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When Megan Moncrief and her family moved into their St. Petersburg, Florida, home in 2020, the laundry-mudroom skyrocketed to the top of her must-fix list. They almost exclusively enter the house through the back door. “It’s the most-used room,” Moncrief admits. Save for a small toilet room, appliances, and a little bit of paneling, the 9 feet by 12 feet room was bare. Moncrief’s priorities were storage, moody black paint, and built-in dog bowls so her little ones would feel less tempted to make a mess with the kibble.
The Laundry-Mudroom Before
The Laundry-Mudroom After the First Renovation
But after living with her reno for a few years, Moncrief started to notice some flaws. For starters, she’d chosen open shelves to save on cost, but that meant everything from their laundry detergent to their shoes was on display 24/7. Meanwhile, a leak in the bathroom was festering under the floors and when they finally looked into it, they uncovered black mold. “It was a blessing in disguise because I never liked the tile in there,” shares Moncrief. If they were going to pull up the flooring anyway, she thought they might as well run a water line to a pot filler over the dogs’ drinking bowl. And while the contractor was at it, they should just go ahead and re-do the cabinetry, too.
Fast forward to today, Moncrief’s laundry-mudroom is the hardest-working space in her house. Ahead, in her own words, she reveals five details that just make sense in the (finally) completed space.
The Integrated Hampers
The mornings are hectic with two small kids. Everyone is getting their uniforms on and pajamas off, so it’s nice to have hampers underneath the washer and dryer. Our pool is also right outside that door, so towels and bathing suits get tossed in with stinky baseball gear and socks. It’s fewer trips up and down the stairs!
The Elevated Drying Rack
My initial idea for the space above the laundry was to disguise the water heater with a curtain. But then we added a second rod in front of that as a place to dry things. We use a reaching hook like you’d find at a Macy’s to pull things down. It’s super easy to use and it’s all out of the way.
The Hidden Dog Feeding Station
Before, there was a ton of wasted space above the built-in dog bowls. So instead, we tucked them in a drawer and built side-by-side pull-outs for recycling and dog food above. Because we were pulling the floor up, I ran water to a pot filler so we don’t have to walk to the bathroom sink to fill up the bowl.
The Semi-Closed Shoe Drawers
Our old shoe shelves were really deep, so you’d have rows of shoes that you couldn’t easily get to. Plus, our seven- and five-year-old are not going to be organizing their shoes every day. These drawers are great: we can just throw things in (one side is for kids, the other for adults). And the grates help everything air out.
The Organizers You Can Stack and Hack
What I learned during the first round of designing this room is to not leave gaping areas. Within all the cabinets are tons of little baskets, risers, and other containers. I recently started using a plate rack to hold hand towels in the powder room and glass jars for dryer sheets or puppy food. Within the mudroom cabinets, we also have first aid items, medicine, dog supplies, laundry supplies, bug spray, sunscreen, overflow toilet paper, tissues, paper towels, etc. Here are some of my favorite storage solutions for inside the cabinets:
