Mudroom Makeover

I'm not sure it should be called a makeover since it wasn't ever really "made" to begin with.  When we built our house 16 months ago, our mudroom was all function and no flare.  It served a purpose, albeit a good purpose, but it wasn't welcoming.

Before:

Every person in this family walks through the mudroom at least twice a day, so I wanted it to be a place that inspired on the way out and welcomed on the way in.

After:

We had some leftover wood from our keeping room ceiling, so we decided to add a little character to the wall.  I would prefer white, but this is a MUD room and mud is BROWN.  We make a lot of dirt on this plot o' land so practicality wins again.  I'm okay with that. :)

 I needed an inexpensive way to fill up 16' of bare wall space.  Thanks to Melissa, I found these maps at Paper Source.  They are actually considered wrapping paper, but they look and feel like real maps.  I will probably add more eventually, but for now I chose maps of the world, the U.S. and places I've visited.

I love the colors and texture it brought to the space.

This is a very functional room in our home so I wasn't sure it could feel warm and inviting.  We use this room to wash eggs, feed the dog, and drop the coats and shoes.
We recently added a new granite countertop (I love small scraps that can't find a home!) that our granite-guy friend cut grooves into for egg drying.

This space also leads to the half-bath.  With so many events at the farm, we are constantly pointing people to the bathroom.  I made this little sign to help them find the way:

A little metal frame found in the dollar section at Michaels, a Sharpie, and a fun ribbon made a quick little project.

For the first time since we moved in, I finally really like this space.  Instead of the mudroom, I'm thinking of renaming it the welcoming room.  Doesn't that sound better?

I'm linking up with Imparting Grace today.