I cannot believe it’s already back to school! And with it comes all the things…bookbags, shoes, activities. Having moved last October, we dove right into a new school setting along with a new (120 year old) house and made a very make shift mudroom setup. And by that I simply mean everything was just thrown on the floor. Ugh. I feel we always function best with an organized family command center. One where the kids can access and store all the things and is located closely to our back door. Not having a proper mudroom in this space, we decided to take the downstairs laundry closet (we’re fortunate to have the main washer and dryer in the upstairs space as well) and turn it into a coat closet / broom closet. Once we removed the washer, we also took off the wall cabinets, which theoretically sound good, but was just too small for the space.
As we’re still figuring out how best to use the space in this new house, I didn’t want to permamenantly remove the washer/dryer hookups. Nor did I want to invest in permanet shelving nor spend a lot of money. So, we opted to use a lot of items we already owned and one of the few things I ended up purchasing was this peel & stick wallpaper.
It only took three rolls to cover the closet, and for around $100 it really brightened and cheered up the space. To protect the floors we used remenants of our living room rug (looooooove that these individual squares are so versatile). We used this white shelving unit and added this basket to hold bookbags and this rod to allow a a space to hang coats.
For more family organization I hung my favorite clear wall pockets. These things are a game changer for all the school papers, incoming mail and all the files. For $22, I bought this little peg board with accesories. Over the door we re-used these colorful hooks we had (with our old house, doors won’t shut with anything over them, so Brian cut the top and used screws to attach). And lastly this boot tray to contain all the wet, muddy mess we all seem to bring in from outside.
Now that our entry was cleared out and a blank canvas, I added this pretty piece of art from a favorite, Lulie Wallace.
I also placed my mother’s antique pine dresser near the back door.
This lamp with the added colorful shade brings light into the space and this marble tray acts as the perfect catch-all for keys and glasses. Absolutley love the bright blooms from our Crepe Myrtle this summer. I’ve been changing this vase out every four days for a month and these flowers next to a photo of my mom make me so happy!
Love how a quick fix really made this a cheerful, organized space for me and my family! Here’s to a new school year!