CLEAR AS MUD

With an eye toward taking some of the stress off the kitchen, many homeowners have turned their attention in recent years to the kitchen addendums known as mudrooms. Positioned as buffer zones between the outdoors and the kitchen, mudrooms serve as changing rooms, laundry rooms, closets, storage areas, and shoe repositories. Most recently, these utility areas have grown into sophisticated holding areas with built-in cabinets that match the kitchen’s own for stowing brief cases, lunch boxes, back packs, baby carriages, and diaper bags. Mudrooms require only about 40 square feet for the more minimal designs; larger areas can incorporate greater numbers of features. In some cases, a small bump-out addition adjacent to the kitchen provides all the needed room.