A Mudroom Gets Made Over
Beth Ann Kempf’s 200-year-old house has no downstairs closets, so her entry hall has to work overtime. Real Simple reclaimed the spot to improve the family’s overall exit strategy. Here’s how. By Nicole Sforza
Related Content
Want to make a good first impression? Invite one of these functional pieces into your entryway.
After: Cabinets Shed Their Bulky Doors, Cubbies Grow to Meet the Job
Roomy Storage That Fills the Space and Allows for Expansion
Door-free cabinets provide ideal nooks for bulky ski boots and opaque bins, which hide and unite by category awkwardly shaped
contents, like off-season flip-flops, sunscreen, and bug spray. Open shelves can be an invitation for messy stashing; fabric
bins that fit snugly (grab the handles to take them down) are more deliberate and discourage dumping. Wide wooden cubbies
address a range of challenges. Each person has a labeled chrome bin for rolled-up ski pants (which eat up space when not properly
contained), plus assigned locations for hats, gloves, and balls. Pale gray paint on the walls serves as a calm backdrop to
this hectic zone.
To buy: Cubeicals fabric drawers in yellow, $7.50 each, closetmaid.com. Fir-wood storage cubbies (two shown), $160 each, plowandhearth.com. Chrome baskets, from $9 each, stacksandstacks.com. Wall paint: Barren Plain 2111-60, from $34 a gallon, benjaminmoore.com.
Most Popular Galleries
