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The Best Storage Ideas for Small Homes

Living in a small home presents some big storage challenges, particularly if you’ve just moved from a bigger space. Thankfully, you don’t have to resign yourself to parting with all of your posessions. You just need to find the right solutions for your space, and we’re here to help. Here are the best storage ideas for small homes.

Storage Benches

Space is at a premium in small homes, so make the most of it with dual-purpose items. Installing storage benches in your mudroom, entryway, library, or anywhere else you could use extra seating allows you to use that same space as storage. Instead of purchasing extra chairs, you’ll be able to use the top of the bench for seating while you store shoes, sports equipment, or linens within the bench. Your home will look neater, and you’ll have plenty of space to tuck items away out of sight.

Under-Stair Storage

The space under staircases frequently goes unused. If your home is small, utilizing the space under you stairs is a great way to gain more storage. Install slide-out shelves within each stair, or opt to create a small closet under the staircase. You can even include a safe to stash your valuables out of view. And since you probably aren’t currently using this space, turning it into a closet or drawers will greatly increase the storage capacity of your home.

Shelves

Adding shelves to a small home helps you stay organized and display some of your items. Since most small homes have limited floor space, floor-to-ceiling shelves are a great option for adding storage. That’s because they transform your walls into usable storage space while leaving the floors clear. Consider adding shelves above windows and doors, too. It’s a great way to add storage for knick-knacks, potted plants, or cookbooks to otherwise unused space.

Kitchen Island

If you’ve already maxed out the cabinet space in your kitchen, a custom kitchen island could be just what you need. Kitchen islands look great, and they can double as breakfast nooks. You’ll gain counter and storage space all in one. Plus, with countless custom options and accessories, like spice racks, drawer inserts, and cabinet organizers, you’ll finally have a space to store all your pans, utensils, and kitchen appliances.

Custom Closet Systems

Closet space always seems to run low, even in large homes. So if you have a small home, chances are you’re lamenting your lack of closet storage. Fortunately, you can multiply your usable space with a custom closet system. Instead of relying on a single rod and stacking boxes on the floor, you can create custom hanging areas that fit your clothing without wasting space. Add shoe racks, shelves, accessory drawers, and behind-the-door storage to create space for everything you need to store. You won’t believe how much space your closet truly had all this time!

Bathroom Vanity

Bathrooms in small homes frequently lack adequate storage space. One of the best ways to gain the space you need is by installing a new bathroom vanity. We can customize your vanity to fit your bathroom so there isn’t any wasted space. Don’t forget to add accessories like small appliance storage, slide-out laundry bins, towel racks, and organizers for even more storage.

Custom Entertainment Center

Entertainment centers from big box stores frequently take up a lot of space, while providing very little storage and functionality. Instead, opt for a custom entertainment center that’s built to fit your television and your home.  You’ll be able to add all the shelving, cabinets, and accessory storage you need. We can even build around fireplaces to maximize every inch of your space!

Are you ready to increase the storage in your small home? Contact us today to discuss your needs.

 

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Why You Need A Mudroom

Why You Need A Mudroom

More than ever, mudrooms are becoming a staple in modern homes. Many people are finding out they need a mudroom not only for extra space, but to maintain a cleaner home.

The great news is your mudroom can be as large or small as you want it. Just have a smaller entryway? It’ll work just fine. Want a combined mudroom and laundry room? Not a problem.

Before you write off the idea of adding this incredibly useful room to your home, take a moment to learn why it may just become a must-have.

Keep Your Home Cleaner

The main reason you need a mudroom is to keep your home cleaner. In fact, that’s the original purpose of mudrooms. They were used as an entry room in farmhouses so farmers could take off their muddy shoes and dusty coats before they got dirt and grime all over the house. Many would have a drain and even a sink to make it easier to clean up.

Think of all the times you’ve had wet or muddy shoes. You know younger kids aren’t exactly wiping their feet before running all over your living room carpet. So, keep your entire home cleaner by having a room specifically to take off shoes and coats. You can store umbrellas, sports equipment, gardening gloves and anything else you typically use outdoors. Everything stays neatly organized and you don’t have stains all over your home.

Add Extra Storage

Often times, people decide they need a mudroom to add extra storage to their homes. There are quite a few places to add a mudroom in your home and it doesn’t always have to be at an entryway. Thanks to custom-built cabinets and shelving, you add extra storage for towels, coats, shoes, outdoor equipment, guest items, extra bedding and so much more. If you’ve got the space, put it to work as a mudroom.

Double Duty Laundry Room

Many people are surprised that a mudroom doesn’t have to be strictly a mudroom. In fact, it’s becoming more common to have a double duty room that serves as a laundry room too. Your washer and dryer are tucked out of the way and you get extra space to hang clothes that might need to air dry or store baskets of clothes for your kids to grab when their laundry’s done.

You can even have a fold-out ironing board to handle all your laundry chores in one place. By adding extra cabinets and storage blocks, you also give your entire family a place to store their shoes, toss their dirty clothes (so you don’t have to search everywhere for them) and come inside without tracking shoe prints throughout the house. Most of the time, a mudroom is non-carpeted for easy cleaning.

Don’t forget, you can also store your cleaning supplies in a cabinet in your laundry/mudroom. Honestly, the possibilities are endless.

Easy To Customize

While there are plenty of great ideas for mudrooms, you need a mudroom that fits your needs. There aren’t any strict rules for how you should design your mudroom. While many use a bench design, you don’t have to. You can just have floor to ceiling cabinets.

Just have an entryway closet? Ditch the door, add some cabinets and a small bench, and you’ve got yourself a simple mudroom. It’s easy to customize any space into the mudroom your home needs. You can even add an extra room to your home specifically for this purpose.

Keep Closets Cleaner

How often do your closets turn into bottomless pits? You can never find your coats, gloves, hats and shoes. Keep your closets cleaner and reduce your own stress by storing the items you tend to use most often in your mudroom. Assign everyone in your home a specific space to store commonly used items for the season. In most cases, everyone has room for several coats, hats, gloves and multiple pairs of shoes.

It’s not really a question as to whether you should have a mudroom. Instead, you need a mudroom. For convenience and organization, it’s a must-have room that’s easily customizable to your needs.

Interested in designing the perfect mudroom storage? Edgewood Cabinetry specializes in mudroom and laundry room cabinets that will last a lifetime.

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Designing Your Home - The Best Place To Put A Mudroom

Designing Your Home – The Best Place To Put A Mudroom

Did you know that you don’t have to place your mudroom at your front door? When you’re designing your home, it’s up to you to decide on the best place to put a mudroom.

Depending on your needs, an entryway mudroom might not work best for you. You could even have it as a separate room from your home.

To get the mudroom you dream about, make sure you put it in a place that’ll be the most beneficial and easy to use for everyone.

Front/Back Exits

These are obviously the most popular options as they’re where most people might want to kick off their shoes or hang up a coat. After all, you wouldn’t want your kids or spouse stomping through the house with muddy boots on right? Plus, you don’t want them to leave their shoes scattered in the doorway for everyone to trip over.

A small or medium-sized mudroom at either or both entryways is ideal. Think of it as a catch-all room for daily needs, such as coats, hats, shoes and daily outdoor supplies. Just make sure you have a way to organize everything so it doesn’t become a cluttered mess.

One thing to keep in mind is that the best place to put a mudroom doesn’t have to be just your front or back door. If you use a side door more often, put the mudroom there instead.

Near The Laundry Room

No one wants to have to lug dirty clothes from the mudroom all the way to the laundry room. If your mudroom will often have clothes stored in it, such as gym or sports clothing, you may want to place the mudroom near the laundry room. This will reduce any unpleasant smells at your entryways and make it much easier to clean any clothes that get stored there.

In Hall Closets

If your home wasn’t built with a mudroom, it might not seem like there’s any space for one. However, if you have a hall closet that you can spare, this can easily be the best place to put a mudroom. Usually, a hall closet is central to your home or near bedrooms. As a place to store everyday shoes, sports gear, toys and coats, it’s an easy place for everyone to access.

If you have multiple floors, you might consider having a small mudroom in a hall closet on each floor. This makes it even easier for everyone to have access and keep your home more organized.

If you’re worried about dirty shoes or wet coats and hats, add a boot mat and a drying rack near your entryway. This keeps the mess off your floors and lets wet coats drip dry in the mat.

Near Guest Entrances

Perhaps you use the door in your garage the most, but your guests will likely use another entrance. Considering placing at least a small mudroom near your guest entrance for them to store their belongings. A small bench with a coat rack and drawer for shoes is all that’s necessary.

In Your Garage

Speaking of garages, it’s common to use your garage entrance to go from your car to inside your home. In this case, the best place to put a mudroom is either in your garage or in your home at this entrance. However, keeping it in the garage keeps any smelly shoes and equipment out of your house, such as fishing equipment.

If space is tight, have a thin line of cabinets with a built-in bench. It’s easy to give everyone their own cabinet or shelf. Remember, your mudroom doesn’t need to be huge. It just needs to be easy to use with room to organize everything.

Outside Your Home

This might sound crazy, but having a mudroom outside your home ensures all the mess stays outside. This is often the case when a home isn’t built with space for a mudroom. You might add a small closed-in porch at your front or back door that includes a small mudroom. It can also be detached with a short covered walkway to your door. This is a great way to add on and get the mudroom you want.

Interested in customizing a mudroom for your home? Contact us today to learn how we can help.

Image: Pxhere

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The Best Mudroom Designs For The Country Home

The Best Mudroom Designs For The Country Home

Muddy shoes, umbrellas, coats, sports gear and much more quickly get out of hand around your entryway or laundry room. This is why you need a mudroom for your country home.

Keep everything organized and within easy reach by remodeling your entryway using some of the best mudroom designs.

When you’re finished, you’ll love how much extra storage you have and even how much easier it is to clean without everyone tracking in dirt and mud all over your clean floors.

Think Rustic

Some of the best mudroom designs for country homes have one thing in common – they’re rustic. They often use aged looking woods. They also tend to stick with natural wood tones to bring more nature into your home. It’s not unusual to also take advantage of components you already have in the area, such as using a handrail as a coat rack, if you have a few steps leading from your mudroom into the main part of your home.

In addition to wood tones, you can also decorate in more earthy tones, such as brown, orange, red and sea blue/green. Adding pops of color always brightens up the space.

Add A Wash Area

City homes may have mudrooms, but country homes have made them a necessity. After all, country means more outdoor activities and mess. The last thing you want is to stick muddy shoes in a bin or on a shelf. It keeps them out of the way, but as the mud dries, dirt goes everywhere. Avoid this by adding a wash area to your mudroom.

The best mudroom designs incorporate a small hose and drain and even a sink to quickly wash off muddy boots and clean up hands. It’s a quick and easy way to keep the area cleaner. You’ll also want to add a drying rack above the drain for things to drip dry.

Tile Works Well

Tile is easy to mop clean and it adds a bit more color to your mudroom. Instead of going with bright white, opt for more earth tone colors. These will blend well with your natural wood cabinets. Some of the best mudroom designs also use tile as the top for a bench and as a backsplash for a wash area.

Add Shoe Hangers

Most mudrooms just have bins or an open cabinet to store shoes. However, you may often come in with wet or muddy boots in your country home. If you don’t let them dry out, you could be putting your feet back into mildewed shoes. No one wants that!

Instead, use an open wall space near the floor to add hangers to hang your shoes upside down to dry. You’ll want to either add this near your wash area or place a bin underneath to catch any excess water. To ensure the bin doesn’t get tipped over, add a sliding drawer underneath it. The lip of the drawer protects the bin, but the sliding part allows you to pull it out easily to empty it.

Make It Pet-Friendly

If you have pets, make sure your country mudroom is pet-friendly. After playing outside, your dog may just want to curl up and sleep. If they’re dirty, wash them off, dry them with a towel hung nearby and then let them curl up to rest and finish air drying in a cubby underneath your mudroom cabinets. Consider making a small cabinet just above their bed to store leashes, pet food and clean bedding.

Maximize Storage

The best mudroom designs for country homes offer maximum storage. For instance, you may have a storage bench that also has small cabinets or cubby holes above it. Corners are ideal for tall cabinets or shelves. Thin areas on the other side of your door work well for hanging coats, hats and umbrellas. Add plenty of shelving and cabinets to store everything you need. Make sure everyone in your home has their own space too.

Finding Inspiration

Your mind is probably spinning with all the possibilities. To give you a little more inspiration, check out some of these great mudroom design ideas:

Ready to create your dream mudroom for your country home? Contact us today to get started.

Image: Jason Leung

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Design a Mudroom

How To Design A Mudroom That Works For The Whole Family

When it comes time to design a mudroom, you have to think about one that works for the whole family.

Maybe you just need a few hooks to hang your coat and mat to put your boots on. However, when you add in kids, a spouse and even other relatives and guests, you’re going to need more space and way to organize everything.

Don’t worry, though. All you have to do is consider everybody’s needs and combine them together to create the perfect family mudroom.

Give Everyone Their Own Space

The most important thing to remember when you design a mudroom for the entire family is to give everyone their own space. Most of the time, you’ll see locker-style mudrooms where each family member has a different locker. Of course, these lockers can be individual cabinets or sets of shelves.

If you don’t like having tall lockers, open or closed, you can also opt for individual drawers under a bench, separate hooks, different cubicles or similar options. The idea is every person has their own space to store their supplies. Depending on the space you have available, you might want to ensure each person has a space for not just coats and shoes, but hobby/sports items too.

Consider Hobbies And Activities

While a simple mudroom with a long bench, a few coat hooks and some drawers under the bench works for some, it’s not ideal if you have family members who need storage for their hobbies and activities. For instance, what if your child plays baseball? You’d likely need taller cabinets to allow your child to store their bat, glove, cleats and gear bag.

Maybe you or your spouse plays golf. You could have a larger space for storing your golf bag so it’s easy to grab when you leave to play. You should also keep work supplies in mind. Mudrooms are a great place to store briefcases too. Design with activities and hobbies in mind so everyone has a space that fits their needs.

Color Code Spaces

The color-coded examples listed on This Old House are a great way to keep your family mudroom more organized. This is especially true if you have younger kids that may not always remember which spot is for their items.

Painting each designated area a favorite color not only brightens your mudroom, but ensures every family member knows which area is theirs. Of course, if you don’t want to paint each area, there are effective alternatives.

For instance, try using color-coded baskets to slide onto shelves or under benches. You can even add colorful shelf liners or wallpaper. Another option is to use chalkboard paint and write each person’s name at the top or on the inside of their storage area. The chalkboard option is also great for adding notes to various family members.

Provide Drawers, Cabinets & Hooks

When you design a mudroom for the whole family, you need multiple storage options. While a completely open space is nice, you’re probably going to have items you don’t want displayed to everyone who comes in your home. For instance, you might want to keep dirty shoes tucked away in a drawer or cabinet. If you have pets, you may want to keep your nice coats behind closed cabinet doors.

Ideally, your family mudroom should consist of drawers, cabinets and hooks to store a wide variety of items. For families with teens and adult children who get mail often, you may even add a small area for sorting and storing mail above each person’s storage area.

If you don’t want to add drawers, consider using baskets or plastic storage bins. These are easy to slide off and on shelves.

Add A Bench For Quick Changes

Benches are a wonderful addition to any mudroom, especially when you design a mudroom for a family. Ideally, the bench should fit two or three people at once. This allows everyone to sit down and change their shoes quickly and easily. It’s also a great place to sit down larger items, such as purses and briefcases, while changing out of a coat.

Some mudrooms even have separate seats for each family member. Instead of a long bench, there are individual seats with a locker-style cabinet between each. If your mudroom is large enough, you may consider having a bench on each side of your entryway for more space and storage for everyone.

Looking to design a mudroom to fit your family’s unique needs? Contact us today to learn more about our custom mudroom cabinets and storage solutions.

Image: JAGwired

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Mudroom

Closet Accessories: Why Every Home Needs A Mudroom

You might think a mudroom is only for larger homes, but every home needs a mudroom. It’s extra storage after all.

Thanks to custom closets and closet accessories, it’s easy to create a mudroom that fits your space. Every home needs an area for pulling off muddy shoes, hanging up raincoats and storing umbrellas.

The great thing is mudrooms fit any space. From a small storage bench to a large closet, get as creative as you want to store everything you need.

Why It’s A Necessity

How often have you come in only to leave your wet or muddy shoes drying in front of the door? Naturally, they get left there until you’re ready to go out again. Multiply that by the number of people in your family and suddenly, your front door is nothing but a pile of shoes.

A mudroom doesn’t have to a separate room. It’s just a designated area for storing things like frequently used coats, gloves, shoes, umbrellas, sports equipment and anything else you store in your house but is usually only used outside. The good news is you only need a limited amount of space to create one. The width of a wooden storage crate and some vertical space is more than enough to get started.

Starting From Scratch

If you don’t have anything resembling a mudroom, don’t worry. A few closet accessories are all you need to get started. As the Daily Gazette explains, you don’t need a dedicated room. Of course, if you want to place it near your front or back door, you want it to look nice and organized.

A few tips for getting started include:

  • Place an all-weather rug at the door to prevent tracking water or mud throughout the house
  • Buy or build a storage centerpiece, such as a wooden closet organizer that’s basically just a slim bookcase, an organizer filled with stiff baskets for storing different items or even a small bench with cubicles underneath
  • Place hooks on the wall or on the sides of taller storage units, such as custom floor-to-ceiling cabinets, to hang coats, scarves and other items
  • Hang a mirror for a last minute check as you walk out the door

Transforming A Hall Closet

If you happen to have a hall closet near your entryway, use that as part of your mudroom. Instead of making it the black hole where you toss everything, organize it. If you want to limit your mudroom to just the closet, consider adding a fold-out seat to the inside of the door to allow somewhere to sit to take off shoes.

Create a wall of bins, either open or as drawers, for storing smaller items such as shoes and gloves. Dedicate one side wall to hanging coats and jackets. The final wall may have shelves for storing sports equipment or other accessories.

Creating More Open Space

You may decide you don’t want a closed off mudroom. In this case, use closet accessories to create an open, inviting space. Much like the small mudroom featured with this post, you can use modular closet storage accessories to create a storage bench and add vertical storage. Hooks quickly add storage for hanging items. You could even add a decorative rod on the wall for hanging items at the end of the seating area.

A set of tall cabinets with a large drawer at the bottom of each works well to create a quick mudroom. Instead of shelves, the cabinets are open with hooks for hanging items. The deep drawers keep shoes and random items contained. If you have space, dedicate one to each family member.

Finding Inspiration

All of this might sound great, but how do you find your inspiration? Looking at other mudrooms of course. Remember, you don’t have to run all over the place looking for closet accessories that perfectly fit your space. You can get custom made accessories and cabinets in the correct size and using wood and colors that already match your home.

If you’re ready to get inspired, try the following to see what’s possible:

Ready to start creating the mudroom of your dreams? Contact us today to see how our custom solutions help you to create a stunning, highly organized mudroom.

Image: Douglas Sheppard

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Why YOU Need Custom Mudroom Cabinets!

Why Every Home Needs A Mudroom With Custom Cabinets!

Mudrooms with ample cabinet space and storage options are so good to have. They can improve the feel of your whole house both dirt and clutter wise. It acts as a filter of sorts and keeps extra stuff and all of the dirt on that stuff out. Big families with children and pets stand to benefit the most from custom mudroom cabinets!

Why You Need A Mudroom With Custom Cabinets For Your Home

A mudroom is very essential for getting everyone ready and out the door in the morning. It’s the best place to put on our shoes or remove them in the evening. You don’t expect to have a clean mudroom but it’s the best part of our homes to help us organize ourselves as we leave or enter our homes. With the addition of custom cabinets, you can have a well organised and neat looking mudroom of your dreams.

A mudroom is a perfect space for your family’s muddy shoes as well as sports equipment so they don’t have to be taken into the home at all! A mudroom with custom cabinets from Edgewood cabinetry is the best idea for your home in 2018 and beyond. By establishing a more durable custom mudroom with multi-level cabinets creates more space for you to store your coats, shoes and other stuff and keep them out of reach of children. You can also use your mudrooms to store breakable and various less kids-friendly stuff high beyond their reach.

Maximize Your Space

Edgewood cabinetry can help you with bench installation – one of the most important elements of any great mudroom. Family and kids use the bench to sit while tying or untying shoes. It is also great for putting on jackets. A custom mudroom simply makes your space more functional. There’s no limit on what you can do to maximise your available space. Just look for the mudroom design that meets your needs the best!

Improve The Appearance Of Your Home

In order to make your home look more modern and functional, the choice of cabinets establishes the mood, feel and look of your home. Custom cabinets play a major role in your entire home. It is therefore important for you to learn more about custom cabinetry and custom mudrooms as well as the choices available to find the best Edgewood cabinetry for your home.

What Are You Waiting For?

Whether you want to install custom mudrooms for a new home or for a house remodel, call Edgewood cabinetry now for modern mudroom designs for a modern home. Talk to us, we can help you come up with custom cabinets that best suits your home. Custom designs are one of our strong suits, we can make the mudroom that YOU want!

Looking For Professional Custom Mudroom Solutions?

In order to keep your home clean, tidy and organized, a custom mudroom is a must have thing in your home. Having a big family is great, but it’s a lot of work and causes a lot of mess, that’s just a fact. It’s only through a functional custom mudroom that you can keep dirt, cluster and other messiness of such a family under control.

Need Help?

If you are looking for Edgewood cabinetry experts in Raleigh, call us now or visit our website. We are committed to providing you with top quality custom mudrooms you are looking for.

Ready to keep all your every day clutter and mess in one spot? Start by contacting us today to learn more. Call at (919) 339-7300!

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Multi-Level Cabinets Create Valuable Mudroom Storage

Especially for families with children, the mudroom can be almost as important as the kitchen or bathroom for getting everyone ready and out the door in the morning.  They’re also the perfect space for catching muddy shoes and sports equipment before they make it into the house and onto your carpet or tile.
Creating the perfect mudroom is a cinch with multi-level cabinets from Edgewood Cabinetry.  You can carry your existing kitchen cabinets through to the mudroom, or choose a complementary stain of a more durable material.  Multi-level cabinets give you the ability to store coats, shoes, and sports stuff down low where your kids can reach them, while keeping breakable or less kid-friendly items up high and out of reach.
Space providing, Edgewood Cabinetry can also install one of the most important elements of any great mudroom: a bench.  Especially for younger children, a bench to sit on while tying shoes and putting on jackets is a must-have, and we can build one that matches seamlessly with your cabinetry, giving your room a custom, high-end look.  There’s no need to sacrifice style in a room that’s all about function.
And if your mudroom space doubles as a laundry area, we can install custom multi-level cabinets to accommodate your washing machine and dryer, as well as plenty of space for storing your detergent and other supplies.
There’s really no limit to what we can do to maximize the organizational potential in your space.  Contact us to see samples of our previous mudroom designs, and to find inspiration for your own!

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Mud Rooms & Laundry Rooms

The kitchen is the most important room in a modern home.  This is why most homeowners invest more in the kitchen than any other room.  And cabinets, more than any other item, determine the style and feeling of a kitchen.  Of course, countertops, flooring, light fixtures, appliances and wall tile all play an important role.  But your choice of cabinets is what establishes the look, feel, and mood of the kitchen.

If you want to create a traditional, rustic, contemporary, or modern look, it is the cabinets that  form the central design element of the entire room.  Since cabinets play a central role in a kitchen’s design, it is important to learn as much as possible about kitchen cabinetry and the choices available.

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