Ladies and gents, we have a new mudroom for you and if you are into function first (as I tend to be in a mudroom) this will hopefully be your jam. Mudrooms might be my favorite room to design because when you are able to check all the boxes that make your life easier, it pays off forever and for everyone in the family. I did the interior design with Max Humphrey, Anne Usher (architect) and it was executed by Sierra Custom Construction. As a reminder, this is my brother’s house, dubbed “The River House” which is a new build near the river in Portland. This space is a utility room that has the trifecta of function: bag/shoes/coat storage + a dog food station + laundry machines, and topping it off the prettiest big planting/prep/utility sink ever. I love, love, love how this room turned out – it’s clean and contemporary and works so hard for their family, but with enough warmth and interest to keep your eyes happy. Let’s get into it.
The layout of the room is big with ample room for storage. We lined three walls with cabinets and drawers and intentionally placed all their needs in advance. There are even enough pullouts to separate recycling (cans, glass/cardboard, garbage, and another big tub pull-out for dog food). We have a battery drawer and room for crafting supplies. They are all empty now (looks like Ken will be getting some batteries and craft supplies for Christmas!).
There are multiple entrances/exits – outside/river, up the stairs from the garage/car with flow into both the family room and kitchen area. It’s PERFECTLY placed (thanks to architect Anne Usher) with the right access for a drop zone and yet out of sight from the entry (although I’m going to kill them if they use the front door instead of using the other two entrances meant for this, creating a pile of shoes in their gorgeous entry!). We went with a flat front cabinet style with vertical grooves into them to add some texture and painted them Rocky River by Sherwin-Williams which we LOVE, in a flat finish. It’s such a good deep green that added a lot of contrast and color, without being too bold or dark. We used black accents for the hardware, lighting, and plumbing. The combination of white oak (Stuga flooring in Shell), dark green, and hits of black created the river house utilitarian vibe we were looking for.
Wood Floors | Green Paint | White Paint | Coat Hooks | Cabinet Handles
On the other side, we have hidden storage above and two huge closets for vacuum/mops and craft supplies. I’m very, very jealous, but also excited that my brother’s family has no excuse to have rogue shoes or bags in their entry (ahem).
The Epic (And Controversial) Sink Wall
The sink wall has a story – when we were shopping at Kohler my brother responded HARD to this sink and all but demanded that it go in his house. This is where the mash-up of contemporary and vintage/traditional started coming into play – which at times has confused me but it’s also what makes a house feel more custom. The surprise quirk of this sink with black-turned legs is exciting. I LOVE how it looks and more importantly, love that my brother loves a design element so passionately. If you want to see him get excited about it, watch the video below where I give him (and you) a tour of the space. Just wait for the short ad to play 🙂
Sink | Sink Legs | Faucet | Dog Bowl Set
We broke up the run of cabinets to fit in this sink and the dog bowls tuck inside – giving it some purpose. We thought about skirting it but that felt a little too traditional for Katie so we added paneling behind it and painted it the same color as the cabinets (it was white for a while which looked unfinished). That huge pull-down faucet is incredible – both visually and functionally (and I swear my brother is going to bring the dishes in here to do them, he loves it so much).
Obviously, this sink could be in a kitchen, however, we felt that it worked stylistically better in here – but as you can see it comes with a cutting board which is great for prep. I love the silver rod on the front for styling, of course, and think it works really well with the windows (which are black from Marvin). P.S. If you want to order this Kohler Farmstead sink here is the combination we used: this sink, with these grid inserts (right and left), these black legs, this faucet, and these water valves and P-trap.
The Hardware
Handles | Pulls
We went with a combination of hardware (per usual) to help it feel more custom and thoughtfully designed – Barrington edge pulls, Massey handles and knobs – all in Oil Rubbed Bronze, which is Rejuvenation’s way of saying “warm black” (so don’t be scared, some company’s ORB is a faux brown which is not my favorite, this one really reads as just a not cold black). We did 18″ Massey handles for the huge closets and 6″ for the laundry cabinets, then 6″ for the Barrington edge pulls.
Lighting
Sconce | Ceiling Light
We chose one sconce over the sink, the Fairview which is hyper-classic and has a utilitarian vibe (with the mushroom-colored shades that add a nice accent of warmth). We have three ceiling Crawford lights (which I have as well in a few different sizes).
Roman Shades
Roman Shades
We didn’t want a huge pattern in here but wanted a bit of texture to add warmth so we chose this thin charcoal and white pinstriped fabric for our shades and worked with Decorview on the execution. Now in some photos/videos, it does this thing called “more” which means looks wobbly on some cameras (I knew this could be a problem). It’s not in person, obviously:) The shades are easy to pull up and down, but they’ll mostly stay up and added that nice layer that makes the room look way more finished.
The Caesarstone Countertop And Backsplash
Stone
The stone is so pretty – it’s Cloudburst Concrete by Caesarstone and it has a really warm texture that you can feel that looks like concrete, but it’s totally non-porous and therefore hard to stain. We didn’t want to use flat white in here and this light movement on it is really nice in person (Katie also really wanted engineered stone which I fully supported). We did a simple edge, no bullnose or anything and it’s clean, highly durable, and will last forever.
Washer And Dryer Cabinets
This house was designed to have a large capacity washer and dryer upstairs on the bedroom floor and a smaller one down here (for river towels, sports uniforms, kitchen rags, etc). It’s a true luxury.
Washer | Dryer
We actually had this Miele set left over from our house as we ordered two sets (one upstairs on the bedroom floor, one downstairs in the mudroom) but the capacity is smaller and the drying takes a long time for everyday use (meant more for small apartments or air drying as they do in Europe) so before we even installed them we gave these to my brother (and then we bought huge capacity washer/dryer). That’s all to say – these are great for space saving (and stack really well) but if you have a 4+ family it might not fit enough. We love working with Build.com on appliances (not sponsored in this case, but just a shout-out).
Styling – My Favorite Part
Rug (COMING SOON!!) | Clock | Tall White Totem Vase | Woven Storage Boxes (similar) | Watering Can | White Round Vase (similar) | White Vase with Handles (similar) | Canisters | Black Lamp | Leather Bins | Radio (in cream) | Waffle Towels | Wood Tray
Oh, I was so happy to get to the part of the project where I got to shop (truly my first love). I linked everything but wanted to call our our NEW Harvey Rug (named after their dog) which doesn’t launch for 3 weeks but thought it could be a fun sneak peek. It’s a great utilitarian rug (both jute and woven). The clock and leather bins are from Rejuvenation, glass canisters from The Container Store, and lots of Target and World Market accessories.
Coat/Bag And Everyday Shoe Storage
Wire Baskets | Rolling Laundry Basket
The other wall is reserved for all the everyday clothes/bags shoes and even sports stuff (modeling after ours – having a basket dedicated to cleats and gloves is crucial). We installed 9 hooks, some shorter for the kids to reach and spaced them for maximum capacity (i.e. not right on top of each other). It was hard to find bins that big that you couldn’t see through but I actually really love that you can see what you have.
The whole room works so well for their family, and since its one of the few rooms that is styled out it currently is the favorite room in the house by guests. It feels so appropriate for the overall design of the house and gets so much use (and praise). For all the links to product here you go:
Mudroom Resources
Windows: Marvin
Window Treatments: Decorview
Flooring: Stuga
Wall Color: Alabaster by Sherwin-Williams
Cabinet Color: Rocky River by Sherwin-Williams
Hardware: Rejuvenation
Lighting: Rejuvenation
Countertops/Backsplash: Caesarstone
Utility Sink/Plumbing: Kohler
Washer/Dryer: Build with Ferguson
*Architect: Anne Usher
**General Contractor: JP Macy of Sierra Custom Construction
***Interior Designers: Emily Henderson (me!) and Max Humphrey
****Styling: Emily Henderson (me!)
*****Photos by Kaitlin Green