Boot Room Ideas: How To Design Your Very Own Mud Room

Mudrooms are often called “mud rooms” because they’re located at the end of a hallway or close to a home’s entryway. It’s intended as a transitional area between the outdoors and the house’s interior. It is often described as a “transitional” room because its function is similar to the entry foyer.

Mudrooms are generally designed in smaller areas where there isn’t enough room to put an actual closet. In most cases, it’s used to keep shoes and boots off of the floor. This is so that dirt doesn’t get tracked into the house. In addition, the space is typically filled with storage cabinets, shelves, hooks, and other items.

They provide a great place to store outdoor gear and toys. Most mudrooms also include a bench or stool to sit on while putting them on. If you want to create a mudroom, you’ll need some essential tools and materials. You can find these things at any hardware store or online.

Depending on the size of your mudroom, you might be able to build the entire structure yourself. However, if you’re working with limited time and resources, consider hiring a contractor who specializes in creating custom closets.

You don’t have to spend big bucks if you’re not sure how practical a mudroom will be to you. However, if you work outside of the home and have active kids in your home, you may want to add a mudroom or even two. The best way to decide whether you need a mudroom is by using the following checklist.

Do I Have Enough Space?

As mentioned above, mudrooms are usually located next to the front door. In larger homes, this means that there’s simply not enough room for a full-sized mudroom. However, if your home has a basement, garage, or attic, you could potentially convert those areas into a mudroom.

Are There Any Kids In The House?

Kids love to play in their own personal space. If you have children, you know that they like to open doors and try to go through them. Unfortunately, that habit means that you’ll likely have plenty of muddy footprints all over your floors. 

How Much Time Do I Spend Outside?

Another thing to think about is how much time you spend outside. If you spend very little time out of the house, you’re probably fine without a mudroom. On the flip side, if you spend lots of time outside, you may want to install a mudroom. 

Boot Room Layout 

As the name suggests, it’s essential to have a place to put your muddy boots. So, your mudroom design may benefit from a shoe cubby, making it a functional space with clever storage solutions. An excellent place to start is thinking about how you’ll use the area and arrange efficient storage to suit this. 

For those that want to put their shoes on in this room, it’s crucial to have a built-in bench, practical flooring that can withstand muddy shoes, and extra storage. In addition, it could be helpful to have a cabinet that can store wet coats so that they don’t drip elsewhere in the house when you come in from rainy weather.

We recommend keeping your boot room layout functional, pushing storage to the walls so that you have enough room to walk in with outdoor shoes on. Why not write a boot room essentials list? This way, you can work out what exactly you want to put into the room and shop accordingly. 

The Walls

To decorate the mudroom’s walls, you’ll first need to decide whether you want to paint the walls yourself or hire a professional painter. If you’re looking for design inspiration, the choice is entirely up to you. Still, we’d recommend going for a country-style or a modern look. However, you can really follow any aesthetic and let your creativity run wild! 

And your walls don’t have to be simply painted. Putting in boot room paneling is a stylish way to elevate this space from purely functional to a place you don’t mind going to. Boot room walls can be tiled, which allows you to comfortably not worry about getting mud everywhere. This is because you can wipe down porcelain and other ceramic tiles.

Flooring

As with all functional spaces, it’s essential to have flooring that’s easy to clean after dirty boots have dirtied it up. Natural stone flooring is brilliant for creating an organic mudroom space with a traditional or bohemian vibe. 

We advise you to look at a cement tile and seriously consider using it on the floor for a more industrial vibe. For a more patterned look, choose checkered stone floors or blue tiles. Blue is a color that’s associated with cleanliness, so it can be worth putting it in this space to make it still feel fresh.

Lighting 

You may think that lighting isn’t essential in a mudroom. Still, actually, you should aim for plenty of natural light. With that said, you shouldn’t install too many lights as it can create shadows that are hard to avoid. Instead, you can use pendant lights to add sparkle to the whole space.

Strip lighting around the top of boot room cabinets and under-shoe storage is a way to make the space feel cozy. In addition, concealed strip lighting is a lovely way to make the room feel more atmospheric without it also feeling harshly bright. 

If you want to make your mudroom feel bigger, having lighting at floor level can help with this. So, despite your square footage, putting strip lighting under storage benches also shines a light on your muddy boots when you’re taking them off. Again, this helps because you can see when dirty shoes need to be cleaned. 

The Storage

We’d suggest looking for something sturdy but stylish in terms of storage. For example, wooden shelving units will look great in your mudroom. They can hold baskets, toys, and other small items.

We recommend getting rid of those old coat hangers and replacing them with hooks or shelves. It’s also worth considering adding drawers to the wall behind the bench. These would be ideal for storing socks, gloves, hats, scarves, and other loose items.

You might also consider keeping some storage baskets and bins in the room. These can help organize handy products, including a boot brush. Keep these bins low to the ground to make them easy to access.

Finally, you should consider installing an under-bench storage unit. This can give you even more space than just a regular bin. Make sure you keep the lid closed while using it, as muddy clothes will smell terrible!

If you’re stuck on what to do with wall space, why not consider putting in floor-to-ceiling cupboards that you can hang wet coats in? We advise getting laser-cut stencils of your family members’ names and painting them on cupboard doors for a sophisticated look. This means you can fully organize everyone’s muddy items so that they’re easy to grab when they need them. 

Cabinets 

If you want to keep the mudroom a dedicated messy space where your children can run wild, you can. Having chalkboard doors on the cabinets and cupboards can be a great way to encourage your kids to unleash their creativity. As these chalkboards are in a room that’s used to seeing messiness, you can shut the room’s doors away from visitors if you want to. 

Cleaning Features 

You don’t need a bulky washing machine in a mudroom to clean your dirty items! An attractive butler sink with a brass kitchen tap is an excellent feature for washing off muddy boots. Also, having built-in cabinetry below can serve you well to store anything from a boot scraper to dog shampoos. 

If you have a muddy pet that you don’t want shaking dirt all over the house, it’s a good idea to get a sink that’s big enough to fit them in. Training your dog to sit in a ceramic basin after a particularly eventful walk can be invaluable in helping keep the rest of your home spotless. We recommend putting a sink skirt around it as it’s a more affordable option than building cabinetry. 

Sinks aren’t only helpful in cleaning your loved one’s fur! You can put the plug in the sink, add some washing powder and leave particularly muddy clothes to soak in water if you need to. 

If you’re going to install a sink into your mudroom, we recommend not applying a carpeted floor. This is because fabric flooring is much more challenging to clean than tiling and will soak up any water splashes from the basin. And, no one wants a moldy carpet to deal with! 

Details

We’ve included a few accessories below that could really add value to your mudroom, but there are plenty more out there too. 

You can always include some shelving units in your mudroom. These can be made out of anything from metal to wooden planks. They can help you store your shoes and boots and ensure that mud and water stay off your flooring. You can even use them to display photos of your kids growing up.

You can use hooks to attach pictures to your wall. We advise you to hang the most significant picture frames above your door or near the entrance to the mudroom. 

Even if you don’t want to put up pictures, we advise you to consider getting decorative hooks. These hooks can hold keys, hats, pet leashes, and scarves. Many brass items aren’t purely functional, which take decorative forms and can elevate your storage from a solution to functionally aesthetically pleasing. 

Even little touches such as wooden skirting boards can finish off a mudroom and make it feel like part of the house. Also, potted plants tend to fit in very well in a mudroom so long as there’s enough natural lighting for them to thrive. This is because this space is highly linked to the outdoors, so it makes sense for you to bring in natural elements. 

Boot room mirrors can help you check whether the shoes match your outfit and help you accessorize. 

Boot Room Inspiration 

Classic Farmhouse Style 

We adore that this boot room has been painted a rich blue color, making the space feel clean. The rustic touches, such as the brown storage boxes and stone-colored blinds, add to the farmhouse vibe. The woven baskets are a lovely natural addition, which ties in nicely with the trio of potted plants displayed on the windowsill. 

The interior designer for this boot room has thoroughly thought about comfort when decorating this space. The cushioned bench seat allows several family members to easily sit down and take off their outdoor shoes. In addition, the plump cushions must be wonderful to sink into after a long day’s hiking or running errands. 

Practically, the natural stone paving on the floor looks super chic and is a dream to clean. The color matches well with the fabric chosen for the cushion covers and blinds! The stylist has put in suave paneling to elevate the space from the functional mudroom further, which evokes an English country house feeling. This is a way to bring subtle decadence without going overboard with shiny details. 

Regency Country House Boot Room

Have you been dreaming about having a place where you can kick off your wellies and hang up your dog’s leashes after a walk? If so, you might want to take inspiration from this paneled boot room, which is packed with charming features. 

The wall hooks give it a vintage feel and are large enough to hold several coats and a hat at once! Unfortunately, the large potted plant in a round basket breaks up the sharp edges on the wall.

In a boot room, you’re in danger of accidentally making the space feel smaller. To prevent this, we advise putting in large round pieces, such as a mirror or planter like the one here. 

The natural light bounces beautifully off the dark flooring, ensuring the room feels cozy without being cramped. The gray paint is a way to nod to the functionality of the space and create a neutral base. We love that a handy shelf has been placed above the hooks, which can be used to store items you don’t use every day! 

Statement Wallpaper

We advise choosing bold wallpaper and framing functional areas for those who love making vibrant spaces. This world-themed one is ideal for a boot room because it links with the adventurous theme, encouraging you to grab your coat and explore.

The traditional hat stands are a quirky touch, as is the taxidermy duck. While these aren’t to everyone’s taste, they do show you that you’re allowed to put your own personality into even a mudroom. 

The long wooden bench with built-in storage is an excellent way to maximize the space and proves a place for you to keep winter coats when it’s summertime. We particularly like the blue color used on the paneling because it complements the wood bench beautifully! 

The curvy brackets holding up the paneling are another lovely detail, which works well to soften the wood’s straight edges. 

Final Thoughts

Your boot room doesn’t have to be boring! In fact, you can truly let your creativity run wild by exploring different layouts, paint colors, and unique storage solutions. We recommend following our handy guide to make the right choices for your home. 

If you’d like even more ideas, we’ve got content aplenty elsewhere on our site. Or, for extra boot room inspiration, why not check out Pinterest, which is a hive of visual treats. Finally, we hope you enjoyed this article and are looking forward to decorating your own mudroom! 

Ida Oliveira
Latest posts by Ida Oliveira (see all)