Not a Mudroom but...

So here's my version of the Martha Stewart boot tray (see 2 posts ago):



The boots aren't as cute as the wellies & duck boots Martha had, but what can I say? That's what we (Jim) actually wear.

I think it looks pretty decent, though. I also got some indoor/outdoor rugs to help define the space and catch the snow, salt, & sand. The opening is just 4 feet wide, but quite long to the radiator, so I bought 3 of them and just put them together. It works pretty well.

They don't start at the opening of the door because the threshold at that point is too short, and they would get bunched up. But of course the house (or maybe the floor) is not level, so all I have to do is push it down a few inches where the threshold is higher and we're fine!

I splurged on the boot tray and got it from Smith & Hawkin, rather than buying a cheaper black or green plastic one.

I think Martha's had some smooth river rocks, but when I went to Homer, I could get a whole big bag of broken marble for $4, or several small bags of smooth stones for $7 each. Obviously, I chose the big bag for $4, and it was just enough to perfectly fill the boot tray. And I think it has the right effect.



Luckily (?), I have been able to give it the true test, as it snowed 9 or so inches on Monday - yes, that's right, we got a Nor'easter on March 2nd. It's not my ideal mudroom, but it works pretty well for about a $300 investment. One of these days, I'll make a little bench to go with it. But that will have to wait until I'm down to at least 2 night classes.

Mudroom Substitute

While I want, want, WANT a mudroom, and it may - no, will - happen someday, dog surgeries and new roofs must be paid off first. In the meantime, snow, sand, and salt from the winter storms are getting tracked all over the house and defeating my cleaning efforts of the last post, so we really need to find an acceptable short term solution.

Jim mentioned a boot tray last night. I'd love it if it looked something like this Martha Stewart version



That's kinda cute - I could live with that. And maybe I could make a simple little bench to sit on while you take your snowy boots and shoes off. The only real place to put it would be under one of the kitchen windows. Not ideal, as that's where the door swings open to, but this is all a temporary compromise, right?

Then Jim suggested I combine that with a radiator cover I've been thinking of making... I yakked about it here last winter. Here's some pictures of ones I'd like to copy...





Before any of you think I'm ruining the look of old radiators - never fear, these kitchen radiators are hideous and plain - not like the decorative radiators in other parts of the house. And for any of you that think I'll be ruining the heating efficiencies of the radiators by covering them, know that we now use the pellet stove as the primary heat source, and only turn the furnace on when it is extremely cold out...

It's kind of hard to see, but this is the wall with one of the radiators (covered with project supplies). The window to the left of it is where we're thinking of possibly putting the boot mat, and the back door is just to the left of the window.



I think I need to come up with a serious design for this. I've been watching woodworking video podcasts... we'll see. I'm never at a loss for projects. What I really need to do is focus and finish the bathroom doors (2nd door is half scraped). Oh - and classes start back up on Thursday.