Healthy Home Design Features: Mud Rooms?
"I haven't seen one of those in years!"
Some of you may remember this penciled treasure I stumbled upon which was drawn by my great uncle.
It's likely this home had a Mud Room!
Many of us have heard the term but wonder what, exactly, is the purpose of the Mud Room? Is it just wasted space?
Most of us understand a Foyer...the grand entrance to the home where we greet our guest and welcome them into our home. It is thought of as a very clean, inviting place....until Andrew enters with the rambunctious Kodiak (the family puppy) after playing in the puddles! Now it is not so inviting and our guests have to trip over the muddy shoes left behind!!!
A little internet search led me to the history of the Mud Room.
A Mud Room was traditionally the entrance used by the family members. Farmers would come in from the fields and have a basin in which to wash their hands, children would have a place to remove their dirty shoes and items (likely germ infested) from school...and we would have a place to wash Kodiak when he played in the crick (lol! Now I'm making fun of me!)
With the advent of indoor plumbing space was at a premium and the mudroom was sacrificed. Laundry rooms were moved towards the "family" entrance and took the place of mud rooms. Does it make sense to bring dirt in to a room for which the purpose is cleaning?
Mud Rooms can serve great purposes in your home
- a barrier to keep the outside from being dragged in
- a user friendly area to store keys, purses, locate lockers for kids (and Mom's) to drop their "stuff"
- a nice area with a bench to remove shoes and change to house shoes or slippers
- what a great place for wet umbrellas!
- how about a place to clean Kodiak! AND store Kodiak's leash! AND store Kodiak when you are training him and have to leave him home alone!!!
Mud Rooms can serve to keep your Indoor Air Quality better...
Just think about the barrier from exhaust fumes and gasoline for the mower from entering your home when the mud room is placed off the garage entrance if you have an attached garage!
Today's Mud Rooms, despite the name, can even be attractive! Take a peak at this Mud Room Furniture from LL Bean! How attractive is that!?!
Let's give our ancestor's a little credit for knowing how to make our homes healthier and cleaner! No matter what state you are in or what your climate is...
Let's hear it for Mud Rooms!!! What a great HEALTHY design feature to incorporate in your new or remodeled home! Rah! Rah! Rah!
Challenge: I want to hear from you! Can you think of other uses why your home will be healthier when you incorporate a MUD ROOM???
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