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Houzzers Say: Entryway, Mudroom and Laundry Room Wish List
We take our hats off to your suggestions for staying organized, showing pets some love and stopping dirt at the door
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
Many of you chimed in on the questions board when a Houzz user asked what kinds of convenient features and cool new things she should consider while planning her new home. Today we're continuing the compilation of answers with Houzzers' suggested dream features for the entryway, mudroom and laundry room.
by MuseInteriors
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Houzzers want a place to transition between the indoors and out. Separate cubbies or lockers for everyone in the family keep things organized. This example has room for hanging outerwear and bags, a spot for shoes below and a special basket for other items overhead.
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This entryway has places to shed coats, gloves, hats, scarves, shoes and bags upon arrival. Organized entryways (usually beside the back, side or garage door) include a spot to sit for putting on or pulling off shoes, store bookbags and hang keys.
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| The entryway is also a spot for getting cleaned up as soon as you enter the home. Houzz users also mentioned a place for cleaning off muddy boots and dirty dogs. The shower on the left side of this mudroom/laundry room doesn't let dirt make it beyond the threshold. |
by Robert kiejdan
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A "slop sink" is a very useful feature. If you've invested in a beautiful kitchen sink, you certainly don't want to be cleaning out paintbrushes or muddy clothes in it.
The past few years have been huge for the laundry room. Houzzers have realized that extra storage for cleaning supplies, countertops for folding laundry, a sink and other features are wonderful to have in this expanded room.
Houzzers also prefer to have their laundry rooms on the same floor as bedrooms or at least have a laundry chute for convenience. Some are even adding an extra machine (preferably one that conserves energy) to make the chore of doing laundry happen faster; you can do a load of whites and a load of darks at the same time, then dry them together.
Houzzers also prefer to have their laundry rooms on the same floor as bedrooms or at least have a laundry chute for convenience. Some are even adding an extra machine (preferably one that conserves energy) to make the chore of doing laundry happen faster; you can do a load of whites and a load of darks at the same time, then dry them together.
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| Another handy feature is a built-in ironing board. This way you can remove clothes immediately after the fluff cycle and make sure they are pressed. |
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While you're in the laundry room ironing, you may as well watch your favorites on a laptop or a TV. This may just become your favorite private space to escape all the activity going on in the rest of the house.
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If you're lucky enough to have extra space in the laundry room, you can use it for other tasks, like crafts. This Michigan laundry room even has a warming cabinet for cold coats. And when you store coats or extra linens in the laundry room, you save space elsewhere in the house.
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The bane of a cat owner's existence is finding a spot for the litter box. One clever Houzzer suggested a cat cabinet in the laundry room. This gives kitty a cozy and private spot to do her business and keeps her from kicking litter all over the floor.
What did we miss? Let us know your favorite features for the entryway, mudroom and laundry room in the Comments section.
Also on Houzzers' wish lists:
Outdoor Must-Haves
Dream Kitchen Must-Haves
Closet and Bath Must-Haves
More:
Readers' Choice: The Top 20 Laundry Rooms for 2011
The Handsome Mud Room
Browse more photos of mud room designs
What did we miss? Let us know your favorite features for the entryway, mudroom and laundry room in the Comments section.
Also on Houzzers' wish lists:
Outdoor Must-Haves
Dream Kitchen Must-Haves
Closet and Bath Must-Haves
More:
Readers' Choice: The Top 20 Laundry Rooms for 2011
The Handsome Mud Room
Browse more photos of mud room designs
Comments
Bright Bold and Beautiful I wish I had the Davidson's well organized mudroom : http://www.brightboldbeautiful.com/2011/01/home-renovation-well-organized-mudroom.html 
15 months ago · Like
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Kimberly Niesz Great ideas! I would love to have a mudroom with a pet shower.
15 months ago · Like
sbolotin The one thing I've added that you haven't mentioned is a DOG SHOWER. There was an old laundry closet just between my garage entrance and my main entry foyer, hidden underneath a stairwell. I've moved the laundry and turned that "closet" space into a small shower built specially to wash my dog. But it's also useful for lots of other things--like what one might use a slop sink for! AND, I get the added bonus of making sure my dog doesn't track his outdoor dirt inside!
15 months ago · Like
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elfred62 Put an electrical outlet in each person's cubby so there's a place right next to your coat and backpack to recharge your iPod, phone, etc. This is the best idea we incorporated into our remodeled mudroom last year.
15 months ago · Like
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cloudlb I'd like to see more provisions made for hanging wet/damp items to dry--better for the clothes and the environment. A rod over a floor drain, with perhaps an outdoor enclosure for line drying sheets, etc.
15 months ago · Like
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lara_jane The only suggestion I can offer (in addition to those already mentioned in the comments) is to have a 1/2 bath adjacent to the mudroom, if possible.
15 months ago · Like
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mary954 I would love any ideas for an outdoor mud room for a beach house. The walkway from our front gate to front door in ours is narrow (with an outdoor sink), so I was thinking of a bench, with space below for beach bags, hooks for towels, and a place to wash off sandy feet and flip-flops. Has anyone seen or done anything like this? Thanks so much for any ideas!
15 months ago · Like
sar12 Other pet thoughts: a tucked in spot for dog food and water bowls, an UNaccessable place for the kitty litter box and her food bowl so that the dogs can't get to it...maybe a cat door into a corner? Also a mud room that can neatly accomodate large winter boots and stormy weather tall wellies would be a treat. How about a communication bulletin board for grocery and to-do lists (and love notes), a catch all area for sunblock, leashes, dog treats, flashlights for late night walks, an electronic/digital charging station? All my must-haves!
15 months ago · Like
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Joann Gilmore Love these Laundry Rooms!!
15 months ago · Like
shiney123 This is a piece of furniture we just built to go in our mudroom. Were thinking about putting another shelve on it. 
15 months ago · Like
embracegrace A mudroom was a must in our new house (http://dejongdreamhouse.blogspot.com). There are three of us, so I wanted a cubbie for each of us, plus a closet with a mirror and shelves (the shelves weren't up yet in the photo below). We keep all our shoes in the mudroom for green reason, so the milk crates beneath the bench hold our seasonal shoes, the crates up above hold our hats, gloves, etc. and our out of season shoes are in the locker. There's an outlet in the back of the locker for charging our GPS, etc. 
15 months ago · Like
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enecia The best feature of our old laundry room (which connected the house, garage and backyard) was a small bath with a shower. That meant that when my husband would come in all dirty or greasy from working on something in the garage or yard he could toss his clothes in the washer and hop right in the shower BEFORE he tracked through the house!
14 months ago · Like
denisesobo Plugs for charging electronics in each "locker" space!
14 months ago · Like
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Linda I want a mudroom with extra hooks for visitors. Also, the mudroom I'm working on will have some coathooks low enough for little kids to hang up their own coats. My kid's backpacks were so heavy that I used bicycle hooks to carry the weight.
13 months ago · Like
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New Seabury Without a doubt the Mudroom is one of the important rooms in a house. Especially if you have kids & dogs.
11 months ago · Like
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lindareiss Need more ideas for those of us who love our top-loading washers.
10 months ago · Like
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sar12 In my next house, I want to plan a mudroom/laundry room to go from garage house entry to back door. I have now & always will have dogs in my life. A back door mudroom will be just the thing, even better if it is a long narrowish space that stretches from garage house entry all the way to the back door!
4 months ago · Like
Becky Harris sar12, even better with a dog bathing area! ;)
4 months ago · Like
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Ideabook updated on March 1, 2012.
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