Mudroom Exterior Renovation with New Pavers & Plants

Our mudroom renovation has been quite the journey... a year-long journey to be exact! One of the factors making this a more complex (and lengthy) project was that it involved significant changes to both the interior and the exterior of the space (if you remember, this was a laundry room before!). After adding an exterior door and completing the interior renovation we had just a few finishing touches to make the exterior entrance feel just as warm and welcoming as it does inside.

Shop the Mudroom Entrance

Before:

Installed Bluestone Pavers

Wall Lantern | Door Hardware | Doormat | Planter (bought locally - similar) | Footed Planter | Double Topiary

We originally extended the pavers from the backyard into this space but it was no longer symmetrical once we'd reworked it to add the exterior door. We asked our contractors to install more of the bluestone pavers around the mudroom door in a grid pattern. To make it more of a dedicated path, we decided to forgo the artificial grass that we have between the diamond pavers in the backyard (more on those here!) and just do grout between the stones. They did add one line of grass as a separator between the path and the backyard. Now it feels like a clean slate and a really functional walkway from the driveway into the mudroom.

Added Plantings

We put in three wisteria plants against a trellis that we picked up from a local garden nursery. I can hear people saying, wisteria and brick don't mix! The trellis is meant to corral the wisteria, but we'll just have to keep an eye on it and see how it's doing. American wisteria is native to North America and has beautiful blooms but doesn't grow as aggressively as other varieties, so we're hoping it will behave itself. :)

Trellis (bought locally - similar) | Door Mat | Wall Lantern | Planter (bought locally - similar)

Painted the Meter Box

As soon as the exterior mudroom door was finished it was immediately obvious to me that something had to be done about this big gray box on the exterior wall. It was such an eyesore to an otherwise beautiful space. After pressure-washing the brick flanking the mudroom wall, I spray-painted the meter box so it more closely blended into the brick. It was a bit of trial-and-error on the paint color, but I love how it turned out! Here's the full DIY for all the details.

Added Doormats

Monogrammed Waterproof Door Mat

I added this Target mat outside for a pretty look and this Pottery Barn waterproof mat inside to help trap water and dirt (it was in the top 3 of our waterproof mat product test!). They're the finishing touches to make this space truly feel like part of our home!

If you'd like to go back and see the full transformation, here is the timeline of events!

• Inspiration I'm Looking to For The Mudroom (Aug 30, 2023)
• Introducing the New Mudroom Plans (Sept 5, 2023)
• Come On In! Mudroom Mood Board Reveal (Oct 16, 2023)
• Renovation Journal: Demoing the Mudroom (Dec 13, 2023)
• Our Mudroom Tile: A Vision of Black & White (Feb 26, 2024)
• 12 Hooks I Love For the Mudroom (June 13, 2024)
• Turning a Window Into a New Exterior Door for the Mudroom (Aug 12, 2024)
• Before & After: A Laundry Room Into A Mudroom (Sept 9, 2024)

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