The mudroom bench

Um, yeah...so we're not so good at this posting thing. To be honest, I really don't like Blogger, because I can never get my pictures and words to line up the way I want. So I just don't post at all. 

But we did finish our mudroom about a month ago, and because we had a lot of outside assistance, I think it's time we thank all of those lovely people for their hard work.

First up, is Brad, Andy's dad. He helped me build a bench so we can sit down to put on our shoes. Which never really happens...it's more just a convenient place to dump all our stuff when we walk into the house, and it's working out perfectly!

Next, a couple months later, we cashed in on our end of a babysitting/tile installation trade with a family friend. Fred was kind enough to spend an entire day in our tiny mudroom, teaching us to install a tile floor. I think he realized that we made out on the deal when I told him we were planning on a diagonal herringbone pattern. And that we bought 12x12" tiles, all of which would need to be cut in half before we could start. Yep, Fred's a saint. And we thank him very much for his knowledge, his tools, and for not walking out when I wanted to swap out an already-set tile because it wasn't pretty enough :)

After the tile was finished, I moved on to the wall behind the bench. I created a paneled look with some decorative molding, and then added a shelf and some hooks. Once it was painted, things started really coming together. We also painted the walls, which made the white bench stand out even more.

 The final step was adding a cushion to the bench. This was a project I dreamed up, thinking I had some sort of history with the sewing machine. I assure you, I do not. But I lucked out, because Barb, Andy's mom, is a natural with all things crafty. They were visiting at the beginning of the summer, and a gloomy weekend was the perfect time to cross this project off the list. We began with an adventure to Zimman's, an amazing fabric store in the area...because my novice calculations meant I didn't have enough fabric on hand. Thankfully, they still had what I needed, and we also picked up some contrasting fabric to use for the welting. We spent all afternoon at the dining room table, measuring, cutting and sewing the cushion...Barb did most of the work, but I hung around for pinning help and moral support. (I deserve approximately 1% credit for this part of the project...so thanks Barb!) The end result was amazing! Better than something I could buy at the store, and customized with my own fabric, and our non-standard bench size.

I still have to decorate a bit, and add a shelf to the middle cubby of the bench, but overall, we're VERY happy with how this room turned out.

Just as a point of reference, here's what it looked like way back when...even before the kitchen/dining room renovation. (This is facing out the side door, which is on the left side in the above picture.)