The mudroom: Say goodbye to the 1970s

September 24, 2016 barbara

The mudroom is probably the most special feature about this house. The mudroom and the deck. That’s about it.

It helps keep the house warm and it’s a place to store things I need seasonally. It’s a buffer between the incredible cold and the inside of the house. I also store my cutting tools and my treasured bowling ball bag. It’s the important things.

The mudroom has very old, very ugly wood paneling from the 1970s and it dates the look of the room. The old light fixture and dark wood trim didn’t help at all. With the blue floor the effect was hideous.

Some rooms weather the test of time and I’ll admit that the wood paneling has been very functional. The window seat is a blessing when putting on boots and my flowers catch and thrive in the winter sun. Christmas lights twinkle from those windows and my Chinese Lucky Cat waves southward towards financial security.

When I look at a picture with the combination of the floor and walls … oy!

The peel and stick tile is symmetrically ugly.

The tiles harken from the 1970s – the peel and stick ease of installation was a fad and it’ stuck around. I’m not sure you can even buy those tiles anymore.

The ugly floor is incredibly ugly but it’s been durable. I’ve tracked pounds of mud in and it cleans up quickly and easily. It also collects dirt in the seams between the peel and stick tiles. They’re also glued down for good measure.

Those tiles aren’t going anywhere. I’ll have to put more flooring over them!

The 1970s light fixture is (was) a special tough.

Capping off the historical effects in the mudroom is the light fixture. It’s poetically ugly and too dated to toss. I have plans for a newer light but this one has stood the test of time for probably, oh, decades. Time for an upgrade.

We decided the dark trim is history – I’m going with rounded corners instead of being framed with dark wood. It keeps the room dark and adds to the weighty-ness of the room. The trim is gone.

Where the old window seat used to be. Just ugly!

I used to store paints, my saw cutter and my cowboy boots in there. It was a way to hide things. Without the seat, now I have to dispose of old paint cans, I gave away my saw cutter and I donated my cowboy boots. Cowboy boots are supposed to be comfortable; these weren’t.