Have you done a search for mudrooms on the Houzz website. There are lots of very beautiful and well designed ones there. Good luck with your project.

We have the shoe area open under the bench and I love it that way. I don't think anyone would put their shoes away if they had to open cabinetry (and it would be a pain to clean). This way, they can just kick the shoes under the bench, and cleaning the area is a breeze! Good luck! I love our mudroom!!

I know you want neatness...but will your family open a door or pull out a bin to put their shoes in? When they were little, mine wouldn't. I would just put open shelves under the bench. If your family is older, then maybe sliding doors would work.

Have you thought of a curtain under the bench? Would cover up the shoes a little and be easier for the kids to throw their shoes in.

I'm in the planning stages of a basement finishing project that will include a mudroom wall type of storage. Lots of ideas on Houzz & BH&G. Ours will be a combo of open & closed storage. The base will be open and we each will have our own section for kicking off our shoes. No way would we open, slide or fiddle w/ finding which pair we need behind something that closes. Plus open shoe storage will not be as stinky as closed & wet items will dry. There will a two tiers - the shelf above the floor will be for off season or rarely used shoes and the floor level will be for the most often used sets. Picture a long bench w/ one shelf underneath.

Yes - a door or a hinge will look better but will it be used by kids? Not mine. We still have to put the finishing touches on our mudroom but we used Ikea wheeled bins - each person gets one bin and once it's full the shoes go to another room. Leave a little space between the bin top and bench and the kids will hopefully put their shoes there. This is much easier for the kids to throw their shoes in instead of moving a door or opening something. We have a bench on another wall.

I like the open hooks idea but for us it would be a mess so I wanted lockers to hide the clutter. DH cut down Ikea tall kitchen cabs to 16" deep. We added 5 holes from the bottom thru the top (and all the shelves) so we have air circulation. (You can see the holes in the 2nd picture) Really wet jackets, etc go elsewhere so that they can dry more before placing in the lockers.

We are also finishing our basement and included a mudroom as we have an entrance from the garage in the basement. I chose the same inspirational picture on houzz to give the contractor. We decided on a drawer on the bottom for shoes. We also decided to put doors on the lockers to hide the mess. It is complete except waiting on the doors and drawers -- I am hoping my kids will be able to handle opening the drawers for shoes (but I'm guessing that will be my job)

sorry this is an old pic, the cubbies are stained now. each cubby also has three double hooks installed for hanging. i originally designed them with doors, but later decided that wouldn't be as efficient as just leaving them open. i think it was a wise choice. we are just shy of a few weeks of our move in, but i use the mudroom every day. i have all the kids' camp stuff stored in here and am in the process of packing them up. the washer/dryer is stacked in a closet to the right of the cubbies and there is a large pantry directly opposite.
shoe storage is below the cubbies. since this pic, i've had an additional shelf put in so there are two levels for shoes. i'll also be getting trays for the shoes so the built ins will hopefully stay cleaner.

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I see the same problem with drawers, either pull out or tilt out, that you have had with the doors. Kids (and adults, I might add) are horrible about leaving doors and drawers open.

Having an open bottom, if this is just for shoes, makes much more sense to me.

I guess my kids were unusual, but they never had more than two pair of everyday shoes at a time, so there was no possibility of a huge jumble of shoes, plus they were expected to put their shoes in their rooms. We didn't have a mud room, so our front and side doors share the same entry hall area, and I didn't want to see any shoes cluttering the floor there.

Thank you for all of your responses. It is a very small mudroom, so space is of the essence. I think we will probably go with an open cubby on the bottom with two baskets.

Les- my kids do have a lot of shoes (for their various sports/activities) as well as their grandmother's shoe fetish, but I am think with the open bins I will be more vigilant about encouraging them to keep only in-season shoes in the bins. Organization is something we are ALL working on in this house.. Thanks again! I will post pictures as soon as it is built and installed.

If you choose an open cubby, would a boot tray fit on the floor to place those wet boots or shoes? Just a thought.

Here is my mudroom bench. I like the open to the floor so easy to clean. The last picture is my inspiration picture.

Almost every mudroom photo I see, I wonder, who on earth has just one pair of shoes? Yet that's what's often pictured, one pair for each person.

Even if you clear out by season, it's a lot of foot wear, at least in our house. In winter my girls each have 2 pr uggs, a pair of boots they can get wet, sneakers, clogs, dress shoes, etc. And they all take off their shoes before them come in, so it's a lot. Each kid fills a good size basket.

We ended up putting a row of hooks, and lining up baskets underneath. The baskets are not covered by a bench. Depending on how hidden the room is, you may or may not like that. But it means they can all see their shoes and just drop them in the basket. No pulling out and pushing back (seems every little request is onerous for kids!). We have a bench on the other wall. BUt really, who sits to put on and take off shoes? Not kids, unless they are so little they need help. Benches can be junk collectors.

If you have any prayer of having shoes put away, it has to be easy to do!

PS It's also a great place for a trash can, to empty backpacks, etc, and a bulletin board to post invites, reminders