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The news from the weather bureau forecast a Seattle winter like last year. Not so good! For this Seattle interior designer, it was an especially wet one with snow and ice. With this news, it’s time to take a look at your mudroom and prepare it for an onslaught of mud plus boots, shoes, hats, gloves, umbrellas and all the other paraphernalia that enters your transition area. Today’s mudroom is an organizational center for busy families sometimes combining pet areas, laundry and crafts. In a previous post, I shared 7 tips for designing a mudroom. You can read it here.

New inspirations are here. See this image from California Closets of a dream of a mudroom entrance. Plus, since we love our gadgets, it’s important to consider them in our planning.

Our mudrooms invite clutter. As we hurry into our home, we quickly discard our stuff and soon the entryway is a mess. Here’s some tips from Peter Walsh and California Closets. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYcVhXEFtEE[/youtube]

More tips to contain the clutter and chaos in the entry and mudroom:

• Create an “out-of-pockets drawer or container” that becomes a great place for extra change, keys, and a wallet.
• On top, set up a charging center for phones and iPods and a place for your purse so that you are never searching for these items when you are ready to leave.
• Tackle mail in the front entry by placing a small recycling bin on a shelf or in a cabinet. When you come in the door, junk mail immediately gets recycled, and only the important stuff makes its way into your home.

Tags: de-clutter, Faith Sheridan Design Group, interior designer Seattle WA, mudroom organization, organize the entry, Seattle interior designer, storage
Posted in Ideas and Inspirations | No Comments »

Since Seattle remains wet and soggy, this Seattle interior designer is sharing an earlier post. It is very popular. Hooray for well designed mudrooms!

Northwest livers embrace the season of rain with an eye on the Mudroom. Starting with umbrellas, wet, dirty shoes and backpacks, this is where the family sheds their stuff and gets down and dirty. The mudroom is more important than ever with today’s busy families and with so much more to organize.

Get organized for wet weather

The majority of homes today have a transition area from the outdoors. Some are large and some are not. But the mudroom of today is much more than its predecessor. It now functions as the organizational center for busy households. It can also serve as the laundry room, pet center and craft area. The mudroom is a full-featured permanent part of new home construction and remodeling. It is estimated that 3% of the home floor space dedicates its use to the mudroom.

A full room, while nice, isn’t essential to making it work for you. An essential design stores stuff like:

• Backpacks and briefcases
• Hats and gloves
• Sports equipment and small toys
• Dog leashes and towels for cleaning dirty feet
• Messages, sport or lesson schedules

How to design for so many functions? Regardless of the size or style of the mudroom, innovation and practicality are indispensable. Here are a few basic steps to get going.

1. What is absolutely essential? Who uses the area? What do they bring in and need on a daily basis? How does the space relate to other needs, i.e. laundry? Do you need a half-bath adjacent to the mudroom?
2. Assess the existing space. De-clutter and determine available space. Add seating to remove dirty shoes, a storage bench, a small chest of drawers or a desk. Use shelves or hooks with cubbies for storage. Mirrors are great for last minute touch ups plus add dimension to the space.
3. Measure and plan. How does it all fit in? Draw the room to scale as it gives perspective.
4. Take action. Will you do the work yourself or hire a designer? A fresh approach provides new ideas.

Final Thoughts

If the mudroom is a multipurpose room, consider these options:

• With laundry in the space add a cabinet with counter surfaces and upper cabinets for storage of cleaning products or general household items.
• A designated storage center is great for things like pet food, potting soils, small outdoor toys as well as cans, bottles and papers for recycling.
• A pantry cabinet can provide overflow storage for kitchen dry goods or easy snack access for children. Utilize labeled bins inside cabinets to keep it neat.
• Vary the height of hooks to allow for personalized space and easy accessibility. Small children can’t reach high shelves but will use baskets or shelves.
• Locate the dogs leash and towel close to the door.
• For adults, keys and phones should have their designated area eliminating a search when ready to leave. Locate a message center for easy viewing for all the family.
• For flooring, consider textured ceramic or porcelain stone tiles. Vinyl can be slick; wood and laminate perform poorly in wet situation.

Wishing you had a friend in the design business right now? We’re here to help. call us 206.973.3743.

Tags: Ask Faith First, California Closets, expert Seattle interior designer, Faith Sheridan Interior Design, home, Interior designer Seattle, interior designer Seattle WA, mudroom, season, Seattle, storage
Posted in Ideas and Inspirations | 6 Comments »

Eons ago, when I worked as a counseling psychologist, exploring metaphors was frequent food for thought. Probably most of you have read that when you get rid of stuff, you open yourself up for more, literally and symbolically. Closets appear to tell a great deal about us or what we might become if we could get our closets (life) in order.

• SEPARATE the treasures - identify the gems that are worth hanging on to.
• HEAVE the trash - eliminate what’s weighing you down.
• EMBRACE - your identity—connect to who you are without all your stuff.
• DRIVE - yourself forward-explore the direction that connects to your genuine self.

Tags: closets, clutter, storage
Posted in Ideas and Inspirations | 4 Comments »

At this spring’s High Point Market, function is popping up in a wide variety of furniture, from nightstands and beds to tables and cabinets. Function provides extra value to the consumer, and that’s especially important in today’s budget-crunched environment — no matter what the retail price point.

Here are some functional design directions:

1. Furniture designers add creative functionality to new introductions at this market. I especially like the charging stations placed in highly used areas.
2. Convenient wine storage attractively added to a buffet.
3. Effective use of under-bed storage.

Tags: Furniture, High Point Market, storage
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