What to do when you don’t have a mudroom, especially if you have a small house and children.
Our previous house had no mudroom and no coat closet in the entryway.
When You Don’t Have a Mudroom
This lack of space caused a huge amount of discouragement as I tried to corral it all without a proper storage space.
I knew how frustrating it was to deal with children’s coats and all the winter gear (hats, mittens, scarves, etc.) when there was no place to store it all.
When we were finally able to buy a house, one of my main requirements was that it must have a coat closet.
So, we went looking for a house with a coat closet. And we found one!
Clutter by the Back Door
The only trouble was, the coat closet was right by the front door (as they usually are), and the kids wanted to go out the back door.
The back door is in our eat-in kitchen. Right by the dining table.
Which meant that all of the coats, jackets, hats, mittens, scarves, boots, and outside toys always ended up right by the table.
Which created an endless amount of clutter and mess.
Searching for a Mudroom Solution
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More than ever, I started longing for a mudroom of some sort!
I tried many different ideas for organizing all the mess and making it look neat and tidy.
First, I tried a wooden bench with storage inside. We mounted a row of pegs above the bench, and all the shoes went inside the bench.
We added a small bookshelf with a basket for each child’s scarves, hats, and mittens.
I tried to be happy with this “solution,” but it was still too much clutter by the dining table.
After countless Pinterest searches, I was still coming up empty-handed. Lots of the ideas were cute, but they still looked bad since they were by the kitchen table.
I didn’t really want to see a row of colorful children’s coats while we were eating!
What to Do Without a Mudroom?
I spent some time thinking through what would be required to keep things looking neat and clutter-free. There were several things I realized:
- We couldn’t afford to add a mudroom on to the house.
- It wouldn’t be practical to send the kids out the front door to walk around the house to the back yard (and then make them come in the front and hang their coats up).
- I needed something big that would hold a lot of items (including snow suits).
- I didn’t have a lot of money to spend on the mudroom solution.
- I needed a cheap, fake mudroom idea!
IKEA to the Rescue!
After many online searches, I finally found my mudroom solution. (Watch the video below for a more detailed view, or continue reading for more information.)
I found this IKEA BRIMNES Wardrobe. It’s the perfect solution for when you don’t have a mudroom!
As soon as we were able, my husband and I headed to the nearest IKEA (2 hours away), and bought the wardrobe.
My husband put it together, we anchored it to the wall, and it’s been holding the kids’ winter gear for the past two years.
I have to admit that it’s not as wonderful as having an actual mudroom, of course, but it’s so much better than anything else available.
For those of us with small homes and no mudroom (and very little storage), the IKEA BRIMNES wardrobe is the best solution I’ve been able to find for storing kids’ stuff.
There’s a ton of space for storing just about anything.
Ours holds jackets, coats, snow suits, boots, hats, gloves, mittens, and even roller blades for five kids! My husband and I store our coats and winter things in the coat closet.
I’m finally happy with the mudroom solution we found! Do you have any other ideas for what to do when you don’t have a mudroom? Share them in the comments!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
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Related Post:
Farmhouse Style Organization and Storage Solutions
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here. Sharing here.
Hello. I really enjoyed your post and smart thoughts on a mudroom. Your dining chairs really caught my eye. I’ve never seen one with that combo of black and stained wood. It’s exactly what I need to complement an old table I have of my parents. Would you be willing to share where you got those? Thank you so much.
Thank you, Sharon! I inherited those chairs (and the table) from my parents, so I’m not sure where they originally came from.
Thanks so much for taking the time to pass that on. They are a treasure!
1980s Vintage Dontae Style Windsor Back Side Chairs – going for 499 a pair online.
Do you have pictures from other angles? Like side view?
Great idea!
Thanks!
Lisa
No, I don’t, but the IKEA website has several pictures from all angles (including a side view)! Glad it was helpful!
Hi! Looks nice! Do you think it would fit adult coats, or is it too narrow? I am also looking for a mud room solution!
It does fit adult coats. My teenagers and young adults have their coats in it, and it works fine. We use regular-size hangers in it. Hope that helps!
Very smart idea. I love a mudroom and I do not have one. No place for one is our house. So glad I found you on the link party today. Happy Summer, Kippi
Same here, we just don’t have a place for one. I dream of having a farmhouse complete with mudroom someday! So glad you stopped by, Kippi!
I love this idea! I love that you found a solution! I know how crazy it can get with all of the coats and shoes! When we started designing the house that we are not building I said the same thing! It must have a coat closet! I am hoping that everyone will come in the laundry room with their muddy shoes, though I have not figured out storage for that yet. And then if we are going somewhere nice we can head out and in through the front door. LOL. I have a feeling that this is all wishful thinking!
Thanks for linking up @LiveLifeWell!
Blessings,
Amy
So exciting that you’re building a house! A laundry room would also work great for coming in with muddy shoes. And we do the same thing, we put our nicer coats and things in the coat closet by the front door. It works most of the time! 🙂
Gotta love an IKEA find! It looks great. 🙂
I agree, love IKEA finds! 🙂
That is a great solution! We altered our house plans when building because I wanted a nice big closet right by the door to the garage. Like you said there was one by the front door and I knew that could be much smaller since it would only be used for coats for company but I needed something for us as we would be coming and going out the garage the most. Honestly, 14 years later and I’d say our large closet still isn’t big enough! We have a real overload with shoes, hats and gloves. I’ve yet to find a good way to store them so that everyone can reach and see them.
That was smart to put a closet by the garage! I know what you mean though, it’s hard to corral it all!
Absolutely brilliant! What a great solution to a common problem. . . and it just looks as if it belongs there. Thanks for sharing a great find!
Thank you, Richella!
Great tip! I”ve been using a coat tree, and it’s just not practical!
Glad it was helpful!
Great idea! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!
Thank you, Sherry!