And here is a floor plan of our first floor. It says vestibule in the garage but it’s really just an elevated wood platform in the garage where we keep recycling.

Freedom · More Info

How about doing cubbies, but put doors on them? That way all of the utility, none of the clutter :)

Alternatively and more cheaply, just build in a closet or put in an ikea-type wardrobe.

Hope this helps!

Could you move the recycling and use that space as a mudroom? Sorry if it's an obvious possibility you've already dismissed.

Tartanmeup, Thank you, I would love to be able to do that. The issue is that because it's unheated, it's freezing out there in the winter (like today) and so we really can't use that space to take off coats and shoes.

So-relooking at your photo. What is the width of the wall next to the sliding doors where I think you're coming into the house at... also, what is the distance from that corner to the doorway into the kitchen?.

A few quick ideas.

1. To keep carpet clean, use runners. You can use clear plastic or a decorative runner rug that's machine washable.

2. Or you can replace the carpet with tile or laminate, depending on your preferences, all the way to the far wall. Perhaps you can use the same material or similar design as your kitchen flooring to keep the design cohesive. This covers both your 'mudroom' and patio entrance.

3. Use open cubbies (storage organizers) and baskets of your choice placed behind the coach or against the far wall (where you can go vertical).

4. Hooks are a great idea.

We hope these help. Best of luck!

I'd put the mudroom in the garage - including it in the heating envelope of the house. Then either run heat out there, or heat it passively through the doorway to the family room. When I was a kid, louvered doors would serve that purpose.

I love minimomy's suggestion. Right now, you have a family room, a living room and a bar room. I would create a true mudroom using the area to the right of the fireplace - put up a wall there and put built-ins. It seems like you will still have a lot of natural light in the family room even if you put up a wall, and you can always supplement with more lighting. By putting up a wall, you can change the flooring in the mudroom area only and can leave the carpet as is in the family room. If you go this route, hiring a designer might be worth it to solve the beam problem and also ensure that the proportions for the mudroom and reduced family room will work for your family.

Can you turn the bookcase into a mudroom closet with doors (painted the same color as wall).

I'm also seconding minimommy's suggestion. We're a family of 5 and our house only have one small closet on the first floor. We ended up getting Ikea Pax Wardrobes for our mudroom - they corral shoes, backpacks, sports equipment, etc. behind closed doors and can be configured with any combination of drawers and shelves. The only thing we've struggled with is coats - the kids have a much easier time hanging them on hooks than hangers, so we still use a coat rack with hooks on the wall.

The other thing you might want to consider is a bench on the backside of the sofa (assuming your current furniture arrangement stays), so you have a place to sit and put on shoes or to use as a drop zone.

Easiest solution? Put a storage bench/ottoman where you've dumped all the "stuf" behind the sofa and dump it in there instead.

Storage TICK

No visual clutter TICK

Natural light not messed with TICK

Minimal cost TICK

No renovations TICK

House Beautiful kinda beautiful.... uh maybe not.

But it does solve your problem! :)

Hu200

Mimimomy, the portion of the wall to the left of the glass doors is 43”. It’s ~16 ft on diagonal from that corner to the kitchen doorway.

I like your idea of an Ikea-type wardrobe (why didn’t I think of that?) with doors. What are you thinking re: room measurement?

Imckuin, the front living room is the formal one and goes mostly unused. The bar room and office in the back was an addition the previous owners put in as an in-law suite. My husband is using the back room for an office but the bar room (so named for the giant unused wet bar in the room, not shown on plan) is an awkward space with a table in it but no other furniture. The kids use it for art projects and board games but it’s wasted space. It could become a living room (something we’ve considered). Ideally, I would love to incorporate it into the kitchen which feels small for our family. The tricky part is that it’s not level with the current kitchen. It’s like a sunken living area.

Welive in the family room attached to the garage because it’s the farthest from the stairs and my husband‘s office, so I don’t worry as much about noise when the baby is sleeping or my husband is on calls. We also use the side office/study a lot because there’s a door we can close.

We’re fortunate to have lots of space, but it’s not in the places that would be most useful. I wish we had no formal living room but instead a larger kitchen, a larger dining room, and a mudroom.

HomeDecorAZ, we‘d like to install hardwood, though the fact that it’s a heavily-used entryway does give me pause. Thanks for the reminder to put down runners!

So maybe I'm confused... a state I am often in.

In picture 1, I see the sliding doors, then a wall sconce, then the art (this is where I was thinking you wanted to put up hooks, etc), then to the right of the art is the kitchen...

Is this where you want storage?

Or are you hoping for it on the right hand side of the fireplace. (if you're facing the fireplace).. Just wanna be on the right page before throwing out any more ideas :)

If you go the bench route, consider the Ikea Kallax which would offer you storage cubbies. You could even add legs to raise it and slide shoes underneath.

Pic from Tonic Living.

Mad_gallica, This is what the “vestibule” looks like in the garage (please forgive the clutter). Am I wrong in thinking that it would be a major project to turn it into living space? If not, I do love the idea of reclaiming it.

Freedom · More Info

Mimimomy, Sorry I wasn‘t clearer! I thought you were asking about the wall where we entered from the garage (rather than the kitchen). I had been planning to put up temporary hooks on the wall just inside the garage door (to the left if you’re looking at the glass French doors). But you're right, I had been thinking of putting in a hall tree on the wall with the art (opposite the garage door). Just realizing now that you wanted those measurements. The wall with the art is roughly 8”. The wall with the light is a little over 3”.

Amoeba-meba, I love the YHL blog! Thanks for reminding me about that one!

I would run a long, low, horizontal storage unit with cubbies (like Ikea Kallax) along the back of your sofa. If you need to, add legs to bring the height up, just below the back of your sofa.

Assign cubbies to each family member. Utilize baskets in the cubbies for shoes, mittens, etc., to keep it looking tidy.

The top of the unit can function like a sofa console table, with a lamp, perhaps, and a bowl for keys, etc.

Then hang a row or two of hooks to the left of the french doors to hang coats.

Alen3, interesting idea! I hadn’t thought of that and it appeals to me because I’m actually not a fan of of that bookcase- it always looks cluttered to me. But I’m not sure how the layout would work. Right now we kind of drop all our stuff at the door, take off muddy boots, etc and the rest of the room is living space. I feel like we’d have to make that whole side of the room entryway if the bookcase became the closet. We do have a lot of closet space by the front door, we just rarely use it because we go in and out of the garage.

cubbies as others have suggested backing up to the couch.... shoes below, backpacks above. and everyone carries their jacket to their room.

i know, that requires committment to pull off, but no number of hooks will deal with jackets for 6, there will always be more outerwear than hooks no matter how many you stick in the wall.

ah, now i see you have closet by the front door... ALL JACKETS go there. they just do. its where they go. no exceptions. no clutter in sight in the family room. look at all the money you just saved.

Hi Claire, no problem. Well, you could put one of the large pax sliding door wardrobes there... that was kind of what I had in mind as a fairly easy solution :) That way, no swinging doors infringing on your space. And you could do the shallow version, rather than the deep version... I think they are like 17" deep or something, rather than 26" deep, which I think would be kind of big/blocky/overwhelming in your space.

I was thinking there was more space there and you might be able to do something different, but I don't think so.

I *think* I read you might be changing the floor at some time. So I was thinking run tile down that back area for the mud/snow/sleet/rain... but honestly I really dislike transitions between different types of flooring :)

So, there is some really nice luxury vinyl out there... here is one that I used and I absolutely love it... very surprised never thought I'd use vinyl instead of "real wood"... if you are changing flooring in the future, check this out...

Blue Ridge Pine Luxury Vinyl Plank

Claire, just how cold does it get in your garage? I'm thinking surely there's a way to put up insulated walls around that vestibule. Might not be heated, but might be just warm enough to put on and take off outerwear for the minutes it takes.

Your house is a good size but your problems is noise. You are trying to have 2 quiet areas on the main floor - one at the back for your husband's study, and one at the middle of the house where the stairs go up to to the baby's room. Additionally, nobody can use the "bar room" because it is too close to your husband's office, and noise would be a problem. So in effect your husband's office is taking up the whole addition, including the other main floor bathroom and closet. (The closet would be great for storing the toy mess.) There is nothing you can do about the location of the stairwell going up to the baby's room, but what you can do is relocate your husband's study so you only have one quiet area.

Use the living room as your husband's study. You just need to add a door to the room, or 2 doors if it is a wide opening. The study can be another quiet area with comfortable chairs or sofa for reading or quiet play, so that your husband can't hear noise from it in his new office space.

The back of the house is the noisy area for TV and play. I'd add another door if you can, but not sure how it works with the step. That whole area is well away from your husband's office and the stairwell.

That leaves you with the space beside the garage as an entry area. You may even be OK with just hooks and open cubbies, since that room will no longer be a living room.

Very little cost except for a couple of solid doors, and some vinyl runners over the carpet. And you may want to replace the carpet at some point, with a washable floor.

HI Claire, speaking as a mom and a space designer here is my take:

1) You can get a custom built in in the garage/vestibule area.

2) The family room mudroom is an idea that will work because you have enough space. The trick is to have someone build it to a depth (around 18": D) and put doors over it so close off the clutter

3) Dedicate each section to a kiddo for book bags, jackets, shoes, mittens and such

4) Be prepared a functional solution that keeps organized will be a custom cut product and it will be an investment.

Wow! So many good and interesting ideas!

Tantanmeup, the garage feels like being outside. I'm in the Northeast so it gets *cold*. But insulation might work. I haven't measured that space in a while.

Partim, that is *brilliant.* It might be a tough sell getting my husband to give up his bathroom but you're right, we would gain so much functional space if we were to move his office to the living room. Never mind that I don't really know what to do with that front living room anyway. Another benefit to that is that we could potentially give that back room a murphy bed and use it as a guest bedroom when my parents visit.

Ronna - thank you! When you say investment, I hear how. What kind of ballpark would this be in? Just very ballpark. One of my hesitations with picking a storage solution is that we may not be done having kids yet and every time I think about adding built-in cubbies or desks or something my mind automatically goes to, what happens if we end up with more kids.

niccidh, you posted while I was typing but that's a brilliant solution, too. One that I hadn't considered. Now that you point it out, it does look like the I could steal some of that space. We like the porch but don't use it nearly as much as we use the space behind the couch and that could be a real neat and tidy solution to my dilemma. I'm going to stare at that wall for a little bit!

alen3, Yep, I'm that same way! I do like the idea of making those book cases blend in.

Hi Claire,

A custom built-in for 4 cubbies will run about 8,000 - 12,000. I really depends on the length of the space and the types of materials you select. I did this job --in a main space that faces the family room (but down a hall). This job was 8,000. If you added doors to cover the cubbies it would be closer to 10,000.

Mudroom:White Shaker · More Info

Some of the solutions would work but might be quite expensive, e.g custom cubbies, or finishing the space in the garage. I think you could accomplish your goals by simply re-thinking the use of your rooms. Use your funds for something more meaningful. Moving furniture around is free! And if it doesn't work out, you can go back to the old way. Doors are your friend when you have both a young family and a home office.

You might find this book by the architect Susan Susanka useful. Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live This new look at your old house helps readers think like an architect, offering room-by-room considerations to help homeowners add character to their homes while getting maximum livability from the existing square footage.

You have lots of square feet, but I don't think is as pleasant to live in as it could be. She talks about the functions of the spaces in your house, and which spaces need to be close to each other, and which should be separated. I found it a very interesting read, even though I'm not renovating.

Ops! I tried adding to my post and ended up deleting it last night and can't seem to get it back. Anyways, Claire, your house is huge, so I'm sure whatever you decide to do, you'll come up with a functional solution. Please let us know how you end up solving your mudroom situation.

How about a wall with frosted windows? You can have the bench for backpacks and shoes, then a wall with frosted windows so the light still comes through. On either side of the windows, hooks for coats. End the wall at 7 feet or so with a nice crown molding. No need to go to the ceiling.

My thought is, this is the main entrance - work with it instead of retraining everyone where to enter.

We did something similar. Our main entry was into the TV room. We built a small mudroom around the door. The top of the room does not hit the ceiling. It helps hide clutter, gives us a place for our coats, and even better, cuts down the cold air when we open the door to the outside.

Entrance Hall Cabinet · More Info

When I saw this I thought of your room. It could be a darker stain but is a freestanding unit. I would put it or something like it on the wall next to the fireplace where the mirror is, but sticking out into the room facing the porch forming a divider and small walkway to the garage door. You could still add hooks to the opposite wall but since it divides the room you wouldn't be seeing the clutter as much. You could butt a bookcase up against the back, it looks like yours are full. then float the couch facing the fireplace. It's nice if each person in the family can have their own hooks and cubbies.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/pleasant-entry-detroit-phvw-vp~102939749

Something like this built in would give a great organization and look off to the side for this room.

We had a similar issue in our previous home. Check out the Hemnes shoe cabinet - it looks like furniture but holds (hides) a ton of shoes.... Use the top for keys, phones etc. Put a nice long runner along the back of that couch to absorb wet and dirt. Throw down boot trays for wet footwear. If I were you I'd probably just give in and set up a mudroom type area along the wall with hooks for everyone's various items. Organized chaos is better than piles of stuff hidden behind a couch. Just knowing that was there even if I couldn't see it would raise my stress level! Put inexpensive storage cubbies with pull out baskets so each kid has a spot for mittens, hats, sunglasses etc. You could even clear out that bookcase next to the fireplace and use that for the kids hats etc.

It seems like you have plenty of living space throughout the home - I'd just give in and make a portion of this room the drop zone and make another room the main family room. Keep some seating for when you light the fire - great way to dry wet snow pants, mittens, gloves etc! With 4 kids living in this type of climate you need spots for everyone to put away their stuff.

Another IKEA idea, a shoe cabinet, I have several and they hold many kids shoes. Maybe you could put this to the right of the fireplace, with a mirror above it. IKEA has a few different styles. I think the HEMNES with 4 cabinets or the 2 cabinet would work best. Maybe you could put a long low bench with cubbies for the book bags behind the couch and a coat rack to the left of the french doors