The Mudroom Myth

Have you ever Ooooh'd and Aaaah'd over photos like these:

photo courtesy of Houzz.com

photo courtesy of Houzz.com

photo courtesy of Houzz.com

photo courtesy of Houzz.com

One small gathering area - with cubbies - where everyone neatly places their coats and shoes...

And then skip off like Beaver Cleaver to (willingly) do their homework.

This isn't my reality.

I mean, the last photo only has 5 pairs of shoes sitting there for 4 cubbies worth of people.

I WISH there was a shoe that was so universal in design that it could replace winter boots, runners, sandals, heels and cleats.

Blink guys - we're back to the real world now.

The world of "more than one jacket per person" and a mudroom that has to also include additional pantry storage and pet supplies.

I did tidy before the photos, so this is a "good" day in our mudroom.

This is our main floor closet.  It's almost a walk-in, but not quite.

Hubby put in some Martha Stewart Shelving to help corral some of our gear.

Mommy gets the shoe rack in the middle. 

Daddy gets a shoe rack on the left along with his coats.

Chloe has a little backpack cubby just inside the doorway.

Mommy's and the girls' jackets are housed on the right side and Maddie's back-pack drop is inside the door on the right.

We actually removed the door because we chose to use what should have been a main floor laundry room (but we used it to kennel our dogs when company came) to a massive mudroom area. 

Above we have the girls' shoe rack and another one of Daddy's.

Yes, I live with 3 Diva's.

The plexi on the walls was put up to keep the dogs from scuffing it all up with drool and dirt.

The black containers above hold lightbulbs, grocery bags, swim gear and lunch bags - we seem to have a lot of those? 

We did put in a coat rack so I could have the "feeling" of it being a picturesque mudroom, but really, with that much paper towel above the ambience is lost. 

I'm not complaining.  (Okay, maybe a little)

We are actually very lucky to have this much space to allot to coats and shoes.

It's just nice to dream.

Motherhood - when dreams of Paris nights are replaced by dreams of white beadboard and wicker baskets.

Have a great one!