As the name suggests, mud rooms are highly desirable in homes with wet and/or muddy winters. They offer a water and dirt-resistant place for families and guests to take off their wet and muddy outerwear before entering the house.
Those of us who live in Florida’s warm climate benefit from a designated mudroom, especially those who enjoy an active, outdoor lifestyle.
You May Need a Mud Room If…
Mudrooms make smart new additions to any home under the right circumstances. And remember, if you don’t have the space to add a mudroom to your home, we can discuss ways to provide mudroom-like features to your garage or laundry room.
Our design team prioritizes function over form to start, and we’ll ask you a series of questions to ensure your new addition’s function serves your family well. In this case, we recommend adding a mudroom if:
1. You have a pool without a pool house (or you’re a frequent beach-goer).
The mudroom is the next best thing if your home’s lot isn’t large enough to add a poolhouse or cabana. Optimally located adjacent to the backyard pool area, the mudroom will be everyone’s first stop when they come back inside after a swim or soak in the hot tub.
Easy access to a big sink to rinse chlorinated bathing suits and space to hang wet suits and towels are important here. If you surf or hit the beach regularly, we can also install a standing wash area so you, kids, guests, etc., can rinse the sand off before making your way into the common living areas.
2. You have a dog (or dogs)
Dogs are messy no matter what. They shed, drip water after drinking, track grass, leaves, debris, and water/mud through the doggie door, etc. If you have a dog or dogs – and will always have them – you’ll wonder how you ever lived without mudroom features.
In addition to handling the mud and anything else that pets track in, we can also equip your mudroom with other pet-friendly features, like:
- Sleeping areas
- Storage for all of their accessories
- Feeding/watering/grooming station
- A low tub or platform designed for pet bathing (which also subs as a rinsing station for humans as needed)
3. Someone in your house is an avid gardener
Gardeners like to get their hands dirty, and their feet, knees, and clothes get equally as dirty in the course of a day spent in the garden or plant beds. Your mudroom can be built with your gardening passions in mind:
- Storage for gardening tools and protective wear
- Washtub and drainboards for vegetables
- The gardener’s wash station to rinse shoes, boots, feet, arms, etc., free of garden bed dirt, mud, and debris
Entering a mudroom after gardening chores are done allows you to strip down, hose off, and rinse gardening implements, fruits, and veggies – ensuring everyone and everything is cleaned off before entering common living areas.
4. Your kids play outside more than in
If you’re like our parents, children are encouraged to spend far more time playing outside than staying inside watching TV or zoning out on their gadgets. Unfortunately, however, constant foot traffic back and forth between a home’s interior and outdoor spaces takes its visual toll on the main entrance areas.
If your home’s new additions include a laundry or mudroom space, your carpets, area rugs, and front/side-door entrance areas have a better chance of looking their best. Let the mudroom entrance become the go-to first stop for kids and pets, so shoes make their way into designated cubbies and feet, hands, and paws are wiped off before entering the main areas of the home.
Must-Have Features For a Mudroom
Mudrooms should have features that are durable and easy to clean and maintain. We recommend the following:
- Using water- and slip-proof flooring
- Flooring that slopes into a drain to ease cleanup
- Get creative and add space for storage and organization
- Installing lots of hooks to hang jackets, hoodies, hats, outer layers, leashes, towels, etc.
- Slab-style countertops to prevent dirt, grime, and mold build-up in grout lines.
Personalize New Additions to Your Needs & Lifestyle
Are you weighing the pros and cons of adding a mudroom space onto your DeLand area home? Schedule a design consultation with Fogle Constructors. We excel at personalizing new additions and renovations to fit the needs and lifestyles of our customers. We’ll help you determine whether or not a mudroom – or mudroom-esque features added to your laundry room – makes sense for you.
