I would NEVER have a mud room off my main entry all the mess and mud and stinky hockey gear IMO needs to come out the car and ino the house as far from the livin space as possible but still keep it handy for grocery unload. I have had a mud room when we had kids(3 boys) I am a bit anal about cleanliness and order. Good luck with both I found out. The shoes were kicked of the mitts if I was lucky were at least in a jacket pocket , stinky basketball clothes rarely hit the laundry basket that was right inside the laundry room part of the mud room.We had school lockers for coats etc .They were great for about a week then the kids were looking fo th old hooks and boot shelf. I think hockey gear stays in the garage you can set up a really nice spot there for bags , pads and skates dropped as they head to house if at all possible try to make sure they put the youcky clothes in a bag you provide to head straight to the laundry.They will never pull open a drawer to place shoes neatly inside I love a nice looking basket for mitts and touques since they will go through many on a nice day outside . I actaully went to the Salvation Army when the kids were quite small and just bought a bag of mitts , all the kids in the neighborhood used them and once a week I sorted them out and returned the used ones to their rightful owners .I know this was a time when kids actully played outside but my DILs find the same issues with their mud rooms as far as the kids just not putting things away in those nicely planned cabinets . I will say this is my experience and maybe your kids are really tidy .LOve the PR off the mud room lord knows how handy that was. I always dreamed of this pretty mud room but it was not to be.