My Fall Project

We have a pretty big laundry room & there was always a big, empty space when you walked in which I have always said would be perfect for a mud bench. We have lived here almost 6 years & I was talking about it that long ago but since we didn't have kids, I figured it wasn't worth the expense at the time. Fast forward to last fall when Sadie started school. Every day I was trying to figure out where to put her nap mat, back pack & her lunch box. And since her room is upstairs, it is inevitable that we would always forget a jacket, shoe or something upstairs, so I finally realized it was time to build my mud bench. I thought this was a fabulous idea & was so excited, however Bryan was not. I really wanted to do it before Sophie was born (that was probably part of the nesting phase....) but Bryan didn't think it was a necessity. It only took one year of asking for it & talking about it & he finally gave in :) I guess we are having so much done around the house these days, what's one more silly project?!

 

We have a great carpenter who came over & helped me design it & one week later he had it built & installed. Two weeks later I had it painted & finally I got Bryan to help me hang the hooks last weekend. In the weeks between, I did a lot of shopping around town trying to find the right size baskets & I think it came together nicely. Here are a few pictures of my new mud bench:

 

 

I found the baskets at Hobby Lobby. Of course I found them there after I went to 10 other stores, but at least they were 50% off. I figured the giraffe print matches the rest of my house & it works as a neutral color in my scheme. I bought 4 different styles of hooks from Lowe's & ended up liking the bigger ones the best because they hold up to 35 pounds:

 

 

I imagine that this space will get used tremendously as we get busier & as the girls get older. I also envision there being a lot of cardigans, jackets & scarves hanging there in the cooler months. Down below, I had 2 bigger openings for each girl to have their own basket for shoes:

 

 

I hope to keep their nicer shoes upstairs in their rooms, but for their every day shoes (flip flops, crocs, tennis shoes, etc.) this will be a great gathering spot. I have already taught Sadie to put her shoes in here instead of leaving them by the door or by the stair case. And the bench will work perfectly when they are older so they can sit there while they put their shoes on.

 

I know, yesterday's blog & today's blog are kind of boring, but these are the projects I am working on while being a stay at home mom. Like I said, we have lived here almost 6 years & I finally had one of my projects come to fruition. I always feel like our house is like a piece of art - always changing. I am not sure if I will ever be 100% satisfied with it the way it is, because there is always something to do around here!