The house we’re renting is lacking a mudroom. As you enter the house from the garage, the laundry room is to the left and the guest room is right across. If I were to place some furniture, it would have to be 8 inches wide because that’s exactly the space between the side of the laundry room door and the walls to the right and left. In this high traffic entryway there is absolutely no room for a console or a table, not even for a bench.
This is what the space has looked like since we moved in a year ago. A small two-shelf table (half broken from the move) that’s not barely big enough to hold a small purse, sun screen and a couple of other everyday essentials.
That’s why I jumped at the sight of this little étagère, available for free on freecycle. (By the way, are you a member of the freecycle network? It’s such a great way to give to others in your community the chance to re-purpose items you no longer need and at no cost).
So I brought it home, and started by gluing back the veneer, and sanding it here and there. As I wanted to freshen it up with some paint, I thought long about the color that would be most appropriate and concluded to a dark gray-bluish, blackboard like (Behr Ultra – Sorcerer). It seemed to me that the dark color would add some weight and significance to this otherwise light and modest piece of furniture.
In the garage, I found this forgotten mirror that I had bought from Goodwill for under $9. I originally planned on hanging it in my daughter’s room but I ended up doing some cute diy mirrors for her so this big one stayed in the garage for a while. A coat of that same dark gray paint would be just what was needed to go next to my small etagere. I even fixed a damaged corner with wood filler.
Does this look way better?
The corner of the mirror has been restored to the best of my ability.
The first shelf is just perfect for charging the cell phones and the second shelf is left empty for my purse (I always carry the smallest purses possible!).
On the back of the top shelf, I added a plastic hook for each charger and twisted the cord around it so it stays in place and doesn’t fall down after I unplug the phone from the charger. Who wants to fish for a charging cord?
All the cables from the upper shelf connect to an extension cord that is tucked in the back.
On the last shelf I added a couple of shoe cleaners in that little basket and there is still room for more small items that we need either on the way in or out.
Last, I brought in a wicker stool that was in the master bedroom closet, and hopefully this will become a convenient sitting spot for putting shoes on. The umbrellas moved into a cute basket, one the many that are around the house.
To complete this space, I’ m still working on a message board – I need to stop taping grocery lists and other notes on the door!
This all cost me less than $10 (actually $8.99 – that was the cost of the mirror, as the étagère was free!). To turn such a narrow space into a convenient “pick and drop entry way”, I think it was pretty cost effective, don’t you?
