“Shoe Bin/Bench Thingy” for the Mud/Laundry Room

I just wanted to share with you what my husband has made for the “mud” part of our laundry room.

We were wanting a place for the boys to store their shoes (out of site, of course!) and hang their coats and backpacks.

We currently have a little shoe box in the garage to “hide” the boys’ shoes.   I got it from my sister-in-law who used to use it as a toy box.

Unfortunately, their shoes don’t always make it in the box.

And I have been noticing lately that as their shoes keep getting bigger, there seems to be less room in the box.  Go figure!

So for our laundry room, I wanted to have a similar type storage for their shoes…just a little bit bigger.

We decided to make a bench with storage that stretched across the side wall of our laundry room.

So I videoed what my hubby was working on last night and today.  I am sorry the camera work is a little amateur, but hey, I’m an amateur! :)

Here is the hubster to explain what he has done so far…

So let me know what you think we should do to the ceiling, k?

We still have a long way to go, but I love seeing how it is all taking shape.  It’s going to be a great addition to our home.

Have a blessed day!

22 Comments

  1. Your bench is in the exact same position as mine in our garage. I have a little bit more wall space next to the door, so we hang our coats from there. I can’t wait to see what you do with the shelving!! In my experience with white…… I would have to be prepared to keep a can of white paint handy for those touch-ups -especially in an area where shoes can dangle and scuff. :) (All of our doors and trim in the house are white -and they can definitely do with some major touch-ups! Just have to get around to it…)

  2. your husband is a keeper…….!!!! looks good…I too would just think re the white regards the INORDINATE MESS boys seem to create……shoes, runners, gym equipment, boys & white = DISASTER in my book!!! Just a thought….TK xx

  3. Traci,
    tell the hubs he did a great job explaining what all he did! Love your board and batten idea. I have the most fabulous shelf with hooks for you to look at. Let me find the link and I will email it to you.

    Hmmm, as for staining the beadboard on the ceiling…well, i like the idea of stain if this room will get some natural light, if not, I say go ahead and paint it white. If it’s a small area and doesn’t get a lot of natual light, you don’t want it to look like a cave with the dark stained ceiling.

    Since you mentioned board and batten, i am assuming your walls will be white as well??
    It’s really coming along quickly. Looking good!

  4. Hey Traci….LOVE the little bench! I think I would do the beadboard on the ceiling white if you’re doing the beadboard front white…..so it’ll be tied in. :) My hubby is sitting beside me and we watched your video together…..we both laughed out loud at your “kids, be quiet” comment….sounds just like our house! hee hee hee
    Have a great weekend!
    HUGS
    Missy

  5. It was SO WONDERFUL meeting you @ Relevant. Stopping by to follow you. Your testimony about your sweet Mama was so precious!

    Love you,
    Traci

    (PS: We spell our name really “cool”, don’t you think!)

  6. Love seeing the progress y’all are making. I love bead board, especially painted white. But like someone else said, it might not be a good idea to paint the front of your bench white. I can just see all the scuff marks and what not from the shoes. But on the other, I don’t think I’d stain the ceiling dark, I love the idea of it being white. Can’t wait to see what you decide. Whatever you choose, I know it will be wonderful!

  7. Great idea. I’d go with white on the ceiling to keep it brighter and feeling bigger. Your husband is a good carpenter and a good sport!

  8. I like the stained ceiling idea. It’s different and pretty. If the ceiling is tall, don’t hesitate to paint it a darkish color. And, you can always go back and paint it white if it feels too dark for you, but you will not want to strip and stain later… just my two cents…

  9. Traci

    Great video. I love the idea of the stain on the ceiling beadboard and the stain/paint combo on the bench. I can’t wait to see the finished product. Your “hubster” is doing a fantastic job!!!!

    Blessings!

    Your Tennessee friend

    Marilyn C.

  10. I love beadboard painted white. The picture you shared of a stained ceiling was very pretty, but since the beadboard is already ON the ceiling, I think it might be hard to stain. At least it sounds hard to me.

    You could always do something a little different and paint the ceiling a light sort of “sky” blue, the way Southern porch ceilings used to be painted!

    It’ll look great no matter what you choose. I think your mudroom/laundry room is going to be a fantastic change to your home. Congratulations!

  11. Loved the video. The shoe bench is such a good idea. That hubby of yours is a keeper :) And as for the ceiling … I always love crisp white. Loving watching your redo.

  12. So exciting! Your laundry room is going to be adorable. My vote is for a white ceiling. I wouldn’t have thought of staining the top of the bench but I think that will be perfect! We are thinking about building a banquette bench in our kitchen. My hubby has been researching how to do it. I’m going to show your video to him. I bet it will help. :) Have a great day.

  13. We are re-doing our mudroom as we speak now…we put up tongue and groove pine on the ceiling and picked out a walnut colored tile for the floor. A girlfriend of mine stopped over to help me choose paint colors and told me she tried White-Washing her ceiling and hated it (which is what we were going to do. She said with the floor dark and we have a dark door going into the kitched, why not stain the ceiling to match the door. So we went and bought a stain and a lighter paint than we thought and I think it’ll look much better – so, I’d say go with the stain! :)

  14. Love the progress on the room, looks great. I think for the ceiling, it depends on how much natural light you have that comes into that room. Do you have any windows? If not, maybe you could paint the beadboard white but do a walnut stained trim around the edge of the ceiling to match what you are doing with the bench. Whatever you do, it will look great.
    Brooke

  15. Hi Traci,
    The ceiling all depends on the natural light coming in from the windows and doors. I would go with white if it tends to get dark in there, unless you are planning to install more lighting then the dark stain would be perfect! Your husband did a wonderful job! Ya’ll are doing a fantastic job and I can’t wait to see it all finished.
    Blessings,
    Sarah =)

  16. It looks great! I’m about to start a shoe bench and coat/backpack rack for my laundry room too. I love the idea of hiding the shoes. I think I’d paint the beadboard white if you’re trying to sell it, because it might bring in more light. But I also love the look of wood, so I think it would look great either way.

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