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11 Magnolia Lane

Sharing our easy DIYs, decorating, entertaining and more!

How To Turn a Closet into a Mudroom

March 13, 2015 By Amy 19 Comments

This Post Contains Affiliate Links

38716 shares
  • 91

How to convert a hallway closet into an open mudroom

I am back today with a little more information about how we converted our hallway coat closet into a mudroom. Full disclosure: we hired this project out to our favorite handyman two weeks before Christmas when I couldn’t take the disorganization in the closet another day. Great timing huh? It was madness but it was done in time for the holiday and it has worked out great.

Here is what we started with.

before-mudroom
I know, it’s bad! It kind of makes me break out in hives just to see it. I can’t even believe that was what we lived with, ahhh…that’s crazy, no wonder we couldn’t find anything! Ever!

So your eyes don’t burn any longer than necessary, here is the “After”.

Hall closet turned into a "mudroom" | 11 Magnolia Lane
Much better!

And, so you can see all it’s potential before I get to the how-to, here it is all decorated and styled (more in this post HERE).

Hallway Closet turned a mini mudroom with hidden storage | 11 Magnolia Lane

 

Since our handyman knocked this project out so quickly, I actually don’t have measurements or step-by-step directions.  I showed him some inspiration photos {Here and Here} for what I envisioned and he made it happen. The things we covered that were important: 1) A bench so the kids could sit down and put shoes on 2) Enough sections so we each had one–we went from 5 to 4 in the end so they wouldn’t be so narrow and my husband and I just share 3) That the bench was tall enough to slide the recycling bin underneath it and 4) that we could fit another high shelf out of sight so that I could store my overflow of paper goods–you can just barely see it behind the top wall.

In the end, everything that was in the closet was in the new mudroom with the exception of the the two cardboard boxes which have since been unpacked and put elsewhere {where it all should have gone in the first place, we moved less than a year ago and unpacking has been well, a little slow} and a few coats were relocated to our other coat closet by our front door. I try to just keep the ones we are wearing every day in here, I admit that it will be nice when it warms up to have less hanging on the hooks.

So here is the in-progress.

how-to-progress-mudroom

 

He built the basic shelves then added trim and molding so everything looked nice. We all decided the vertical boards on the wall weren’t necessary and pulled those down for a cleaner look.

I have been asked about the doors that were on the closet. We took the doors and hinges {Ok, our handyman took off the doors and hinges} and filled in the holes with white spackle. Since this is by the back door of our home I don’t worry about it being perfect, but honestly you can’t tell.

Here is why we took the doors off–

doors-hallway-mudroom

See how the doors opened in to each other? So while my kids were grabbing backpacks and coats inevitably one would be heading out the door while the other was trying to get in the closet and a battle would ensue. Now they just reach in and grab what they want and go. I still have the hooks on the left side of the hall for guests, purses etc. too.

mudroom empty before

So here it is empty but after picture, so much better.

As I mentioned in the first post, I spent many hours trying to find the right baskets. I really wanted these but they were too small and Target would only allow me to buy one online {really, Target?} so I went back to the Container Store and went with 4 wider baskets, which even with shipping were reasonable in price. I wish they were a little taller, but I can just tip these down to grab what we need out of them so that is kind of nice in a lazy-girl sort of way.

I purchased some chalkboard tags at Michaels and used a chalk marker to mark each of our initials on the tags–my husband and I share a basket so using our married monogram worked {not a perfect system, he still asks me which basket he is supposed to use so apparently those details are lost on men!}.

I still plan to add some prettier accessories, like a pretty dog food container and will probably add some new larger baskets to go under the bench where the kids store their shoes.

I can definitely say looking back on that before picture, I don’t know how we lived with it for so long like it was. I am thrilled we made the investment in our sanity and had the project done to suit our family needs.

Here is one more before/after for pinning purposes!

how-to-create-mudroom-closet

UPDATE: See the summer mudroom with updates in the space HERE!

Closet turned mudroom | 11 Magnolia Lane

If I didn’t answer any questions, please feel free to leave me a comment.

See our entire home tour HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Filed Under: DIY/Projects/Tutorials, Wall & Door Decor Tagged With: closet, mudroom, organization, storage

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Julie Blanner says

    March 13, 2015 at 10:03 am

    It turned out great! Thanks for sharing. There’s no shame in hiring out – we’re doing a lot less on our own in our new home.

    Reply
  2. Pat says

    March 13, 2015 at 4:51 pm

    Beautiful! Amazing transformation and excellent storage.

    xo
    Pat

    Reply
  3. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    March 13, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    When I first saw this before I thought it was just so beautiful and your handyman did a great job…I think it was a great idea to remove the doors and have that space that is better utilized by this wonderful mudroom area…and I cannot believe that Target would only let you buy one basket on line….does not make sense….but in the end, you have a most wonderful beautiful and functional space!! Have a great weekend!

    Reply
  4. joan says

    March 13, 2015 at 8:27 pm

    Very nice but wondering where all your coats went?

    Reply
  5. Paige.Rose says

    March 15, 2015 at 12:18 am

    I love how much space you have now & the storage- super cute!!

    Paige.Rose

    Reply
  6. Brenna@Domestic Charm says

    March 15, 2015 at 7:19 am

    What a great transformation! I love that little recycle bin. Very cute!

    Reply
  7. brett says

    March 17, 2015 at 1:23 pm

    This is FAB! I absolutely love the transformation and sure you enjoy this space in it’s new form. What a great project! xx, b

    Reply
  8. Shannon says

    March 30, 2016 at 10:19 pm

    I came across this on Pinterst and I love what you’ve done. I have a similar awkward closet off my garage entry door. I want to do the same thing. Do you remember an estimate of how much the renovation cost? I’m gonna start looking into buying materials and stuff soon.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      March 31, 2016 at 9:45 pm

      Hi Shannon, I would say the wood and corbels etc. would be maybe $100 depending on what type you use and how much trim etc. I spent about another $60 on the baskets etc. I hope that helps! Good luck with the project!
      XO,
      Amy

      Reply
      • ST says

        September 4, 2019 at 2:57 pm

        where did you buy the corbels?

        Reply
        • Amy says

          September 4, 2019 at 3:59 pm

          Hi! They came from Home Depot, you should be able to find them near the molding. XO, Amy

          Reply
  9. Trina says

    November 20, 2016 at 12:48 pm

    What does this area measure? I’m just trying to get a few for how much I can fit in my space where we r cutting out a wall in our laundry room – thanks!

    Reply
    • Amy says

      November 20, 2016 at 1:01 pm

      Hi Trina! The closet is about 5″ by 2″ (standard double closet) with a hallway in front. It is tight, but it works well for us.

      Thanks,
      Amy

      Reply
  10. Mary says

    December 28, 2016 at 9:06 pm

    Very cute. Except now you have a bunch of stuff with no home.

    Reply
  11. Kathy says

    September 7, 2017 at 5:10 am

    This is great, thanks for sharing. What’s the hight of your bench? Looks a little higher than a chair. thanks.

    Reply
  12. Katie says

    July 16, 2018 at 10:17 pm

    That looks great! I’m curious how much he charged you for labor to complete the project, if you wouldn’t mind sharing. We could do it ourselves, but let’s be real, it would be on the honey-do list for three years and I’d rather see if it would be affordable to hire out.

    Reply
  13. Babychupes says

    January 18, 2020 at 2:03 pm

    Hi Amy,
    Thanks for this great post! I have some shelves in my living room that I’d like to convert to a small mudroom space like yours. I have a top shelf that is also out of sight, similar to what you mentioned in your criteria #4 above. How do you access it? Mine goes 18 inches past the top of the frame and I’m afraid we are going to forget what is there, or that having to remove bottom boxes 1 at a time (if they are stacked on top of each other) will render it too cumbersome to utilize.

    Reply
  14. Megan says

    July 9, 2020 at 9:36 am

    I know this post is old but where did you find that recycling bin?

    Reply
    • Amy says

      July 9, 2020 at 3:10 pm

      Hi–you can see how I made the recycling bin in this post here: https://www.11magnolialane.com/easy-and-cute-recycle-bin/

      Thanks!
      Amy

      Reply

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  • MEET CHRISTY & AMY
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    • BEST OF 11 MAGNOLIA LANE
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    • TOUR OUR HOMES
    • CHRISTY’S MAGNOLIA COTTAGE
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    • ROOM BY ROOM
      • BATHROOMS
      • BEDROOMS
      • CLOSETS
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      • KIDS’ ROOMS
      • KITCHENS
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38716 shares
  • 91