Failed to mention the walk in pantry could be put in part under the stairs, like so

A cluttered and dirty mud room on the front of the house where guests enter is a distinct turn off.

@prosource Memphis - does that change if the mudroom is more like closed in cabinetry? Like this?

No. Mud rooms belong to the side or rear, away from the public. They are not clean and tidy spaces. Stuff never stays in cabinets. It gets dumped on the floors.Big stinky gym bags full of stinky clothes, muddy boots, and a shelf full of junk mail should never greet guests.

Thank you. Definitely something to consider.

What is the other dining space like?

I rather like the reno. It creates a connection between the garage and upstairs and foyer. The cubbies are out of sight. There would probably be a blind, perhaps a bottom-up, to obscure any view through the window. I think it would improve the flow of the house.

But, it also depends on the other dining space.

Heres our current eating area (not formal dining).

A pic from further

It depends on how you live. I prefer a dining room, especially if the kitchen table can't fit up to at least 8 people comfortably. I have been a home owner for 44 years and never seen a need for a mud room in any home. Coats get hung up in the closet and if our foot wear is muddy or snowy we take them off in the garage. 99% of the time we enter through the garage since we park the cars in the garage.

The coat closet was removed with previous owners. Currently we (and everyone else) enters through garage straight into kitchen. We are very informal. I’d kind of like to get the traffic (and it’s dirt) out of the kitchen/eating area which is how this first came to be an idea.

You could also move the garage door to the breakfast room, use that as the everyday entry and pantry, and open up the dining room at least a little to be an everyday dining space with view of back yard.

Having a separate dining room will give you more flexibility in the long run because you can never predict what is ahead. Like most families, we have shifted our room utilization around considerably because of the pandemic . I am very grateful that old our house is a combination of large open kitchen/keeping room and then separate living, dining, family room and study. Our basement has become my husband’s office which means our family room has become one kid’s gaming space. One of my college students is home and has claimed our dining room as her office —haven’t seen the top of the dining room table since the pandemic started! During finals week, my other student used the living room as his office and I retreat to the study for Zoom meetings. I would have never predicted that this many people would simultaneously need separate working spaces.

@bpath - we thought about moving the door and using that breakfast area. Aside from being emotionally attached to that area for some reason, those back windows are an amazing view to the yard and the primary source of light. So it’s a wonderful idea and yet-/ one that every time I sit down to design it I end up walking away. Will continue to think on it all for sure.

@mle0782 - yes, agree flexibility is the trade off, for sure. I know so few people who truly use their dining rooms for dining :)

I can't figure out where the main entry is on the mudroom option.

But, speaking in nonspecific terms -- I'd rather have the mudroom. In fact, a mudroom was in the non-negotiable category when I was house-hunting and found my current home. I previously had two homes where the door from the side door/garage (our day-to-day point of entry) opened right into the house -- sick and tired and SICK AND TIRED of cleaning up all the debris that was tracked into the living space from the garage/outside. No more --> mud room or no-go this time around. Of course stuff still gets tracked in, but it's contained to one small area which isn't a living space, and the muddy dog prints aren't tracked all over the house, either.

We use our formal dining room all the time for family dinners. I took out the table area in the kitchen and added more cabinets in its space when we moved in. It was a priority when we were looking for homes for it to have a dining room large enough to fit ten.

I wonder if turning the dining room into a mud room would decrease your home value since you removed a livable space.

mxk3 - exactly.

funcitonthenlook - that's what I'm curious about. I know I would love the mudroom and frankly, a place to store and use my appliances without having to ding my cabinets every time I pull one out. I don't know if others would see it as a deal breaker (note we don't plan to sell anytime soon - probably here at least another ten years). But at the same time, the current "study" or family room are flexible enough in space they could easily become a dining room for 10. My current dining room could probably seat 10 on a tight squeeze, more more like 8.

oh, and mxk3 - I should have put a swinging door in the bottom left rather than just an entry. We'd put a door to the garage there in lieu of the one that goes straight into our kitchen today.

If you’re not considering moving for 10 years you should reno the space for how it works best for your family. I just downsized into a home with no dining room. I don’t miss the one I had and never used before at all... I really miss my mudroom though and will probably build something makeshift in the garage. Every family is different. There will be somebody who needs a house like yours no matter what decision you make.

Having said that, I personally would absolutely never purchase a home with the garage opening into the kitchen. It snows for a significant part of the year where I am though.

So far I think this group is nearly 50/50, but the rationale is so different for everyone.... So interesting

We added a small mudroom with laundry to our house last year by stealing a few feet from the garage, and we absolutely love having the mudroom. Before we had it everyone dropped their shoes and coats in the family room which opens to the kitchen. Now the mess is hidden. I agree that you don’t want a mudroom in the front of the house.

I would find the extra pantry storage and mud room more useful than a formal dining room, especially because you have a decent sized dining area already. We’re pretty casual so that would suffice even for holiday dinners.