Decorating A Mudroom

WORDS: CHYKA KEEBAUGH

IMAGES: MARCEL AUCAR

This is the one room I can flex my creativity in…

….and play around with stylistically until I am bored, then I start all over again! It’s our beloved mudroom, that space between the indoors and out. Now, you know I love my collections and my knick-knacks, well this mudroom contains all of that. From books to tools, potted plants to my basket collection, for a room with no actual function, it quickly became my favourite room in the house.

This room was created as an entrance from the garage into the central part of our home. Bruce initially said this was the one room I could go mad with, really let loose and spread my knick-knacks about, as he wanted the rest of our house to have a sense of calm to it. Well, that, of course, meant I went TO ABSOLUTE TOWN on this little mudroom!

With only one wall of windows, this mudroom can be pretty dark, so I always love to have the light on, so when you are looking back towards it, it just looks so pretty and inviting. It’s a moody space, with long shadows and dark stone floors, so warm lighting, candles, and cane’s homely texture give this area warmth and homeliness. It is in here that I keep all my gardening bits and pieces, gardening books, gumboots, hats and everything else I can think of. I always make sure I have fresh foliage in a little wicker basket that I found at a local bric-a-brac store. And, as you can imagine, I’m always on the hunt for anything that is vintage gardening that I can add to this room.

I have some beautiful treasures here, and I love just moving everything around to create new vignettes…. For a room with no actual use, it is pretty indulgent, but you know what? I don’t care! I love the quirkiness of it all. Not everything in your home has to have a function or reason for being; maybe you love the colour - love the design, whatever your reasoning; it is there for you to enjoy, precisely like this space is for me.

The laundry also comes off this room, so I spend quite a bit of time coming in and out, admiring the space, touching my collections, and imagining new ways to use the table creatively. Last year, over one of our lockdowns, I created the most beautiful lunch for Bruce and myself, which is why we now have chairs around the table. Having a new spot to entertain when you want to mix life up a little is very special and so much fun to decorate. So what part of your home don’t you use? Is it time to create something unique?