Story: My MIL had a lovely apartment in a new building. Visitors always exclaimed about the beautiful view. MIL said that she'd stopped even noticing the view, but that the kitchen was too small and didn't have enough upper cabinets.

I don't think a back hall/mudroom/family entrance can BE too big!

This looks good to me! Do you have a drop space for mail, letters, keys, etc.? Also, I would be tempted to divide that 6' closet into two, with out of season stuff in one closet, current stuff in another.

How big is that little corner space in the mudroom? I would consider moving the deep freezer to that area. We've had a freezer in the garage in a northern climate. It's a pain to get stuff in and out in the winter months. I suspect it runs better indoors also. Seems like a good location for it.

Thanks! Been thinking about this all weekend. I stood in the lot yesterday and decided to keep the jog and the kitchen window. It's one of the few windows with a Northern view and I'll be able to keep a better eye on the kids. So with that...

Mo142 and Mrs. Pete: I will extend the broom closet and possibly divide the closet. Thank you. It actually started out as a walk-in closet but I decided to go for a big space feel. I lose 3ft of total closet (9' to 6') but gain room for 4 people to take off snowsuits at once etc.. The lockers won't be divided, just a long bench with 2 rows of hooks plus a shelf above

RRAH: Ugh the deep freeze; I'm actually trying to decide between a small tall one in the pantry or a big one in the garage...

Also, I've debated the front family entrance pros and cons. But it just makes so much sense for us. We only park in the garage from December to April and all of our shoes/coats etc.. will be in the mudroom. If it was a different lot, I would put the garage behind the house and the mudroom to the side... In lieu, the entrance is set back, and the driveway will hopefully work to lead guests to the front door. The security issue does make me nervous though. How far are we from affordable door-locking iPhone apps?

Thanks again

Quinn - ours is similar in a few ways but we didn't do a family entrance by the lockers just a window and I can easily see why you'd want that and I think it would be useful.

We have the open hooks and bench and I love it. We also have a closet such as yours that we put the off season overflow in - northern climate here with 2 boys. I had a closet organizer installed with double bars and shelves in the middle. It holds a ton and I am glad we have that separate closed closet space for off season winter coats, hats, boots, cleats, etc etc. It's a reach in not a walk in. What I also like is that when coming in from the garage you can walk through without tripping over whatever backpack, shoe mess is going on in the coat/locker area. The path is always clear. We do park in our garage 100% of the time though.

A couple of ideas for the stacked laundry. If you want to have it closed off why not flip it so it's in the bathroom? It's out of the main walk through then and you can have a basket in there 'out of the way'? We also have that door just like you show that heads outside and we use it frequently.

Allows venting access right outside:

W/D with folding basket storage:

In my old house, I told my builder I didn't want a closet in my mud room, he strongly suggested I have one. I went with his experience, figuring he's done this so many times.

within a year I paid someone to remove it. My advice, when in doubt, leave it out. There is more space saving ways to store stuff than a closet. And if you end up wanting one, it's easy enough to put in a wardrobe or build one. Much more of a pain in the butt to take it out.

You have space for a lot of options. Mrs P's with the deep freeze inside:

Meris, do you mean you ripped out the closet ... in favor of open storage? I vote that direction. A mud room is already a closet of sorts, so open storage make sense to me.

I like the idea of bringing in the deep freezer ... but now I'm thinking I might prefer keeping the broom closet small and putting the deep freeze next to it, opening the door towards the bathroom /nearer the kitchen:

OR flip the bathroom and let the freezer take the spot of that closet. This is probably the worst paste-up you'll see this week, but something like this:

I definitely like getting the deep freeze out of the garage, into the cooler temperature, and nearer the kitchen. I think either of these spots would work well.

Deep freeze in the broom closet! Also frees up room in the pantry. I like it.

The W/D started out in the bathroom for easy venting, but took it out b/c (and this may come across as a silly reason)... I find dryer dust extra gross to clean when mixed with bathroom grime :) In my old house our laundry was in a bathroom. And if W/D nook is open it will also reduce the tunnel-hall feel going out the back door. But may decide to enclose it once I stand in the space.

I do like the double-closet option for off-season, and the no-closet option for flexibility and space. I think this is just one of the items I will sit on. Thanks for your input!

I'm excited to get feedback on the rest of our plans; hopefully this week :)

I always want a laundry sink in my 'back hall' (mudroom/laundry room). Where will you draw water for cleaning/mopping? Where will you clean that dog your children promise to take care of?

A closet doesn't care what you call it. My back hall closet is 3 X 9 with a pair of 36" doors. It holds brooms, mops, the central vac hose, Costco 'stuff', boots, coats, pails.

I have plenty of cabinets in my kitchen. We do not live 20 miles from stores. I do not need a second closet called "Pantry". Fewer 'designated' closets means fewer doors.

Might you use your garage for your cars year round in the new house? I understand the reasoning for the family entrance in front, but think that porch will accumulate things. Is there shelter over the back door?

Mrs Pete, yes open storage. You can do whatever you find you need, as you live there. Much more flexible than a closet.

Your mud room is prime real estate. Personally, I would store my off season stuff elsewhere, and utilize that space for day to day.

Quinn "The W/D started out in the bathroom for easy venting, but took it out b/c (and this may come across as a silly reason)... I find dryer dust extra gross to clean when mixed with bathroom grime :) ". I don't think that is silly at all. We had our w/d in the bathroom in our last house also but it was a teeny tiny half bath and I hated it but because it was so cramped there was about 2' between the dryer and the toilet and they were opposite each other. Your full bath looks much more roomy so that is why I suggested it as a possibility.

I am with chisue on that utility sink. We don't have that and the fam is always washing up in the kitchen sink - drives me NUTS. If they would use the sink the bathroom that would be fine and ideal. The thing is mine do not. They walk right past the half bath and into the kitchen. Grrr! My laundry is not near the garage entry so a utility didn't make sense for me there.

You could still flop the w/d into the porch entry to allow outside venting - or you could flop it with the tub which would also give you an outside wall. Is that an 8' span there with the tub wall or what is the dimension? You could do wainscoting or something to give it visual interest and make it not seem so large. I still think incorporating even a counter near to the W/D would be useful. Laundry soap, prewash, soaking sink, etc? Mail sorter incorporated?, Open storage underneath the counter for baskets? You could vent under the stairs through the garage?

edit: I just saw your long counter off the kitchen for probably mail and such so you could dedicate that space across the w/d for all things laundry related.

Are there steps from the garage into the house? If so, then that door should swing in I think. Might change things a bit.

Interesting ideas... I'm waiting on the elevation specs (so steps into garage are TBD and will likely affect any novel possibilities). The garage door should swing in (there is a bug in the floorplanner software that on refresh all the doors get switched... frustrating).

I didn't think about a utility sink in this area, since there is one in the laundry room upstairs (assumed the bath would be enough, hmmm...) Can you put a utility sink in the garage or will be issues with frozen pipes?

Autumn: What do you mean they wash up in the kitchen sink? Like they wash their hands in the kitchen after playing outside? Ew. I was planning on having a floor drain though... The original idea was to keep the plumbing together to cut down on $$. Not sure how much this saves though.

Our laundry/bath combo was huge... 10x12. Still didn't feel any nicer :) And you're right, the long counter (for now) is for mail, shredding, family calendar etc...

Yes that's what I mean. It's exasperating! They waltz right past the bathroom and wash their grubby hands and then flick the water all over. Gah. I have been working on that issue for years and they aren't clueing in. Yesterday dh backed me up when again there they were at the sink and I said THAT MEANS YOU TOO. His jaw dropped, lol. My sink, MY SINK for food prep people. Get outta my space with those dirty hands!

I think your long counter is in a perfect spot. It's close enough to be useful but it's not IN the kitchen per se. Thumbs up to that! Mine is more in the back entry and it's not as convenient.

You certainly can put a utility sink in the garage - but I don't know about winter time if there would be a span of weather that you couldn't use it - here that would be the case unless there is a way to insulate it. Definitely would want it on an inside wall at the least.

I think you need to evaluate what exactly you plan to use that W/D for and if you will be doing a lot of soaking or if that stuff would go upstairs to the other W/D and how frequently you'll be using this one. I have a utility sink by my W/D - had to fight for it as our bath is near and hubby thought it wasteful but when you have someone sick in the night or stains that need extra soaking it's 100% worth it to me. That is my humble opinion. That one time one of them had the flu in my mind made it worth the extra cost. I don't want that soaking in my sink - and they aren't deep enough anyway.

What if I made the bathroom sink a little bigger than normal and added a spray nozzle like a kitchen sink? Too weird?

Search around and see what can find for a deeper sink and if you like what's out there. You could try stainless and go for a modern/industrial feel? Like a prep sink or something? Not sure. It is a 'spare' bath so if you can get the look you want I think it would be fine. But I am not a designer by any stretch.

Oh I can see why you would be exasperated. Also, we definitely have a utility sink upstairs for that reason.

WRT how much we will use that W/D, I honestly expect it to be 1-2x/week (primarily for my kitchen linen system, rarely washing guest linens from the bonus room, and dirty outdoor gear as required).

I also didn't want to move my coats to the basement every 6 months. I do that now, and I really dislike that job. It takes a whole day. I just want to leave everything in there all the time!

So, instead of a utility sink (which would require losing storage or increasing $ sqft ), there could be:

1. a bigger, deeper than average sink in the bath,
2. a shower with a hand-held hose nozzle for buckets.
3. a utility sink in the garage (if possible)
4. an outdoor shower (already behind the garage, not shown)

Will I still regret not having a mudroom sink...?

I guess I could replace the W/D with a utility sink. Maybe that would be more useful... All laundry would go upstairs.... I'll have to sit on this for a few days.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Very helpful.

If you have one upstairs and the bedroom are upstairs yes - then I think fine. If you have something really grubby you might not want to haul it through the house so any of your options 1-4 I think would be more than adequate and for the limited times you need it you still have an option so I am going to say no you'd not regret it.

I am with you on not hauling coats up and down. They are so bulky. I rather like my closet for the off season stuff and it's neat and tidy and I can quickly see what we have/need. Plus our weather can be so extreme from one day to the next that I hauled my winter coat out 4 times after it was 'done and put away for the season'. Watching baseball in the freezing cold in April and yes I believe MAY!

At our house it's my DH who uses the back hall powder room, then washes his hands in the kitchen prep sink, *opposite the refrigerator* -- 'icky' AND a bottleneck. Our *grandchildren* use the powder room sink; not DH!

Where to do the laundry? Will it be where the laundry originates (bedrooms) or where the laundress IS most of the time (kitchen). I want a laundry/slop sink and the main laundry in the back hall where I can 'tend' the loads. If you have a laundry chute you only have to take clothes one way. (I know families where each child takes his own clean laundry upstairs. Amazing, eh?)

I could see a secondary stack system or a combo washer/dryer in one unit upstairs unless it was noisy. Ah, the homey sound of gym shoes in the dryer at midnight! I'm also leery of upstairs flooding.

chisue I wanted a prep sink to keep those boys out of my sink but I lost that one and my layout didn't really warrant it or have a convenient spot for one. Bleh.

My boys are upstairs and we are on the main floor. They transport all of their wash both ways and actually do their own with little assistance. They are 10 and 12.