DIY: Homemade Boot Tray

No entryway or mudroom is complete without a place to store your wet or muddy boots and shoes.  Here are a couple of easy and cute ideas on how to make your own.

Good Housekeeping: Cork-Lined Tray

Gather a well-worn baking or jelly-roll pan (or buy an inexpensive new one), a roll of cork (from an office-supply store), a pencil, and scissors. Measure the sheet's interior; cut cork to fit, and place in the pan (don't worry, the shoes' weight will flatten the cork); replace as needed. 


Martha Stewart: Pebble-Filled Tray

Fill your tray with stones (found at garden centers). Ice and snow will melt and drain through the rocks to the bottom of the tray, so your boots won't stand in a puddle. Most of the moisture will evaporate, but you should clean out the tray regularly.


I'm loving the pebble-lined tray. I wonder if I can pull it off or if I'm just asking for trouble.  I can L'il Buddy strewing pebbles throughout the house on a daily basis.

Essential Elements of a Mudroom

mud~room: (noun) a vestibule or other area in a house, in which wet and muddy clothes or footwear are removed.

What is a mudroom exactly? The name literally says it all. It's an entryway into your home where you can leave muddy boots and shoes, wet raincoats, snow-covered winter gear and the like without tracking it through the living areas of your house.

But oh - it can be so much more.

To me, a mudroom represents civility, organization, and sanity. A bit much? Perhaps.  But for some reason, I long for one.  Let's look at the essential elements of the ideal mudroom:

1. Low-Maintenance Floors.  Since Mother's Nature's elements will be tracked through the mudroom on the regular, an easy-to-clean floor is a must. I love the idea of using cork, which is a waterproof material (and looks chic as well).

2. A Sturdy Coat Rack or Hooks.  I don't know about you, but we never have enough storage space for coats and other assorted weather gear.  

image credit: Quail Hollow Studios

image credit: Design Sponge

3. Shoe Shelving.  Ah shoes. A favorite subject of mine.  This also means that I have many a pair. Between a growing family of 5 and the DC area weather, we have an endless array of winter boots, rain boots, slippers, sandals, water shoes, and tennis shoes.  I try to keep the collection of shoes on the hallway mat pared down, but inevitably we end up with an unruly pile of footwear. Something like this would be fantastic:

image credit: Williams-Sonoma

4. General Storage.  Umbrellas, hats, mittens, backpacks, dog leashes, market totes - you name it, it needs a place to "sleep" (as my Dad would say).  Options for functional, smart-looking storage are endless.

5. Seating.  A place to sit while you tie your shoes/take off your shoes/put on your booths is a nice touch.  A space-saving choice is to select seating that also provides storage (i.e. a storage bench).

image credit: Ohdeedoh

And there you have it.  The 5 essential elements to making your mudroom as practical and comfortable as you need it to be.  Are there any other elements that are essential to the perfect mudroom?

The Understated Importance of a Mudroom

Credit: Hudson Goods

Credit: PinkWallpaper

Please don't take your mudroom for granted. The fact that you don't have salt and sand from winter-weather-treated roads tracked through your foyer is a blessing.  So is the fact that you don't have a haphazard pile of boots crowding the front-door.  While you're at it, please give thanks that there aren't coats, mittens and umbrellas strewn willy nilly throughout the living room.

Please. Respect the mudroom.