I toured over 20 modern farmhouse homes in one weekend, and I saw one thing in every single one of them: a mudroom bench. If you’re curious what a mudroom is, it is typically a space right off the garage for you to take your shoes off. It’s widely known as a place in your home where you can shrug off your backpack or purse and remove your shoes so you don’t track the day’s mess in with you.
I hadn’t really seen these for a while in homes, but in recent years they’ve been making a huge comeback. This year was no exception. I saw tens of variations of mudroom benches in the beautifully styled modern farmhouse homes. I adored how stylish and practical each of these built-in benches were, which is why I’m sharing them with you now.
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The Perfect, Cozy Bench
Since mudroom benches are so popular and practical, I think this is the perfect addition to your home this summer. I won’t leave you hanging to do it on your own – I’ve got a few tips and suggestions for how to make this bench fit in your farmhouse. Each home is designed and formatted very uniquely, so I’ve tried to narrow it down to the basics that will fit within practically any space.
Location, Location, Location
The first thing to consider when adding a mudroom bench to your home is where to put it. Ideally, you’ll want your mudroom to be located right off the entrance from your garage. This allows everyone to enter the home and immediately remove their bags and kick off their shoes before tracking their clutter and mess throughout the house.
They also tend to be fairly close to the laundry room which allows you to remove your jackets, scarves, hats, and other items and throw them right into the wash. This helps avoid a little bit of added volume in your room’s dirty clothes bin. Smaller laundry room? You can use the bench storage to hold a couple of extra laundry necessities.
Recessed Space or Flat Wall?
If you’ve got a small cutout in the wall or an old closet you can convert, I highly recommend making your bench a built-in. This keeps your hallway open avoiding any potential traffic jams or stubbed toes from a protruding bench encroaching on your valuable hallway space. An open space will also allow you more room to create additional storage options in your base.
If you aren’t fortunate enough to have that extra space, that’s okay! There are plenty of slender bases you can include on a flat wall. Depending on how much wall space you have to work with, you could also include some additional storage options. Just be considerate that your base isn’t too deep so it won’t swallow up your walkway space in the hallway.
Get A Good Base
The base of your mudroom bench should have a good mix of various storage options that align with your needs. Here are a few potential storage options to include in your base:
- Pull out drawers
- Open Shelving
- Cabinets
- Pull out shoe racks
- Open squares with baskets
- Hanging hooks
Perfect Pop Of Color
Your mudroom bench is the perfect opportunity to add a pop of color to your home! Just think, this is one space you’re going to pass by on the way in and out of your home. It’s the first thing you’ll see when you open the door and the last thing you’ll see when you close it. Why not make it a stunning piece of art with a rich, warm color for some added cheer?
Whether you choose a bold color or a more muted hue, according to a few interior design experts here are a few trending paint colors for 2022:
- Pantone’s Very Peri
- Sherwin Williams’ Evergreen Fog
- Sherwin Williams’ Aleutian
- Valspar’s Gilded Linen
- Benjamin Moore’s October Mist
- Sherwin Williams’ Jasper
- Benjamin Moore’s Racoon Fur
- Farrow & Ball Drop Cloth
Find The Right Accents
Your hardware can really make or break your mudroom bench. Okay, not really, but it can make a big difference! The space is small and you won’t need much of the hardware so feel free to spend a little more than you would on each piece in a larger space. Black is always a safe choice, but if you’ve got a darker color or want to take a bit of a risk go for gold or silver. If you need help deciding between the two metals, let Alexandra talk you through making a decision between gold and silver.
Sprinkle In Your Finishing Touches
Now that the basics are complete, on to the fun part – decorating! Your bench is meant to be pretty and practical so please make sure your decorations reflect that. Opt for things like comfy pillows to relax on while you remove your shoes or wicker baskets to store hats and gloves. These multi-functional decorations will allow you to add a few pretty accents while not detracting from the functionality of the space.
Of course depending on how much storage space you need (or don’t need), feel free to add in fun decor pieces like greenery, pillows, trays, decorative bowls, or vases. You can genuinely incorporate anything you want, but I suggest keeping your decor simple so you don’t have to make room to use your bench.
