by Anissa Zajac, owner + lead designer, House Seven Design | photos by Joseph Bradshaw
Most people don’t think about the utilitarian spaces in their home when they’re first planning a remodel or a new build. They don’t think about them when they’re searching for a new home, either. The focus usually lands on the kitchen, the primary bathroom, or the number of bedrooms the home has. They aren’t thinking about where the vacuum will live or where the shoes get kicked off every time someone walks through the door.
Those are the spaces I talk to my clients about from the very beginning of every design project. Of course I want to hear about all of the beautiful things they envision for their home, and I always tell them we’ll get there. But first, we have to talk about function. We have to talk about how they actually live and how these spaces will serve them for years to come. I think of these rooms as the transit system of the home. You pass through them countless times each day. They’re where you’re doing laundry, unloading groceries, storing seasonal items, packing lunches, organizing backpacks, or grabbing the dog’s leash before heading out the door. They may not be the rooms where you spend the most time, but they make every other room function better.
Because of that functionality, it’s so important to be intentional about how these spaces are designed. We’ve come a long way in how these spaces are treated. No longer are the washer and dryer tucked away in an unfinished basement. No longer are pass-through hallways simply forgotten spaces connecting one room to another. Today we’re designing them to be just as beautiful as they are functional. They’re rooms you actually want to spend time in. You might even find yourself looking forward to doing the laundry.
The mudroom is always one of the first spaces I want to discuss with my clients. What does their everyday life actually look like, and how can this room support it?
I remember when the open locker system was everywhere. Every magazine featured French market bags hanging neatly from hooks with a loaf of bread and fresh flowers peeking out the top. There were one or two tiny backpacks hanging perfectly in their cubbies and everything looked effortless.
It was beautiful, but it wasn’t real. In reality, those spaces quickly become the equivalent of an open coat closet for everyone to see. Piles of shoes, overflowing backpacks, dog leashes, sports equipment, coats, and all the things that come with raising a family. The problem wasn’t that the design was bad. The problem was that it didn’t support the way people actually lived, so it wasn’t sustainable.
The cubby system didn’t disappear. It simply evolved. We added doors to hide the clutter. Cabinetry became more thoughtful. Pretty cutouts, gorgeous hardware, and custom storage transformed these spaces into rooms that worked hard while still feeling beautiful. That’s my favorite kind of design: design that solves a problem without sacrificing beauty.
The same thing has happened in the laundry room. What was once purely utilitarian has become one of the hardest-working rooms in the house. In some homes it doubles as a dog washing station. In others it’s a place for wrapping gifts, crafting with the kids, watering plants, or storing household essentials. Every family lives differently, and these rooms should reflect the differences. When I begin designing these spaces, I ask my clients about the routines that make up their day. Which door do they use most often? Where do backpacks end up after school? Do they fold laundry in the laundry room or carry it somewhere else? Where do the groceries land when they come in from the car? The answers to those questions shape the design far more than any trend ever could.
I always tell my clients that we can make any space beautiful, but first it has to function beautifully. When a room is designed around the way your family actually lives, it becomes effortless to use. It works with you instead of against you.
I’ve grown to love these once-forgotten spaces because they often become the rooms that have the biggest impact on everyday life. They may not be the spaces guests remember first, but they’re the ones your family relies on every single day. And when they’re thoughtfully designed, they become some of the most meaningful and unexpected moments in the home.
