When we moved in to our new home, the thing I missed most was our old mudroom. We had this perfect space just off the garage with hooks and baskets and spaces for all. the. things. As a mama of 4, we have a lot of things. In our new house, the entry off of the garage is just a small entry (and also happens to be where the washer and dryer are.) I knew we had to find a way to get the rain boots, soccer cleats and baseball equipment out of my kitchen!
BEFORE
My husband has found a passion for woodworking and he was all too ready to build out this space in our garage. The first step to any great home improvement project is the planning meeting. We love researching ideas online and sketching out our perfect space. I am super lucky with my husband – he can take all of my wishes and ramblings and turn them in to reality! (But if you’re looking for something a little more straight forward with step by step instructions, I have seen free plans in our searches!)
For our space, we knew we wanted each of the kids to have their own section with hooks for backpacks and coats, a shoe spot at the bottom and storage up top for their extracurricular equipment.
The whole project was made out of a few sheets of plywood and a beadboard backing. First, he constructed the lower cubbies. These are just a “basic cabinet box construction,” according to my husband (which apparently should make sense to all you wood workers out there!) After that, he constructed the bench top out of another piece of plywood. He did edge band the front edge so it looked like one solid piece of wood. Then we just used stain for the bench color.
To build the upper section, he used more plywood and a sheet of beadboard for the back. The beadboard helped with stability and BONUS, is prettier than a blank wall. Using simple butt joints and screws, he assembled the top section together. We painted all of the walls and the bottom boxes white. Our finished product is about 6ft by 8ft but you could easily adjust this to fit your space!
It’s not completely finished. My sister made us names on her cricut for each cubby (purple, sporty letters) but I haven’t applied those yet. We could also build up. We could add storage boxes or long storage shelves above the top. But we haven’t decided if we want to, or if we want to just leave it as is. My kids are still little, so the top is a bit out of reach! So that could go on the “someday” list. What would you do with the space above?
Probably the hardest part was perfectly cutting the square for the electrical outlet to come through. As with any good DIY project, there were trials and errors and maybe some under the breath exclaiming. But I am SO PLEASED with the final result! And let me tell you, the kids have been equally excited! They loved picking out which locker was theirs and setting up their stuff “just so.” And now my kitchen floor is clutter free!
AFTER
Full disclosure, I am the Operations Manager of Ferris Property Group, so of course I love our brokerage! Working for FPG has been an absolute blessing to my family (as a mama of 4), being able to thrive in my career but also be there when I need to be at home.
We have also used them to both buy and sell homes, so I can vouch for their real estate expertise as well. If you’re interested in a career in real estate, looking to make a change, or if you have any real estate needs, we’d love to hear from you!
+ Holly Stauffer