want to watch a video walkthrough of this room, I’m giving you the full tour here (just wait for the ad to play, please and thank you :))!!
The Incredible Dark Teal Herringbone Tile
This tile was chosen very early on as the perfect “mudroom” floor color because it felt fresh and clean but darker, textural, and forgiving. It is a custom color through Pratt + Larson in their brownstone collection – is really handmade with more surface movement. We chose 2×8 bricks to be herringboned with a straight run border of two tile widths. I know this detail (the border) might not be something that everyone will notice, but my goodness, to me it makes the whole room feel more pulled together and special. I don’t LOVE when herringbone ends against a wall and prefer for a border to stop it (not a huge deal btw if you have done this, just a slight preference that is, yes, more expensive to execute).
We hired Level Plane to install the tile and they were extremely meticulous in making sure it was balanced. They did the border first, then calculated the brick herringbone to make sure that it looked as intentional as possible. We used a 3/16th grout line (which is on the larger end of “very small” and the smallest that Pratt + Larson recommended for this size of handmade tile) and opted for Slate for the grout color. The grout color is super important y’all because had we gone lighter you would definitely have seen the dirt or it would turn brown, but really dark (which we did a sample for) changed the entire look of the room to be more intense and super serious.
The White Oak Floor To Ceiling Cabinets
A real dream, made true by Unique Kitchens and Baths. We customized these to be pretty darn special if you ask me with specific storage for each drawer or cupboard. They did an incredible job building them and 8 weeks later came shipped on a truck in blankets where Jamie and the ARCIFORM team installed them. They are white oak with a clear natural sealant and they are extremely durable. We chose a natural wood in here, like the kitchen, mostly for durability after years of dealing with chipped paint on cabinets (which is avoidable but in my personal experience, fairly inevitable if they are painted wood). Plus the wood hides dirt should the dogs shake off and I don’t wipe it up immediately.
We shook up the design of the cabinets with the metal grates at the top. This is mostly an aesthetic choice, but certainly adds venting should there be future sports uniforms in there. We originally had them on the bottom of a couple of the cabinets but apparently, they can easily be kicked and damaged down there. We will absolutely do a show and tell of what’s in all the cupboards as soon as I organize them (but yes, there is a pull-out dog food bin). ARCIFORM (shout out to the incredible Stephyn and Anne) did the first round of drawings and helped us dial it all in with UKB, but what is so great about UKB is that you don’t have to have a designer – they will design the kitchen with you and do all the drawings (thus saving you a crucial step). If you are interested in their cabinets they are giving my readers a 10% discount with code EH2022 (yes I got a discount, too).
Cabinet Hardware
Drawer Pulls | Cabinets Handles
While we are here I wanted to show you the cabinet hardware from Rejuvenation, which is echoed in the kitchen and is just so classic and perfect. We chose the unlacquered brass which has already patina’d PERFECTLY in 3 months and looks so beautiful against the white oak (it’s a quieter look, less of a big pop which I also love, but for this room and our kitchen, I loved the brass and wood tonal look). I chose a mix of knobs, bin pulls, and latches so it looks special but cohesive. We used similar hardware in the kitchen and the Oil Rubbed Bronze version in the pantry. I just love how you can mix and match and really dress up the cabinets.
The Most Soothing Paint Color Yet – Dew Drop By Sherwin-Williams
Wall Color | Paneling and Trim Color
My new goal in life is to feel the same about all paint colors as I do this one. I walked in and it was an immediate “oh my gosh this is so good”. Literally, everyone who walks in has the same reaction. It’s an extremely soothing pastel that has both green and blue undertones. It’s light and bright, but with the white above it, you can see the tone more. I think this in a darker room would probably lose some of its power, but in a room full of natural light it just envelopes you in this soft song of wonderfulness. We are also so glad we went with wood paneling and semi-gloss in here – it’s SO DURABLE and has wiped up so easily as the pups shake off mud all over it. Even if I let it dry, it comes up easily without leaving any mark at all. Some of the other paint colors I could “live with” because they were good (like the kid’s bath and the powder bath), but through this process, I realized that for all the hard work that was put into this house by so many people and companies, I need to love every color as much as I love this one (which is so much). So in a way, my love for this prompted me to muster up the energy and money to paint the others (which I’m SO HAPPY WITH THANKS THE UNIVERSE ABOVE). Sherwin-Williams has so many to choose from and I’m getting better and better at understanding both undertones as well as homing in on what I really want in this house after living here. More to come, but if you are in the market for a super fresh, soothing, and still totally sophisticated light pastel color – Dew Drop by Sherwin-Williams is your new best friend.
The Dog Wash Station
Wall Hooks | Wooden Boxes (vintage) | Marble Tray | Blue Bowl | Wallet | Shoe Basket (vintage) | Boots | Dog Washing Station Stone
There is a lot to tell you about this which is why it deserves its own post in regard to size, function, and tips I’ve learned. But as you can see we have this dog washing station and so far we’ve used it no less than 5 times a week. Not necessarily for a full bath (mostly because Brian likes to shower with them which keeps them more contained), but it is excellent for the daily paw cleaning after walks which is what it was designed for. We fabricated it out of stone (the same Carerra as the rest of the house) and it turned out beautifully (Alpha StoneWorks was the fabricator for anyone local). The faucet is from Rejuvenation in polished nickel mostly because I felt that the gold in here would be too garish for a dog washing station. The hand shower works so well to get the dirt out of their paws and they even kinda like it! Likely because I say, “good boy” and “good girl” over and over in that annoying voice that somehow comes out when I talk to my dogs. Ask all of the details in the comments re this area so when I write that full post I can address all of them.
The Washer And Dryer
Wood Planter | Wood Tray | White Canister (similar) | Wood and Glass Canister | Art (vintage) | Lamp (vintage) | Blue Bowl | Outlet Cover | Woven Trays | Washer & Dryer
So here’s a funny story. About a year and a half ago or hell, even more, we had the mudroom where the kitchen is, but much smaller. It was going to be a drop zone with a small washer/dryer for more of the wet soccer clothes, dog towels, etc. We were also going to have another laundry set up on the bedroom floor for most of the clothes and sheets. Then we changed the layout, moved the mudroom into this corner of the house to make the kitchen bigger and better (so glad we did by the way), and dragged and dropped these units into this new room in the drawings. We designed the rest of the room with all the specs in place. You know where this is going. We didn’t catch until later that we hadn’t upgraded to a larger size. We already had the washer and dryer and the more we thought about it we figured that most of the laundry would be upstairs – kids’ clothes, their bathroom, and 3 bedrooms of sheets. So as long as we had a larger size up there then we’d keep this one for our clothes and kitchen/dog towels (not to be mixed, btw). I was worried it would look out of scale with the room and maybe it does but I’m so used to it and I really like it. This Miele set is really famous in Europe for being so energy efficient, using such little energy. Two things I’ll note: the capacity is smaller than a normal size, and often I have to do a timed dry to get it all fully dry (I’ll likely line dry more in the summer). But I love that the soap is integrated and they are just so pretty, clean super well, and relatively quiet. We worked with Build With Ferguson on all of these appliances (and handpicked the brands we wanted in our home). The washer also speaks German with a sweet little “Willkommen” instead of “Welcome” which is real cute.
Laundry Basket | Dutch Blue Towel | Striped Towel (similar)
Pendant And Sconce Lighting
Pendants | Pendant Bulbs | Planter
As you know I love these pendants so much (we have the same in our kitchen) because the flat proportion with the round bulb is playful and modern. I love how utilitarian and simple these are (plus gives off enough light that we don’t need recessed lighting). They hang about 16″ down from the ceiling with a cord (which was our preference, so they felt more casual). These are from Rejuvenation and are often used for covered outdoor areas, but I loved them inside in this space so much. They are perfect for in here and for us.
The Tolson cage sconces are the ones that I’ve loved forever and are so classic without being boring at all. I especially like them in hard-working areas as the glass shade and metal cage are obviously durable and can handle moisture so well. We matched the polished nickel of the faucet and it’s so lovely with the white oak and the Dew Drop walls.
Windows And Doors
Do you need a lot of natural light in your mudroom? Not technically. But with north-facing light (which is so soft and pretty) we knew this room could be so lovely and bright with no harsh light. So we worked with Sierra Pacific on the windows with a modern 2×2 configuration, with paint grade on the inside so we could paint them the same color as the paneling. The french doors are also Sierra Pacific and they lead to the backyard with the flagstone path that the pups walk on to go on our walks through the neighborhood. All excellent quality with some operating and some fixed. The light in here is pure magic even on the cloudiest and rainiest of days.
Velux Skylights
Skylights | Wood Trays | Metal Bowls (similar) | Bench (vintage) | Glass Canister | Broom and Dustpan | Switchplate
In the name of getting the best natural light for most of the rooms, we added two skylights in here which to no one’s surprise just really helps it feel bright, airy, open, and even more connected to nature (seeing the sky while in a room is really joyful). Velux never disappoints – both in function and making a space so much better through natural light.
Anything I’d Change?
NOPE. Besides needing a better dog mat for the door and tray for the food. I couldn’t bear to shoot what we had which was plastic, rubber, and ugly. I am shopping for a great version of both of those that won’t take away from the design and yet function better than these super cute wood trays (that I got from one of our favorite stores JP General in Multnomah Village).
More To Come…
This post is already pretty darn long, but I want to break down the dog washing station as well as the rolling ladder for you in separate posts. So let me know any questions in the comments and I’ll address them 🙂
Thanks for reading, always. I don’t think I say it enough but those of you who dedicated time to read this and get here in the post just know I really really appreciate you. CHEERS TO ANOTHER REVEAL and more reveals to come very soon. This one was a big win for me personally, a room I feel so proud of and grateful for. Thanks for letting me share. xx
Mudroom Resources:
Cabinetry: Unique Kitchen and Baths
Wall Paint Color: Extra White by Sherwin-Williams
Paneling and Trim Paint Color: Dew Drop by Sherwin-Williams
Floor Tile: Pratt + Larson
Tile Installer: Level Plane
Dog Washing Stone: Bedrosians Tile & Stone
Appliances: Build with Ferguson
Skylights: Velux
Stone Fabrication: Alpha StoneWorks
Hardware: Rejuvenation
Light Fixtures: Rejuvenation
*Design by Emily Henderson and ARCIFORM
*Photos by Kaitlin Green
As a fellow cream-coloured dog owner in a rainy climate, I HAVE ALL THE ENVY. We currently have to carry our pup (luckily he’s not big) through from the front door to the kitchen of our little 19th century cottage after walks to try and contain the wet paw chaos. I can only dream of landing him in a space as beautiful as this! It’s just lovely.
They make a paw washing container that you fill with water, stick the paw in,wash it, wipe it off. We keep that and a towel by the door. 70 pounds is too big for me to carry. Haha
Oh goodness yes! My dog is more like 13lb 😉
https://www.chewy.com/penn-plax-dog-paw-cleaner/dp/343068 This would cover the feet for your little one. But I share your envy of the dog washing station. I would have LOVED this for my 60 lb border collie. We now have a 40 pound short hair pocket pittie that is so easy to wipe clean or wash I feel like a station would be overkill. But I’d combine it with hand washing for laundry and use it as a simple slop sink, which may require some design modifications but overall still a smart upgrade to the traditional laundry work sink, imho.
Yes from a former Great Pyr owner the dog wash station is genius and perfect!
1. Put on a light coat on them before letting them out in the rain. That will lower the amount of water you’re bringing in. 2. Stock up on lots of cream colored towels (Costco has good ones at a low price) and keep them by the door. You may also put a floor rug by that door to protect the floor. I had a big furry dog and we could contain all the mess like that.
👀 I’m in LOVE with this room!
About to host a group, but had a sneak peek and had to say WOWOWOW!!!
💗💗💗
Real talk: how do you people use shoe baskets? Isn’t the sole of one shoe getting into contact with the top of another one, thus dirtying it, a problem? Do you clean the soles everytime you chuck a pair into the basket? Do you clean the tops everytime you pick one pair up? And if you don’t, do you wear your (dirty) shoes, and then go back inside the house to wash your hands? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of leaving the shoes at the door?
Ooo great questions! I avoid shoe baskets for the same reason but lots of friends (up here in muddy snowy Canada) use them and don’t seem bothered. I always wonder!
I started to use baskets, for kids shoes only, after being hesitent for the same reasons.
Our way: drying first outside the basket > brushing/wiping off dried mud/dirt > then into the basket > or off in a sink/washing machine (depending on material).
Because we have too many shoes with twins for 4 seasons (wet summer days) to add cupboards/shelfs in a small entry area (shoes off policy).
I would never put a wet or muddy shoe in a basket. We tend to leave the shoes we are wearing day to day on the floor outside of the basket. The basket is for other shoes we stash and dig out to use, because we don’t have a closet by the door. For taking pictures of a space I would corral everything into a basket but in day to day living, we tend to each have one pair of shoes that live on the floor. I would imagine if Emily’s children come in to this room in their snow boots, they just take them off and leave them in the mud room. To be stowed away later once they are dry.
Check out yamazaki… they make a tall shoe rack stack, that takes up minimal space and the shoes dont touch.
Good find: https://theyamazakihome.com/collections/shoe-and-coat-racks-9975a1. And they have lots of other great stuff too.
Same – where are all the wet/muddy shoes going in this room designed to deal with wet/muddy shoes? I certainly wouldn’t want to pile shoes into a basket on top of each other.
i love that you brought this up. i ALWAYS think about this when i see pictures with shoe baskets. i get grossed out about bottoms of shoes touching anything other than the ground. and we live in michigan, so lots of actual wet and dirty weather. we have rubber boot trays for the weather shoes. and wood shoe racks (west elm) for stacking shoes the rest of the time. we used to do like powder coated metal little storage baskets from target when my kids were tiny and they had lots of tiny shoes, but not anymore. their shoes seemed less gross to me than they do now.
And this answers my question about where the shoes actually go! It would never have occurred to put dirty shoes in a basket, that’s what we use for gloves, scarves, hats, etc. Truly beautiful room but only one pair of shoes in sight!
So pretty! All of it. I really like the interior door.
This is the room that dreams are made of. <sigh> We use the LLBean Waterhog boot mat for our dog bowls. It’s longer and thinner than their other doormats and they have a few colors. Works wonderfully.
Also hear to sing the praises of Waterhog mats. My dogs are extremely messy eaters/drinkers and after searching high and low for a dog bowl tray with a backsplash, I finally just made one myself. Got a 2ft x 2ft piece of oak plywood, cut it in half, and connected the pieces in an L shape with my Kreg jig. Added some trim around the edges to make it look more finished. Stained, sealed, caulked the seam where the two pieces meet. Finally, cut a Waterhog mat in half for the bottom and voila.
But seriously, the Waterhog mats are wonderful. We have them at all our dog entrances and they are hands down the best mats for the job.
We are in snowy Canada and love our Waterhog mats too! Dogs and kids and slippery tile at our entrances are a recipe for disaster.
Waterhog mats are the best! Well worth the price.
Yes! We have no fewer than 5 Waterhog mats. They are by far the best. You can get them from places other than LL Bean, too (although I do love LL Bean)… Amazon, Williams-Sonoma, lots of others. Even Chewy if you only want the dog-themed patterns.
My husband just came into our room, saw my laying in bed looking at my phone. He said “I thought you wanted to go into work early today?” I said “nah. It’s the mud room reveal today.” And then he just said “okay” and walked away not asking what in the actual hell was I talking about.
ANYway, Emily you SHOULD be bragging and patting yourself on the back. This mudroom is phenomenal!! Every last detail is absolutely perfect. I can’t stop looking at the pictures- It’s worth being late to work for!!
😂😂😂 love this so much
This made me laugh so hard! As a daily reader, I was like, “Ohhh get out the popcorn it’s mud room day.” Cracking up at your husband not even asking for further info.
That was like me, checking in before my dinner party!!! This stuff is vital!!!🤣🤣
Totally ! I’m living for all these reveals:)
this made me cackle!
💕 🤣
Hi Emily, your mudroom is luxurious and gorgeous and in particular the floor tile and pattern are so perfect for the space. I was wondering if you decided against curtains for your washer and dryer after all, or if they are still to come? Thanks for a great post! So happy you get to enjoy this space.
I was wondering about this too!
First thing I thought was “I’m so glad she didn’t do the w/d curtain!” The cabinetry and the floor in this room are to die for–really love them.
Yes! Same! Was wondering if I somehow missed the resolution of the curtain saga? And speaking of curtains…I’m really curious about window treatments in the house? It looks like there aren’t any with the reveals so far? (FTR, it looks amazing and I wouldn’t change a thing. Just selfishly curious because I’m in the middle of a window treatment saga myself and always looking for solutions. hahaha)
Ah! I’m smitten with this room. The lighting! The mix of colours and textures! The styling! It’s all SO GOOD. To me, the appliance size is a happy accident. You get a wood surface for storage and a stone surface to work on. And the whole area looks lovely and intentional. The tile and grout colours are genius. “Fresh and clean but darker, textural, and forgiving.” You are so damn smart. I was planning on grey for our future mudroom but now I want to copy you. Questions for the rolling ladder post: I want to hear how you and your fam find this! Where does it normally stay? Does anyone bump into it? How often do you use it? While it obviously looks dreamy, I am so anti-obstacle so I’d only do that in a big open space – you know, Belle-style. 😁 Finally, random soap box moment because you’ve mentioned the candy thing several times: I actually don’t think it is questionable parenting! Sure, bribes are external motivation, but that’s only problematic in matters of the heart. (Ex: if my son didn’t want to be respectful during Mass, bribing would be pointless. I’d need to look deeper. Is… Read more »
The video shows how the ladder “tucks away”:
Ahh thank you Kj!
KJ, thanks, but I’m not seeing a video, just a screen grab. Please repost, genuinely curious. Thx!
The video is inserted in the blog post.
Not if you have ad blockers operating.
Vera, another option to consider: creating a dedicated “storage” place for your ladder. Library ladder fun with no obstacle.
Oh yes that is RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. Thanks Kj!
Can you share the source for the ladder images? Thank you!
The butler’s pantry is from here: https://luxesource.com/historical-details-lend-timeless-style-to-a-seattle-home/. The white kitchen is by M. Steffens Interiors about 3 years ago: https://www.msteffensinteriors.com/portfolio
It’s GORGEOUS and your woofers are adorable! Isn’t it nice to feel a win? I’m here for you through it all regardless! 🙂
Hi, this room is pretty, but I curious about the function of it? There doesn’t seem to be a very substantial drop zone for the kids stuff (the cubby already looks pretty full of your stuff). Is that where all the shoes and backpacks and coats/scarves need to hang?
Also, is there only that floating hamper in there? How do you sort dirty clothes and where do you put clean clothes when it comes out of the dryer. Just doesn’t seem like a lot of space for the dedicated needs of a laundry room.
Finally, you mentioned bribing your kids to come in and out of it. Is it not the main, non-formal entrance? Maybe I don’t understand the layout, but how else would they get in the house? Our mudroom is right by the driveway so you just get out of the car and go in. To go in another way would mean walking the whole way around the house, which would be insane in bad weather. Especially with all of their school stuff and sports stuff.
I believe they mainly use the entrance in the kitchen but there’s only a small bench for a drop zone there. I agree it doesn’t seem logical not to put a mudroom where people enter/exit the house.
I think your questions are more of a result of photo styling. Reminder, most of the laundry is being done in the 2nd floor laundry room. Think about your main floor dirties: kitchen towels, dog towels, couch blankets. Looks like enough laundry sorting space to me.
Weird, Emily and Brian carry their clothes upstairs to do laundry? Our laundry is in our basement, but we built hampers into our mudroom bc that’s where so much clothes from school, outerwear, gets discarded. That way it doesn’t travel through the rest of the house.
Sounds like you figured out what works for you, Susan. Clever idea for your space.
I think their bedroom is on the ground floor. That’s why she mentioned the kids’ rooms being upstairs.
But what about Emily and Brian’s clothes and linens? How do they fold anything in there with just that small counter space above the machines, which is taken up with random stuff?
It’s so funny – I have always wondered why people make such a big deal about their laundry spaces looking pretty, and it just dawned on me that they are all hanging out in there a long time to fold their clothes. I just carry mine back to my bedroom to fold them and put them in nice stacks on the bed based on which drawer they go in which makes it fast to put them away, or do towels and stuff like that at the coffee table, also sorted in nice separate stacks that makes them easy to put away.
Some comments are funny. Where does anyone fold anything? I fold laundry sitting on a sofa and watching TV. I fold bigger linens in the dining room, holding bigger things in air or on the table. I fold kids things either in the dining room or in front of the tv. Someone would have to pay me to fold things in the laundry room no matter how nice. My laundry room is in the basement. I carry everything to the basement and back up. So not ideal but at least it’s free exercise. If it was on the bedroom floor, I’d fold it in my bedroom. Having a nice laundry room and utility closet and a dog washing area is all great, but it doesn’t have to be another great room. It’s great as is.
I guess I’m in the minority! I always fold clothing right out of the dryer, still warm, so it don’t wrinkle and I don’t iron. So I stay in the laundry room to do it, and listen to a podcast or an audiobook.
*doesn’t wrinkle
There is no upstairs laundry room.
I think there’s a laundry closet up there with full-sized machines.
There is, indeed, an upstairs laundry facility, though I don’t think it’s a room? Maybe a sortof cupboard?
She mentions they use it when they go out to play, walk the dogs, basically anything on foot. For other days they probably come in/out the kitchen but still use this space to corral all of the “stuff.” I think you can make it work. In a big renovation there have to be some concessions. This mud room got moved around a few times and I think it was just where it had to be to get the functionality out of it and not ruin other spaces. (Such as big enough room for the dog station). I would prioritize a kitchen over a mudroom also, or being able to keep enough space for a pantry. It’s basically right off of the kitchen and in practicality not so far away from the door. Easy enough to take off boots at the kitchen door and walk over to hang a coat or stash a backpack in the mudroom.
To get to the mudroom from the kitchen one goes through a door into the family room, through the family room, then through the hallway where the half bath and entry to the primary suite are. That is not “basically right off the kitchen.”
Oy, that would drive me nuts.
Ah @Jenn I just looked at the floor plan again and see what you mean. In my mind the mud room was more where the tv room is. I guess that is a bit of a walk.
I too thought the drop zone looked like it just holds one person’s things. And I also wondered about sorting and folding laundry.
The mud room should have been next to the kitchen, not in the back of the house. Super impractical. Also, $1400 for a faucet for dogs. Yikes!
Right?! And marble. That’s MAD.
But it’s from Rejuvenation, so it’s been gifted. I often wonder how much bloggers would pay for items if they actually had to pay for them?
When bloggers receive products they aren’t gifts, it’s a business transaction. The blogger promotes/advertises products in exchange for receiving the product itself, vs getting paid the usual way with $$. The value of those products is taxable income to the blogger, just like other forms of compensation.
So we also live on some land, and we’ve got two separate entry points as well. There’s the garage entry, where the kids come in from co-op/sports/bike riding. But they also spend a lot of time out back, and that’s where the trampoline/zip line/creek/mud/woodland/nature area is. That entry is where they leave their creek boots and Crocs. It seems like Emily and family have a similar situation. Our kids get dirtier out back. But they bring more stuff into the house from the garage.
Sounds like you have some very lucky kids! So fun for them! 💗
your yard sounds amazing
Deb! Your yard sounds SO GOOD!!!
I love the look of the room- materials, colors etc. are all spot on. However, I never understood the location being so far away from the main entrance to the house, but I don’t have a lot of land and I don’t have multiple main entrances. Also, I wanted to know if the dog wash area is what you will use for your laundry sink. And I will give another plug for the LLBean Warthog mats- they are the best and last forever.
Absolute perfection! So, so lovely. Well done, Emily & Crew! And I love the styling on top of the washer/dryer, and on the hooks in the room. Fun to walk in and have a few little “moments” in an otherwise utilitarian room.
This might be my favorite laundry room ever. The tile+the natural light+the dog washing station- amazing!
Aaaaaahhhhhh! This is heavenly!
The tiles, the texture, the wood is so golden and beautiful and the DOG WASHI G STATION!!!
Man!! I am immensely pleased that you did it!!! #So.good!
If I added a laundry to my old character home, I’d copy much of this (my laundry is a separate building in the back yard – the original 100 yr old wash house building).
IMO… herribgbone might cost more for laying, but it’s SO worth it!!
Stunningggggggg! And I love the double tile border.
Bribing your kids to learn new tricks isn’t hard core bribery! It’s training 101 – Pavlov’s dog!
They say it takes @15 days to break or re-establish a habit, if you’re diligent.
I’ve seen innumerable mudrooms over the years and this…..this stroke of masterful luck being preparation meeting opportunity.
You look really chuffed and very happy.
That dog washing station is THE BOMB!!!💥💥
HAPPY DAYS, EMILY.
You’ve exceeded my expectations and they were high!
This is gorgeous, wonderful job!!!
I love the rolling ladder and wonder if there’s a way to have one made with a bend in it – to accommodate cabinets that extend out on the bottom of the room but more shallow bookshelves on the top. Certainly makes more usable storage and yours is gorgeous!
That ‘bend’ would be more easily achieved with a metal fabricof the ladder.
The ladder just needs to be at a bigger angle. Mock up in the old mudroom design post: https://stylebyemilyhenderson.com/blog/mudroom-ideas-and-plans
That is just a gorgeous, dreamy room! There’s nothing that I don’t love about it! We have Bosch washer and dryer of the same size and similar design. and I like them a lot. If I had dogs, I would definitely have a washing station like this for them, too! I love the paint color, especially with the white oak cabinets. Do you use the same key/entry system here so you can all get in without having to carry keys?
So beautiful!!! So very Em Henderson!
LOVE this space, Emily! Would love to hear what spiritual/wellness retreat you did, and how you chose!
<3
Have you ever had any issues with your skylights? We want to add some to our New Orleans Victorian but our GC said he’s worries about them leaking with all the rain we get but you guys get A LOT of rain so I’m just curious what you think?
My (non-contractor but very handy) husband replaced an old skylight in our south Mississippi house (1.5 hours from NOLA) with a Velux skylight almost eight years ago, and it has never had an issue no matter how bad the storms have been. I think if it’s a quality skylight installed correctly, you should be good to go! I’m looking forward to using Velux again in our “new” house.
We had a skylight in our upstairs bathroom for about 25 years with no issues. And we lived in Seattle in a 1929 tudor.
I’m in Florida and have the velux skylights that open with solar remote. No issues ever! And if it starts raining, they close automatically!
I live in Maine with two 30 year old Velux skylights on our cabin. One of them did leak twice, at about 10 years and 15 years, but hasn’t leaked since it was properly sealed. And it’s (northern) Maine so we have ~2 feet of snow on our roof all winter. Leaking is (typically) not an issue with the skylight manufacturer, but with the way it was installed and wood warping around it. If your contractor is not confident installing it, I would find a different contractor who is more familiar with proper installation.
That’s what I was told by our GC the last time we had major work done on our roof. But skylight tech has come SO FAR in the years since, plus Velux is a really good brand. The only thing that could cause a problem is if your house still does a lot of settling. That can cause movement in the roof around the skylight and then leaks can happen, but it’s not because skylights are a problem in themselves which is how they are sometimes talked about.
Also, it’s always worth considering whether someone’s way of dealing with something they aren’t skilled at is to call it a bad idea. Loads of people use this kind of deflection because they were never taught how to be comfortable saying they can’t or that they can recommend someone else. Not trying to insult them, it’s just a limitation some people have that may need a diplomatic workaround if you are their client.
It looks great. Definitely a “dream” mud room and appears to be very functional. I think anyone would want a beautiful space like that to come home to.
I am so glad to see you didn’t follow through with the washer/dryer curtain idea.
Wait, so we’re not going to address the ‘curtain’ for the washer/dryer? LOL. Beautiful space!
Beautiful! So happy that you’re so happy 🙂
Not usually a commenter, but wanted to say that you celebrating your big win of designing and executing a beautiful and well-functioning room comes across as wonderfully joyful and thankful – nothing else. Just thought you should know that. Cheers to a job very well done (the room and the post), and cheers to enjoying it!
Hi, yes please do the rolling ladder post, and everything you learnt about it, we have 11 and 12 ft ceilings and keen to put them in pantry and hallways for storage. IE when the ladder is on the tight angle like it is in your laundry how comfortable height would you feel going up and getting things? Then what about accessing items above you eg if the closet above is 2 ft deep storage I suspect you would need a pull out shelf to be able to get to the back? Plus what things do you store there, plus drawings to catch all the little details would be great to see.
‘plus if you could have rails in different places how heavy would it be to move the ladder over to the other rail and “rehook” on the rail. Otherwise do you know how tight a radius the ladder can go on and go around the corner. Plus if course the brands and pricing, that oak one you have above looks great.
I know you and your team would have went into wonderful detail and I look forward to hearing.
thank you!
So beautiful – well done!!
Is there any kind of latch/door for the dog wash station? Or do you have to physically lift them in and out?
It’s not that high – they could probably jump in.
This room is beautiful, but your happiness is SO EVIDENT in your writing that I can’t help but be put in a good mood (and I’m on hour two of a four-hour delay at the airport!). Love your voice, love your vision, love your company, love you so much. Thank you for running this blog and sharing your life with us!
Wait, do you have TWO sets of washers / dryers? Did I read that correctly? One upstairs and one downstairs?
Gorgeous! Everything is super perfect and beautiful, well done!
Sorry to be an idiot, but where do the shoes and coats go? In the cabinets?
It’s refreshing to hear your love for a job well done for both design and function! It’s a swoon-worthy mud room. Congratulations!
Looks lovely, but where do the actual wet/muddy shoes go? I only see one pair under the bench, is there more space somewhere else that we didn’t see?
Really adore it. Gorgeous and functional!! Enjoy every second!
I love, love, LOVE the joy in your writing voice! Okay, I also love, love, LOVE the tile floor as well, but it’s so great to *hear* you happy. I put a dog shower in our last remodeled house and I we used it all of the time – every man who helped tile/plumb/frame it thought I was an idiot and then I think that was their favorite thing of our gut remodel. 🙂
Still, my main complaint was that making it short enough for the dogs to jump in made it really hard on my back to give them a full shower. I don’t know if it is my own back issue or if you find it a problem, but I’d love to hear about the ergonomics when you do that post. Also, kudos to you for doing a full slab – imagine dirty, wet dogs shaking off in the shower with grout! Even gray grout was hard to clean.
I did a mudroom remodel, which includes a dog-wash. I put ours at floor level, with a ledge. I will either sit on the ledge when I am washing the dog, or on the floor outside the wash. I hummed and hawwed a lot about the height and am happy in the end that I put it at floor level. Partly because the dogs can jump in an out unassisted, and when the dog wash isn’t being used, I throw a dog bed in there and they will often lay in there. As an aside, I have used the dog wash for a myriad of things: washing kids (or my own) muddy feet after doing garden work; oven racks; vegetables from the garden, filling mop buckets, cleaning floor mats from my car in the winter… I think if we ever sell the house, I might put a list inside the dog wash to illustrate all the things it is good for. We have a ton of people ask if we use it, and living in Canada, it is a resounding YES. NO REGRETS.
Questions about the ladder! Do you ever consider it a safety hazard for the kids? (Or would you if your kids were younger, and like if so how old is old enough?) Do you actually truly use it to get at high-up stuff, and if so, how often so far? Does it ever seem in the way and does just rolling it aside sufficiently resolve that, or do you ever have the urge to tuck it aside somewhere else? And could you actually tuck it away somewhere else if needed (like it’s not truly attached)? Does it bring you squees of joy when you see it and that makes it all worth it? (I LOVE the look of a rolling ladder and want to incorporate one into our kitchen but I want to make sure it’s justifiable.)
I was so surprised by your mishap reveal, I was sure it was going to be the room being in this corner vs your master bathroom! I remember when you/or comment pointed this layout it was a *mind blown emoji* as it was never in the many iterations of floorpan, I thought – eureka, that would have been kitchen/parking adjacent. Oh well – this FOR sure doesn’t take away from how grand and cheery this room is, congratulations! Also, it’s great to see you truly happy and content with a space you design – there’s not better feeling and you deserve it!
Did the interior pocket door also come from Sierra? My favorite part!
I think most, if not all of the interior doors are vintage.
This mudroom is legit gorgeous. That floor and the cabinetry are my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so so so good. i love too many things to list today. but i love it all. oooooh, those skylights!
So beautiful! I love that tile so much. I’m curious if you air dry any of your clothes, and if so does that happen in the laundry room? I currently set up an ugly wire rack for air drying next to my washer, but am looking for better solutions.
I have a retractable gadget in my laundry called (seriously) a Hanger-Upper! Works so well.
Otherwise, I air dry everything outside on a clothesline, always. No dryer.
Yes! I used to have a retractable one as well. we hung it outside across the front of our garage door at our old house. that way we could air dry outside without it being visual chaos when we weren’t using it. i could see this working indoors too.
It surprises me how literal minded people are about a styled space. This is not how it looks on the day to day.
There are 2 rows of 4 double hooks in that cubby – plenty of storage space for coats and bags, and if it’s often crammed full, perfect! it’s serving its purpose. Not to mention we don’t yet know what is stored in all the cupboards and drawers.
There’s a nice folding surface above the machines, and then I imagine the clean laundry gets put away. As for laundry bins, many of us keep them where dirty laundry collects and only take them to the utility room when we’re ready to do laundry. I personally sort laundry on the floor if I’m doing a bunch, or into the machine if I’m just doing one load, and it looks like both those methods would work perfectly in this room too.
This is a lovely room Emily, and I can just imagine how functional! But that light sends it over the top!
If you don’t already have a system for indoor clothes drying and need one, I think something like this below would fit right in, aesthetically and functionally
Or this.
By light I mean all the natural light 🙂
I mean, its possible we’re an over-shoed and -coated family or bad at putting things away, but our kids each have a fleece, raincoat, vest, and heavy coat for various weather, and sneakers, rainboots, and dressier boots, and all of it plus some of our things lives by our front and back doors on about 8 overflowing hooks and two shoe racks – there’s no way we would fit it onto the hooks in the cubby. I dream of a mudroom with acres of hooks and boot trays but will never have one in this house, so I’m genuinely curious if there’s a better way to live!
Yeah many families don’t have so many options out. We put away and hang up all but the one sweater/coat per kid, other options go in the coat closet including all adult coats at all times unless actually wet. Two backpacks one on each hook – sweaters sometimes in the backpack instead of separately on hook. Two shoes per person fit in our shoe rack under our entry bench, others stored elsewhere. I’d find it confusing to have so many out as you are describing.
So happy to hear I’m not alone in sorting laundry on the floor. I was starting feel like some sort of heathen. Where else do people even sort?
Thank you for saying this. This is a styled room, not a Saturday morning laundry action shot
It would be funny if Emily posted a “real life” shot on IG with the muddy dogs, wet shoes, tossed backpacks and a couple piles of laundry on the floor for all those with who simply can’t see it in their imagination!!!! Personally i love the beautiful styled space – and know how to fill in the details of normal living. It sure is a gorgeous space to go from dirty to clean over and over again in!!!!
I’m on team “literal minded people” and so, quite surprised about the organisation of the mudroom : sure, here we’re shown a styled version, but it does not seem convenient : I envisionned more benchs, to sit but also to drop bags and all, hooks to accomodate and easily access coats and stuff for every member of the family, floor surface to store all kind of shoes in various state of cleanliness. The nook seems rather insufficient. It’s a big room and such a small part of it is dedicated to actually facilitating exiting and entering the house, with all that it entails. I don’t know what the cupboards are for, maybe they are for storing coats and shoes but that wouldn’t seem very convenient for everyday use. I guess it’s the dilemma of the interior designer, having to style a room that’s primary there to be functional so that the rest of the house can be nicer, in a stylish way ! Also, I understand that Emily has to show us the room at its most stylish but it would be soooo interesting to see how it truly is used and how it looks everyday. All that being said,… Read more »
Wow. My favorite space so far at the farmhouse. Love it!!
Gorgeous room. I didn’t see any details about the ladder and rail. Can you tell me more?
This room is just beyond beautiful and I can fully understand why you are IN LOVE with it. Every detail is perfect and they all come together and just sing. But mostly I just wanted to say I am so sincerely HAPPY for you to have this space that has reminded you of your massive talent as a designer. I know it’s been hard to have to share about the things you feel like you got “wrong”. I wish you could give yourself more compassion on that front because the farmhouse is AMAZING. It doesn’t matter that a few paint selections aren’t perfect or that the living room layout is hard to work with. You created this magical place and it is wonderful, even if you have a few regrets. But how lovely that in the midst of some of the angst you also have some rooms that bring you joy and help to restore the confidence. I am celebrating with you!
I love this and I’m so happy for you! I’d be feeling on those cabinets all the time, ha.
Just amazing, beautiful room. 😍
I’d love to hear more about the dog washing station- we moved somewhere VERY muddy and our dog tracks in so much of it, so it’s in our building plans to put one in the corner of our garage.
Emily, you mentioned it’s maybe yours is not big enough for a full wash for them? Do you recommend going bigger if I’d like to use it for that as well? (I have a similar-sized pup as your dogs!)
Your laundry mud room is amazing..perfect..blissful! you should be very proud! I LOVE dogs and yours are adorable. I will make a comment that I hope you find helpful, as perhaps no one has told you this. It is so much better for the dog to eat with a raised feeding station. So much better for their digestion, and overall eating health. just read up on it or ask your Vet.
This is gorgeous! Love the tile, the lights, the cabinets! And most of all I love seeing you’re happy with the outcome too. 🙂 Congrats! It’s the prettiest (and hardworking) mud room I’ve ever seen. 🙂
What a beautiful space! Hardworking but luxe…the herringbone floor, the marble dog bath (and those fixtures/sconce for the dog bath are my faves), the custom cabinetry/ladder, the paint color, the light coming into the room (the skylight!), Miele w/d…every.thing is just beautiful!
Pretty! I’ve been looking for a sophisticated pastel for our master bath so I’ll check out dew drop. However we don’t have nearly as much light and it looks like it skews cold, but it’s a good starting point.
love the dog wash station and all the skylights
Love love love, congratulations!!