Thank you all for the feedback! I really appreciate it! Holly321: the space is 15' long (+ WC which is 5x3.5')and 6.25' wide. We had that icky plastic shower as well and were so glad to get rid of it. I think you could easily trade your shower for a washer+dryer - either stacked with a sink and cupboard to one side or side by side w/counter above for folding/storage. I find a lot of newer W/D are too high for me to have a counter above be useful (and I'm tallish). My in laws have that set up and it doesn't really function well for intended purpose. Our W/D are actually the same brand from different years so, while they are meant to stack they are not meant to stack on one another. We had our counter fabricator extend the Ecotop over the washer and set the dryer above, with a bracket on the wall behind to support it at the back. It works great! I don't have much counter space for folding, which was intentional as we have never done that in the laundry room, mostly b/c we couldn't before, but we'll fold while watching TV at night instead (then DH helps when he might not otherwise!). ;) colorcrazy: Thank you for the compliment! I do not yet know what I am doing for the cushion. I have three seat cushions I need to have made and haven't even begun yet. I am considering a dark brown as I think the chocolate is a nice contrast with the white and blue, and would be practical in a potentially messy space. Or a fun pattern! As you can tell, I love color. Piping sounds like a nice, finished touch. Ideaas welcome! Thanks again.

The oval mirror (levanger) was a gift from Ikea. They dont seem to have it any more.The rug I bought from overstock, about 3 years ago. It used to be in our main living room at our old place. Its really turned out well in quality and the colors are still bright. It is a wool rug/hand tufted and was only $140. http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Hand-tufted-Leighton-Red-Wool-Rug-50-x-76/7999607/product.html?TID=MyAcct:MO:OR:ProdName

I wonder if some of the different perspective of laundry in the mudroom (or spare bathroom or hallway) has to do with the different ways we’re all used to doing laundry in the spaces we have. If you have a devoted laundry room then you may be used to using that space for dumping and sorting dirty clothes, as well as sorting, folding, ironing, air drying, and storing clean clothes until they’re ready to be put away. For those of us without devoted laundry room space, we don’t necessarily do those things anywhere near the washing machine. My washer and dryer are in my dirty old unfinished basement. The floor is always dirty and surfaces dusty from the deteriorating mortar on the stone walls and other random debris that makes its way in (until a month ago, it was often also wet!). To do laundry, I carry down a basket of dirty clothes that go straight into the washer, then straight into the dryer, then from the dryer back into the basket and back upstairs. Sorting, folding, ironing, air drying delicates all take place elsewhere, usually in the bedrooms. Translate this to the mudroom/laundry space suggested, and there wouldn’t really be any mingling of clean clothes and mud. Clean clothes go from dryer to basket which is immediately carried away. But if you’re imagining doing other laundry things in the same space, then I could see how this could be unappealing. Doesn’t sound like this layout or square footage allows for a large devoted laundry room, though.

Assuming that you don't want the hardwood continued into the kitchen, and that you want tile in the kitchen, I would use the same tile in the kitchen and mudroom. If you want to use a different size, or to lay a different pattern, that would be OK. At least for me.