Mudroom Inspiration {Mood Board}

I have hereby declared the month of March "Mudroom Month."

This sad little room in our home has taken a real beating this Winter, what with the boots, shoes, hats, gloves, and coats its seen. We have a proper coat closet in the entry hall, but I've always wanted to make this room super-functional not only for us, but for guests as well. We enter and exit our house through the mudroom and garage, so we walk through it at least four times a day.

I started prettying up the mudroom back in August/September by painting it the same color as our Powder Room, Morning Fog by Olympic. And then I did absolutely nothing with it. There is currently an old coffee table-turned bench in there, but the bench hasn't been upholstered, the walls are bare, there is no storage for shoes, coats, purses, etc. etc. etc. When I come home, I dump my purse/diaper bag/coat on the table-turned-bench and there it sits until the next time I need to leave.

It gives me the sads--from the pathetic little $12 flush-mount light to the beige vinyl floors. Builders-grade to the maximum. (An aside: when I count the number of chintzy lights like the one in this room and full-on boob lights in our house, I am reminded that we have a loooooong way to go, baby).

If you've been following me on Pinterest you might have seen my "Mudroom Ideas" board. If not, here's a fun little mood board for you to get you in the spirit of Mudroom Month:

1. Cutting Edge Stencils // 2. Urban Outfitters // 3. Home Depot // 4. A Gier Design // 5. Target // 

6. Home Depot // 7. Target // 8. Fabric.com // 9. Lowes

There's the plan, loosely. I think I may stray from my usual fondness of Dark Walnut stain for the wood pieces to something with more of a red tone to match the coffee-table-turned-bench (thinking either Red Oak or English Chesnut).

I plan on DIYing most of the elements, namely the hook rail (maybe installing a shelf/lip to display art over it?), upholstering the coffee-table-turned-bench (see item 8), and making up some art of my own. I do plan on purchasing that New Jersey print because we are Jersey folks through and through (not Jersey Shore-type people though--ack!).

Ultimately my goal is to make this room functional for our every day use and for our guests when we entertain. I'd also like to set the tone for the rest of our house: that this is our home, full of warmth, character, and love.

Right now, that room is DEFINITELY not giving off those vibes.

I'll be blogging my progress as I go--as small as this room is, I do see it taking me a full month to get through since I'll really only have the weekends on work on it--and sharing a final reveal (hopefully) by the beginning of April.

Wish me luck, friends! This little room has had me stumped for months, but I say no more!

Any overhauls going on in your neck of the woods? Share about them in the comments!

Wanna see where I party? Click here for an awesome list of link parties I participate in..

Also linking up to:
Coastal Charm
Savvy Southern Style
Imparting Grace
Jennifer Rizzo