Mudroom entry design question

3 years ago

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are trying to plan an addition onto our mid century modern house and are at a bit of a cross roads with respect to entry ways. Currently we have a front entry way under a car port (with a curved driveway), that has a decent sized closet. We'd like to add a mudroom and garage and this is where we're unsure of what we should do.

This is the plan for the front of the house as it currently stands. As you can see there's 2 doors to access the mudroom area: from the garage and from outside.

I'm curious what people think about the following:

1. Will having the exterior door allow enough space to get into the mudroom as a family of 4? It looks a bit tight if the exterior door is open.

2. What if we switched the door to swing the other way? It would allow people direct access into the mudroom, but then blocks the hallway to the rest of the house.

3. What if we removed the exterior door and only entered through the garage? Would we find this a pain if we're constantly entering/exiting this way? what about when the kids get home from school? If there's a car in the garage we'd have to worry about the kids scratching it as they go by and leaving the garage door open.

4. We currently have 2 doors on the front of our house which causes a lot of confusion about which is the front door when people visit, especially if they've never been here before. Do you think having an exterior door on the side of the garage will still cause people to be confused? (people often think our house is actually 2 separate houses)

5. The rear door off the garage will be removed from the design in favour of extra storage space.

We live in a place that is cold/snowy for at least 6 months of the year so access to the mudroom is important, but at the same time we want the space to be usable and not feel crammed as we try to enter/exit through it.

Just another quick note - the bathroom you see here by the garage is currently our laundry area and is the current existing front corner of the house. As such it is structural so we need to avoid changing that structure or else be faced with mounting costs.

Anyways, I appreciate any feedback or suggestions. Thanks.

Comments (2)

PRO
Alley M Design Studio
3 years ago
Mid Century Modern in the County sounds beautiful and refreshing!

You are questioning the functionality of the space plan. Closets are a means of storage and by definition their primary function involves closing actions, ie we store things away after we’ve used them. If the storage area remains at the opening of the mudroom, the second and third members entering the room will have issues with access (especially during colder months when we tend to wear more layers) and the space will always feel cluttered and small because all the activity in congested in one area.

If you re arrange the room placing the closet on the wall opposite the entry, it will open up the space to accommodate all 4 members plus an additional person when entering. Remote locations require more functional storage. By moving the closet to the wall opposite the entry you’ll add about 8 sqft in closet space. Whether there is a closet or hooks in your mudroom does not matter in terms of resale value, the square footage and its defined space is the value. I recommend the closet, as your family grows the added storage will help manage growing interest and transitional moments, it will add personal value.

You are an individual your home should be designed to provide aspects of your individual needs. I would not remove the front entrances; every entrance serves an important purpose which helps your family interact comfortably with your home. Based on the information you’ve provided, your children use the side door to safely enter the home, comfortably remove outerwear and seamlessly proceed to homework. Your family enters your home safely protected from the elements via your garage. Only your family and friends know where the main entrance to your home is, which adds to your security.

-Alley
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
Could you post a picture of the actual house. I have no idea even what all the spaces are or the sizes of them I do see the laundry is a very long way from the bedrooms.IMO the main entry of a home is where guests enter and that should be quite obvious to them and honestly has little to do with security
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Mudroom entry design question

Comments (2)

Alley M Design Studio

Patricia Colwell Consulting

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