I’m so excited to finally share our basement gear storage/mudroom. This is a project that Craig actually finished LAST fall. Yes, I’m that late in posting it on here. But honestly, he did it so quickly it felt like a room that was always there. In reality, it needed a lot of work, and now it’s a totally functional mudroom space for gear storage and organization.
We don’t have a mudroom upstairs and we have minimal storage space on the first floor. We are also planning on getting rid of our garage and turning it into another bedroom/bathroom, so we really needed a place for all of our gear, bikes, etc. It was an empty room that was collecting dust. And though it was in rough shape, Craig knew it had a ton of potential.
I absolutely love how it turned out and it is truly one of the most functional spaces in our house. We have a lot of bikes, snowboard gear, and other sports equipment, on top of all the coats and winter clothing that takes up a lot of space. With this space we are able to add a ton of storage space in our home using existing square footage that was also very budget friendly. Not only do we use it for storage but it’s conveniently located closest to our hot tub so we can use it to change and hang wet bathing suits.
Here’s a little bit more about the process and what we used to organize all of our gear, bikes, snowboards, and more.
Basement Gear Storage Mudroom
What it Looked Like Before
I didn’t get a chance to take any true before photos because Craig got to work really quickly. So the sheetrock was already on the ceilings and he had plastered or added beadboard to some of the walls. This still gives you a pretty good idea of what it looked like. It was a decent sized room but completely unfinished. It’s attached to the finished part of the basement that has a guest bedroom and bathroom along with a small sitting area and desk.
Since we are getting rid of our garage and do not have any storage space on the first floor we needed to maximize this space to store winter gear, bikes, snowboards, golf clubs, tennis racquets and more. We didn’t want to spend a ton of money on this space because it’s in the basement but also needed it to be functional.
Ikea Pax Wardrobes For Storage
We’ve had such great success using IKEA Pax Wardrobes in our Garage Renovation that it was a no brainer to use them in the basement for storage. In addition to these four cabinets, we have another set on the other wall for tennis gear and additional coats. We each have our own cubby for snowboard gear, boots, jackets, pants, etc. It keeps us organized and makes it so much easier to find things! I know ordering things from IKEA can be tricky and many items are delayed. We usually place our order way ahead of when we need the items, but this was also last fall, so things may have changed since then. These are an easy DIY to build on your own and a great option for closets and storage when you’re on a budget.
Picture above: IKEA Pax Wardrobe with Doors, LuLu & Georgia Rug, Shoe Rack, Windsor Chair
Steadyrack Bike Racks
We have a lot of bikes. Craig is really into mountain biking and has quite a collection, in addition to my mountain and regular city bike. We needed a place to store all of our bikes that wasn’t in the garage and since this basement room has a full walkout door, it was a great option to keep them all in one place. Craig found these Steadyrack bike racks that are an excellent option for vertical storage. They can be used with regular and fat bikes and they are super strong. He used a matte black masonry paint on the wall (which I think looks really cool). On the floors in this room he used a gray concrete floor paint. Using the steadyrack mounts we are able to fit 5 bikes on this wall. It’s pretty awesome.
The Kitchen Area
We decided to install a small kitchen area because the room already had plumbing hook-ups available. Since we have a guest room in the basement it’s a nice option for guests to have a sink, coffee maker and their own fridge. We can also use the extra fridge for additional storage if we need it. We got the Galanz Retro Refrigerator and Freezer from Home Depot. It was inexpensive and works great as a secondary fridge. The top cabinets we were able to salvage from the kitchen upstairs and the bottom cabinets were unfinished from Home Depot. He added pine beadboard to the wall and then painted everything in Clare Paint Beigeing.
ProBoard Racks Snowboard Rack
Another great small space storage solution is this ProBoard Racks Snowboard and Ski Rack. As you can see we can fit a ton of snowboards and skis on a small wall. I love that we can hang them there right when we come in from outside. They sell the racks with anywhere from 1-6 slots.
Additional Storage and Seating
We have a shoe rack for storage of extra boots and sneakers since we often come through this door from outside. In addition to the Windsor Chair and shoe rack we have a Windsor Bench along the wall with a maple peg rack for hanging wet bathing suits, towels, etc. I’m really happy with how it turned out and that we were able to utilize a space that is functional, practical and with a reasonable budget. Slowly but surely we are making this house a home!
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