Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The All Important Back Entrance - With Mud Room and Powder Room!

Everyone in Maine has a front door, but very few people use them.  In fact, lots of people don't even have a walkway that goes to the front door.  Because everyone knows to come in the back entrance.

'Before' view coming in the back door
Staircase next to back door































That's why we gave a lot of thought to the back door on this house.  It's right next to the driveway and is the logical entrance.  But we knew it needed some changes.  When we bought the house, the first thing you saw was this scary staircase to the attic.  Needless to say, it didn't take long for us to decide it had to go.






'After' view coming in the back door
The Mud Room
There were a couple of things we wanted for this back entrance.  1)  It needed to have a place to stow coats, boots, mittens (this is Maine after all), right as you come in the door.  So we created a mud room with lots of hooks for 'stuff', and a bench to pull your boots on and off.  We used bead board for a vintage touch - but it's also incredibly hard wearing.  And as an extra touch, we install radiant heat in front of the bench, so your toes can stay toasty warm as you slip off your shoes!  The flooring is a US made mock-travertine (super durable!) with a marble mosaic inset.

Powder Room
2)  Equally important was having a powder room on the first floor.  Am I the only person that seems to always need the bathroom when I get home?  We liked the idea of having the powder room right next to the mud room and tucked out of the way of the rest of the house.

It's a small space, but with the vintage style pedestal sink and beadboard walls, it has an old fashioned charm.  We added an oval medicine chest from Kohler and Pottery Barn Mercer sconces, to complete the look. And again, we have radiant heat to keep the floor toasty warm in the winter.

Best of all, we added new windows to this back space.  They're on the east side of the house, so it floods the space with light in the morning.

Want to see more?  Check out the whole house transformation here.  Or 'Like' us on Facebook!




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16 comments:

  1. I can't believe you got rid of death stairs!

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    1. Well, we all knew who would be the first one to fall down them!!! Ha ha

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  2. I'd love a mudroom like this - beautiful and functional! The colors are gorgeous, too. What is the upper color?

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    1. Thanks so much!!! It's one of my favorite colors - Ben Moore's Green Cast. I've used it in several homes.

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  3. Love it! Very thoughtful, warm floors. Mary in NY

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  4. Another fantastic job! Must have been a difficult decision to take out those stairs....
    Denise

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    Replies
    1. Not so difficult……they weren't to code and the front staircase is much nicer!

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    2. Lol you missed the sarcasm! I'd never question ANY of your decisions!
      Denise from MA

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  5. Love the pedestal sink in the bathroom.....can you tell me where its from? Love all the changes you made to this house! Thanks, Laura

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    1. It's an Anerican Standard sink. Isn't it great? Most pedestals don't have any counter space for 'stuff'', but this one has lots of space as well as the curved front that takes up less space.

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  6. Just scooted over to your blog from a Better After Facebook post and so glad I did! Love this post about your mudroom (that flooring is so beautiful....I've never seen the combo of travertine with the mosaic inset before). Looking forward to looking through the rest of your renovations and thanks for the Tuesday morning inspiration :)

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  7. What's the size of that powder room? It must be just barely big enough!

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    1. It's not huge.....but at 3' 8" x 5', it's certainly large enough for a powder room! We've lived in houses where they were smaller.

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  8. Love the mudroom! We also have beadboard with a row of hooks at the top. I'm thinking about adding another row of hooks below, and I came across this post while looking for examples. Can I ask why you put the lower hooks on a 2 x 4 instead of directly on the beadboard? Thanks!

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    1. You want to make sure the hooks are tied into a stud or some strong wood, since we tend to hang so much weight on hooks! Most headboard is thin and/or MDF, so it's not too structurally sound. You could still just go through your beadboard, just be sure and use some sort of molly behind it, so it's really sturdy!

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