Make a Mud Room (with no constuction) Part 2

I shared part 1 of my DIY mud room here. The space I transformed in the garage leads into a little 3'x3' landing. On one side there are stairs going down to our basement, the other side had a small closet with accordion doors and the third side lead up two steps to our main floor.
This is the only before picture I could find.

The problem with the closet was when the the doors were open, they jutted out into the space making it even more cramped. So, we removed the doors. Then, when we redid the kitchen, we used the same vinyl flooring and continued it down the steps and onto the landing. We built a bench out of MDF supported by 2'x'4's around the sides for a place to put shoes on. While we were tearing the closet apart, I had my dad put in an electrical outlet so we would have a spot to charge cell phones (and the Dustbuster ;).) Next, I added some hooks and two sliding Ikea baskets underneath (can't find the exact baskets we have, but these are similar.)

I maximized this space by using walls that lead down into the basement. Here we have a cork board for each boy to tack up reminders, pictures, etc. I found the bell at a thrift store, and brought it home because it had the year our house was built engraved on it.

The other side has more family photos. I'm not a huge fan of photographs on the walls in any other rooms in our house, but I like them here.

So, the combination of the the two space (in the garage and here) make my wanna-be mud room. It works pretty well for us. :)

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Make a Mud Room (with no construction) Part 1

My house doesn't have a mud room. So unfair, right?! With two young boys I needed a solution to the pile of shoes by the door and the mound of coats/hats/backpacks.

So, I decided to make my own mud area using the space I already had. We have an attached two-car garage (that we actually park two cars in) so space is at a premium. But, I discovered if I moved the trash cans and recycling bin, I would have a little 3' x 10' space to use. I didn't have to think too much about how to go about it because Sarah at Clover Lane did it first! Hers is much nicer and grander than mine, but ours works pretty well for our little family.

I searched everywhere for a bench to use for the boys to sit on to take off their shoes. I really wanted something that had storage underneath, but that wasn't a deal breaker. The most important thing it had to have was a low seat height. My boys are 6 and 3, I needed something they could easily get on and off themselves (or it would have defeated my purpose!) And, I didn't want to spend much on it, at all.  After all, it was going live its life in my crusty garage. It took me a couple of weeks but I finally found what I was looking for at the thrift store for $10. It's actually the top/headboard for an old water bed (do they even make water beds anymore?!) Anyway, all I had to do was remove the supports (the part that raised it off the floor) and I had the perfect sized bench, with storage!

The shelf/bench was solid wood, but had a very dark stain. After I wiped it down, I used Kilz primer and two coats of some white gloss paint we had lying around. In retrospect I should have used a darker color to hide all of those scuff marks.

Once I had the bench painted, all I need to do was add a rug, some hooks and a boot tray. I found it impossible to find the right sized rug for this area, so I just layered two rugs I already had. Hooks are from Target, boot tray from Bed Bath & Beyond. In the winter, I add another boot tray so each kid has their own. They're really good about taking a big step so their wet boots get on the tray, slipping the boots off and then running across the rug into the house. No wet socks, hooray!

Next, I'll show you part 2 of our mud room (that's actually inside the house, fancy!)

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