Muddin' Around

While growing up, we frequently visited our family in New England. One of my favorite memories is visiting my great-grandmother's old farmhouse.  She had a large kitchen with a huge wood slab table, big enough to fit everyone for hours of laughter, card games, dice, and wonderful meals. Also, the mudroom, large pantry under the stairs, parlor room, and loft-type room upstairs with mini-windows where my sister and I would yell to people outside and then hide, made her house so charming! I have always wanted to live in a farmhouse, not huge, but a cozy, well-planned space. Her house is the inspiration for the decorations I have chosen for my 1,200 square foot cookie cutter ranch. I will never live in her house, but why not go for the feeling, right?!!  In order to do this, I decided the first thing I needed was a mudroom! What a dream, lol! Truly, it is one of mine! Since I don't have space for a true mudroom, some improvising had to take place. Here's how it went...

 This is before I started. Not too bad, but nothing special.

A closer view.


Now, start the makeover...
My idea started when my husband and I bought a desk for our living room from my beloved IKEA, lol! I love the classic look and we also purchased a matching bench for extra seating and storage.  I noticed after a while that the bench was very narrow, only 11 inches deep, which fit perfectly near my front door without blocking someone who was trying to come into the front door. This is when the wheels started turning. My first idea was to just move the bench near the door under my hook rack and call it a day. BUT, that would be too easy, lol! First, I needed to revamp the cushion...

It came with a plain white cushion cover (I had already taken it off in this pic and forgot to take a picture beforehand, so it looks really wrinkled...)

Next, a trip to Hobby Lobby and a few yards of fabric later, I headed home to recover my cushion. :-) I was able to use fabric glue and hot glue...no sewing required!!! YAY!! (Oh, and 1/2 yard of fabric will totally do...I got extra for another project to come soon!!)

Finished bench!

 Another view


I decided to continue the white theme, as I LOVE white! Beadboard would be the perfect addition to my mini-mudroom. Headed to Home Depot, I purchased one sheet of beadboard ($19!!!). At my second home, IKEA, I got a  Ribba picture ledge ($15) and a Ribba picture frame ($10). Add  a little FREE custom art and the hooks that I already owned and I was ready to put my mudroom together! Check it out below! (I have a few tips I learned at the bottom.)

AFTER!!!

Close-up!

I'm in love! :-)

A few tips:
-For the beadboard, I took my measurements with me to Home Depot and had them cut it for me for FREE! Also, I put liquid nails on the back to adhere it, and a few finishing nails along the edge to help hold it in place.
-Picture ledge-Since IKEA didn't sell one the exact size as I needed, I bought one that was bigger and cut it down myself with a little hand saw. It was really easy and I was able to do it right in my kitchen in literally 3 minutes. Plus, I still have the extra for anytime I need a small shelf or ledge for a frame!  These little steps for a "custom" look make a huge difference!!! I wanted everything to look built in. Oh, I put this up with anchors and screws to ensure they wouldn't be going anywhere.
-Free customized art: I originally saw this on one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love. All you need to do is find the beginning of a magazine article with the initial you want and blow it up until you get to your desired size. Super easy and took about 10 minutes once I was at a copier :-) I did find that the colored letters were very hard to copy clearly. (I found that Southern Living had the most articles without colored letter or pictures behind the articles and the largest variety of letters to choose from.)
-The picture ledge was the perfect depth for a shelf near the front door instead of a regular shelf.
-Try not to think of things only for the function they were first intended. Also, take store bought items and then personalize them to fit your style and needs :)

All in all, not too bad!

So you ask...what about your desk? Where are you going to sit now?? Stay tuned for that project very soon!!!

PS-The bench is the ALVE series at IKEA. (For some reason, I wasn't able to respond in the comments...dang computer issues!)