I've never had the luxury of a walk-in pantry OR a mudroom. How much is each entrance/exit used? How trainable is your family? Would everyone necessarily walk by the mudroom to go to and from the garage?

It might be harder to train them to remove shoes upstairs vs. upon exiting the car. OTOH, backpacks and outgoing mail might be better upstairs. Would jackets get too cold in the basement?

Finally, does your family have an opinion on this?

Was the mudroom only for those coming from the garage to the house? What about someone coming from the yard into the house. Do you have young children or pets (dogs who may be coming in from the yard)?

Ok - here is the layout - I quickly traced off of my much larger plans so this doesn't have full detail... The wall in between the mudroom/pantry and built-in hutch is movable so it can come out flush if we want. The built-in hutch is a prelim idea... so not set in stone. Also, we are working on the kitchen layout as we speak - as of now this is the preliminary layout. Both the side (behind the range) and the far walls are new walls so we have flexibility as to where we want to put the new windows. If anyone has any feedback or thoughts on the kitchen design - I'd love to hear them!

Ok, so let me know what you think about having that space be a mudroom or pantry - what would you prefer to have there? Thanks!!

Thanks so much for your posts. I'm going to upload the basement sketch as well. There are two storage closets that I'm wondering if we could use as a possible mudroom... We don't have pets (I'm allergic) and we have two small kids both under 3 (so no school backpacks... yet!) I'm imagining we exit through the garage 90% of the time with the other 10% of the time exitting out the side entrance which is a flight down from the main level but not all the way down at basement level. The yard is at walkout basement grade so I'm imagining the little ones will go out the garage to get to the yard to play esp. with toys stored there...

My husband is open to whichever I want on the mudroom/pantry front. He thinks a pantry is more practical upstairs but he knows that I always wished I had a mudroom in our last house...

Here is the basement layout by the garage entrance

I'm all for mudroom space but... it looks like the space you are considering is well into the interior of the house, rather than being by an outside door. That makes it handier (IMO) as a pantry than a mudroom.

That storage space near the side entrance landing looks like the prime spot. I'm not sure though - is that space the same level as the side entrance or is it basement level? Maybe at the side entrance level it's just the small closet.

But even if it's just the small closet at that level, I would consider removing the door to the closet and making it recessed cubbies for hats and shoes, and putting some coat hooks with upper cubbies/storage on the wall by the side entrance door. If the landing is deep enough, maybe you would have room for a small storage bench too:

From that layout, I'd say "pantry".

What is between the 'powder room' and the wall for the stairs, and where does that arrow go?

It's a u-shape ranch - that arrow goes toward a bedroom that will be used as a home office (I work out of my house). The study is smaller and is for my husband... he doesn't need as much space but wanted a separate spot for when he needs to bring work home. Sorry that I didn't draw everything in... the powder room is cut off as well.

When the kids come in the house, do they almost always go up the stairs and pass by the proposed mudroom? Adults?

Is there an entrance/exit b/w the garage & home other than those stairs?

How often is the front door used by family and close friends?

When playing outside, do the kids come in via the garage? Other entry at the first-floor level?

When leaving for school, which door do they use? When coming home from school?

If you put in a pantry instead...could you move the bathroom on the Garage level to the storage area next to the bedroom? That would...

(1) make the bathroom more convenient for the bedroom while leaving it accessible to the Rec Room

(2) give you more mudroom space by combining the current bathroom + closet

This might be what Chicagoans is talking about, but I think what you need is a split up mudroom plus a walk-in pantry.

What I mean is have the hooks and cubbies for the outdoor clothes down by the garage entrance, a console table near the top of the stairs for backpacks, assignments, and just plain junk that gets dumped (those kids will grow fast!), and a place for garden shoes (flipflops, sneakers or whatever), and grab on the fly jackets in the family room near the garden door. A little halltree or something. You might be able to train your kids (and other family members) to keep all their things in the right place, and put them in that closet, but in my experience, they leave a trail of detritus unless you furnish catchments for it all. And then they start yelling, "MOM!!!! WHERE'S MY....????" Giving them point of use right places to dump their stuff really helps.

Then you can have the pantry for a pantry!

I would totally have both! That space that is labeled "coat closet" could easily be joined to the pantry/mudroom. I would just split that area up differently, and maybe move the doors to slightly different areas.

My experience has been that when they hit school-aged, they will need more sports equipment, more backpack stuff, more jackets/jerseys/etc. I think having a place for shoes at the bottom of the stairs is no biggie, but I think you will totally want an earea not in the garage where you can put the kids' JUNK. I say that with capitals because I swear each year that they got older, they accumulated more stuff and had more different hats/clothes/etc (and my kids barely even play sports!).

The garage floor: what about making that storage area near the bedroom a full mudroom? Is that basement area a real living area or is it more "basement-ish"?

Do you need a large pantry? You appear to have a lot of cabinet space. If you don't need a large pantry, then how about making a small pantry & using the rest of the area for the Mudroom.

Thanks so much for all of the help. The basement is currently finished (albeit a long time ago, so with paneling, etc). The plan is to update the basement but not put too much $$ there as we are spending so much on the main level. I do think the storage closet between the stairs in the bedroom in the basement could make a great spot for the mudroom (it's 8x6 without the extra nook space). I also like the idea of making the landing by the side entrance a spot for cubbies - the only problem may be that the closet it 4 by The hard part is that we haven't lived in this house yet so I can't answer to how the traffic *truly* will be. Also, with non-school aged kids it's hard to know what their school day routine will be when they are old enough... Thanks though - I really appreciate your thoughts!

ako

I understand you have children but they aren't school aged. I would attempt to fast forward in time as well as imagine you are living in the space - that should dictate the function on plans -

We have a busy house and the back door is utilized 99% of the time. It has a small mud area & powder room. The back porch is right off the driveway - We have a garage but it is detached and further away from any entrance.

I personally would give my eye teeth for a larger mud room/area - it really is the hub of the house. On design your "mudroom" is placed awkwardly - it is not a hub, rather (pardon expression) "you can't get there from here"

While it is difficult - I would give serious thought as to how you "live" in the space before committing to the floorplan. How many people in the house? children/adults? pets. What will the library be used for? Does someone work from home? What is outside the "side" entrance? Is the "terrace" a large space that you see yourself & your family utilizing a lot? Where is the driveway in location of terrace/back entrance? Do you think you will be pulling the car in the garage all the time?

for example if the driveway is located near the terrace area - It is more likely that you and your family will be utilizing that entry way - we are creatures of habit, people are not going to hop out of a car and go to a an entry furthest away - they are going to the closet entry way.

I would be less concerned with what is "pretty" at this stage - because you literally have a blank slate for good planning - and have greater consideration towards function.

Best of luck

I just saw this and thought of your little closet by your side entrance. I love the use of beadboard, trim and nice hooks to make the space attractive.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to Blissfully Domestic Mudroom in a Closet

Love that closet conversion - thanks for sharing!! So I'm thinking that the main level room will be a walk-in pantry, we'll have a full mudroom in the basement (probably that 8x6 storage room) and some extra cubby/hooks/storage at the side entrance... or at least that's the current plan :) Thanks for all the great advice.

Our garage is at basement level also. We NEVER come in the front door(and most of our friends and family walk through the garage as well). In my dreams, everyone would take their shoes and coats off in the basement, but it just doesn't happen. We're all carrying things when we walk in and no one wants to put this stuff down, take off coats and shoes, pick up their bags and go upstairs. So, I think it's great if you have a designated spot upstairs as well as downstairs for this stuff. I'm just not sure you need a coat closet and a mud room.

Is there anything "permanent" that you would be putting in there if you decided on mudroom or pantry? I'm thinking that if you're leaning in 1 direction, but some "disposable" fixtures and see how it goes. For example, if you're leaning towards mudroom, put up some hooks, purchase a bench and maybe some cubbies. That way if your needs change, you could modify the space at a later date.

That pic & link are nice...but...there's no way it would work for a family with kids...way too little space and I can hear the arguing now about who's taking up too much space!

I have to agree w/Malhgold...I suspect everyone will go straight upstairs rather than stop to take off coats, etc. and then go up to drop off everything else (groceries, backpacks, etc.)

School age kids...

You need to have a place for a large backpack (yes, large, you will be surprised at how much kids lug around these days...and all required for school, not "fun"!) AND, that backpack needs to be easily accessed from where homework is done...i.e., upstairs...as well as when going out the door in the AM. Oh, and to put lunch in b/f heading out the door.

Then there's the boots, sneakers, shoes, sandals, flip-flops, cleats (soccer, softball/baseball), basketball shoes/sneaks, etc.

[Note: The cleats can probably stay in the garage...that's where we store them. I prefer the kids NOT wear them into the house as they usually have what I call "orange softball dirt" clumped on the bottoms...and it permanently stains carpets! If shoes aren't worn to school, they can probably stay in their rooms.]

Next, jackets for cool weather, coats for cold weather, and rain coats for rainy weather (at least while they're young).

Then there are the gloves, scarves, hats, etc.

I do not have a Mudroom...it's one of those things I didn't think about when we built. My DS was less than a year old & I was pregnant w/my DD...so these things weren't on my radar yet. I wish someone had told me though! [We're planning on taking approx a 5' x 9' section out of the garage for one, but I don't know when that's going to happen. There will be just enough room to park a car on that side if we do it (our garage is approx 24' x 24').]

AOKAT: It's either on the Home Decorating Forum or the Organization forum that someone posted threads about mudrooms. I loved seeing all the pics of everyone's different versions--might be worth a search and viewing to get more ideas.

I have had a mudroom for the past 10 years and I seriously could not live without it--it is just about as hard-working of a room as my kitchen. Since you have a few flexible spaces, you really don't have to choose between the two. I think it's just a matter of how you split up that space. As I questioned above, the storage area at the bottom of the stairs might be a good mudroom, but Buehl brings up a good point about shlepping things up and down--my office was downstairs and it started to drive me nuts after a while. The kids will run down and get their notebooks for homework, then they'll run back upstairs, then they will run down for shoes to go out the back door...it might be a lot of running around.

One suggestion by plllog makes some sense: the storage area below can be a large coat closet/shoe and boot closet. The upstairs is more of a cubby area for other junk. You could set this up so that things are not totally "permanent" and didn't cost too much by fitting the downstairs storage with cheap benches and coat hooks. Upstairs, make room for another mudroom and set up an area that the kids can put their backpacks, etc. As Mahlgold mentioned, things tend to come into the main area....but maybe they can shed their dirty shoes and wet jackets downstairs first.

Since you have never lived in the house and your kids are still small, you probably have a hard time envisioning the "flow". It's hard to both plan for and predict how it all will work. But, if you don't go out and buy built-ins and yet you leave spaces for them for a future time, you give yourself some flexibility for 6 months or a year after you move in, and you can match what will best work for you and your family.

You have a wonderful amount of space and it's great you're thinking about this!

Do you really need that large study?

Could you take an 18" to 24" deep by 5' wide chunk out of it for a reach-in pantry w/12" or 15" deep shelves? That's a decent size pantry space b/c remember, you're utilizing the entire height...floor-to-ceiling.

Then you could devote that Mudroom/Pantry + Coat Closet to a good sized Mudroom that's easily accessed from both the front door & the stairs leading up from the garage.

You might even be able to take a small space on the kitchen end for a Utility Closet...maybe 18" to 24" deep by 3' wide.

Advantage: Pantry is closer to kitchen & easier to access

Ahh finally found my thread again...

Thanks so much for all of the great ideas. I am meeting with our architect later this week and I plan to talk all of this through with him with all of these possible options. If we end up making that space a walkin pantry I'm trying to think of ways to also have some small cubby or mudroom space on the main level with perhaps a larger mudroom space in the basement. If you look at the current layout again, I'm thinking about doing away with the built-in hutch and making that wall flush with the corner. Then I can move the walk-in pantry down and add a small mudroom above it where the coat closet is. There is another small closet across the hall that can be a coat closet. What do you think?

If we go with something like that, where do you think the pantry entrance should be? In the hall like it is now, in front so it opens to the hearth room and kitchen or as a walk-through pantry with doors in each side wall? (the center hall going to the left brings you right to the formal dining room in the front of the house). Thanks for all the input... I'm probably completely overthinking this :)

If you were willing to forego that second entrance to the kitchen you could use the hallway space to get both a pantry and a mudroom.