It's a Mudroom!

We have been working our behinds off trying to get the mudroom finished by our designated finish date- by the end of September.  Well, we did it, but it's been cloudy so it was hard to take pictures.  Our entry hall started out cramped, crammed, and dark.  It ended up light, bright, and totally huge (ok, not huge but bigger).

The original entry hall featured the washer and dryer butted up to a former coat closet made pantry.  I don't think I got any pictures of the room intact (oops) but the washer and dryer have been out of the space since around January 2011 anyway (see basement finish) so there wasn't a ton to photograph when we started.  That, and it's such a small space that the photos are at very odd angles.  I'll do my best.

The pantry sans door (the entry door is off to the right):

Entry door and window:

 Pantry closet removed, you can see the plumbing from where the washer and dryer were:

Coat hooks located conveniently behind the entry door, and also too closely spaced together:

 Cram-jammed pantry closet.  This is just the bottom half:

The pantry door.  Notice how it cuts off the rest of the room when open.

If we just got home from somewhere, between hubs, me, Gus, Greta (then in the infant carrier), and Casey the poodle were all struggling to get in because that closet took up so much immediate space, even though it wasn't a large closet.  We also wanted to add a half bath for guests since our house only had two bathrooms, one upstairs and one in our master bedroom when we closed in the wall.

The results are fabulous and I just want to hang out in there.

From the kitchen- the entry door:

I made the curtains.  I bought this modern mod fabric to make a handbag.  I think I like it better in here.

We decided to reuse the hook racks, spacing them out a lot more.  The bottom one is just low enough for Gus to be able to hang his own things up.  The chalkboard is from the dump.

Baskets for the gloves and hats that are everywhere in the winter, and a boot box to store shoes and sit on.

This small cabinet I found at the dump unfinished.  The inside has our phone chargers, and we hung it right next to a plug.  Key hooks at the bottom.  New shutters on the window.  Awesome free printable from pen & paint on the wall.

New half bath!

This whole space feels so much bigger to us, even though it's the same size, and we even stole a few feet for the bathroom.

Next up- the kitchen.  Hubby's out buying cabinet repainting supplies as we speak.