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Mudroom cubbies

7 years ago

Our build is moving along and it's time for the built ins. I drew this plan for the mudroom cubbies and was wondering if anyone had feedback. One questions I have: the builder told me he doesn't really feel comfortable putting in the tall cabinets above the cubbies because they are 24" wide and only 18" tall (roughly). He says they are only tall enough for 1 hinge and since they are so wide they will not wear well. I could make them 12" double doors but I don't think that would look good. Any ideas or advice on that? I like the look of the one big door and from what I read, the cubbies should be 24" wide. I would prefer it having a door and not being open since it's high and won't be used often and also there is already a lot of open space below it. Thanks for any help!

(in the second picture the cubby height is 42", we're changing it to 48").

Featured Answer

khinmn59

7 years ago

How about putting the hinges on top so the doors swing up instead of to the side?

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Comments (8)

emilyam819
7 years ago
Well, a 24" door will swing out far. Might anyone hit his head? Depends how tall your family members are.
sarahbr2 thanked emilyam819
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arialvetica
7 years ago
Regarding cubbie dividers...if you want to sit on your bench to put on shoes, don't have the dividers come all the way down to the bench. Or, alternatively, make the bench super deep. Or bench was 60" wide and I'm a 130 lb female, but I was always really uncomfortable sitting there to put on shoes, and only one person could sit at a time. New house, new bench, no dividers! Just hooks galore! :)
sarahbr2 thanked arialvetica
ILoveRed
7 years ago
Do you have an inspiration picture?

is there a reason why you want doors on the top vs. open slots? Maybe with baskets. They would be hard to access without a ladder or tall step stool.
sarahbr2 thanked ILoveRed
sarahbr2
Original Author
7 years ago
The bench is 6" deeper than dividers (20" bench, 14" dividers). It's not a ton but I don't want to go deeper since there's a door at the end of the row. Opening at the top rather than the side might not be a bad idea. The ceilings are 9' so they are quite high (no bumping heads) and would be used rarely. I was preferring the closed to open look just because I thought it was nice to break it up since the shelf below would probably have baskets. These were the inspiration photos.

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ILoveRed
7 years ago
I really like your inspiration pictures. Now, I get what you are doing.

as pretty as that top section is, it's not very practical I'm afraid. I don't know how old your kids are but as they get older those top spaces are a great place to throw sports bags and basketballs and stuff like that instead of using the bench portion which will inevitably be used for book bags. The book bags get so heavy as they progress in school, you don't want them to be hung on your hooks. Besides that the hooks will be occupied with tons of stinky sweatshirts, lol. At least that is my experience.

if you want to use with your plan, I see no reason why your doors can't be used. Just insist on it and use two hinges. It is indeed pretty. Doing the seat portion in a dark color is smart! I did not and it is not great looking years later.

i love the idea of an open bench area as mentioned above since in my house no one uses their own locker and no one sits on the bench to put on their shoes.
emilyam819
7 years ago
Can you reduce the dividers and upper cabinets to 10" or so? Seems like you would be able to stand on the bench to get to the cabinets but the deeper they are the easier it will be to get stuff lost in the back.
Intoodeep
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
sarahbr2- what did you end up doing and how did it turn out? I’m thinking of a very similar layout! Pictures?

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