Thursday, December 4, 2008

Too many shoes at the log cabin!



























My biggest regret with our log cabin.....not having a mudroom! The next log cabin will have a 150 square foot mudroom with heated floors and lockers and one of those benches from Pottery Barn. Okay - I'm just fantasizing and going overboard here.

But who knew that between my hubby and stepson - that they needed 5 different kinds of boots? And when guests come in - it looks like a stampede of horses has trampled my welcome mat. (I'm sure any of my past guests reading this post right now is saying "hey, who are you calling a horse?!) Anyways, I hated tripping over these shoes and they way they looked all scattered about. So I bought this shoe cube from Lowes. I put the shoes in the canvas cube drawer and everything is nice and organized now. And oh yes, I put Marvin the cat away too. Can you see him?

25 comments:

Sandi Keene said...

Good tip on the mudroom! Adding it to my dream list.

Cedar ... said...

Marvin says... "what, no soft cushion to lay on in here?" All kidding aside, it's a great organizer,... how will you handle the boots when they are too wet for the storage bins? I have a piece of green indoor-outdoor carpeting, cut to fit into a boot tray. It can be removed and hosed off in tub or outside. If you cut more than one you can have a spare to replace in tray while first one is drying after cleaning.

Lady of the Mote said...

I dont have a mud room either,you walk right into the kitchen,so I know what you mean,I tried a bench with cubbie holes,and I was the only one who would use it,now I just use a big basket and a peg coat rack above, it seems to work better for hubby,looks like Marvin enjoys it:)

Constance said...

I have a mud room in my future cabin floor plans. I know how messy we are! I can relate to the whole shoe explosion. Everyone takes their shoes off when they come inside, Dave & I aren't too bad, one pair a piece. However, between Laura when she lived at home, our son Charles and his friends, you could barely get into the house! My family has a way of overlooking nice, organized storage containers, it's like they have blinders on!
Connie

Dawn Marie said...

a mudroom???? whats that? You know I'm going to take a picture of my doorway (hopefully tomorrow) and you will feel blessed after you see mine! Its horrendous..obviously I dont have a mud room either and actually didnt think I needed one until now....but i do...I love that cat!

Sandy said...

I hear you Shelley, before my mudroom addition I could have used your organizer idea!

NCmountainwoman said...

When you visit a cabin in the snow, you gotta have lots of shoes. Not to mention jackets and hats. I suspect Marvin didn't stay put away for long.

Lolosblog said...

Love Marvin! Cats are just too funny. I miss my kitty :-(

Love the new storage! It looks great.

Anonymous said...

oh that is tooo cute!! love how Marvin made himself right at home... I dont have a mud room either. We got a plastic tray from Plow and Hearth (LOVE that catalog!!) so I throw all the stuff in there. I have tried to train my son to take all his wet stuff down to the basement...it is slowing sinking in, LOL (he is 15 y.o.).

I am justing loving your blog!! thanks for sharing your life! I check it every morning first thing, at work when I have my tea!

Jill from NY

joated said...

Only five kinds of boots? Pikers! You need at least three for different snow/temperature conditions, one general work boot (with steel toe so if you swing the maul and miss--or a block of firewood falls on your toe, you won't need a cast), then there's the ones for mud season, and the standard hiking variety for summer, wading shoes for fishing, and then there's boat shoes for the kyaking....

Mud rooms are excellent ideas if you don't have an attached garage. I've got the attached garage with two bays but only one car parked inside. The other bay has bird seed, firewood, lawn mower, snow blower, salt (for ice and snow), soda and other beverages, and boots! Lots of boots.

Wall-to-wall books said...

Awww that is such a cute picture of Marvin!

Powell River Books said...

Marvin look like a twin brother to a former cat of mine called Cessna (yes, we named our cats after airplanes). He was a great cat, but sure knew how to demand what he wanted. Now we have a long haired cat called Stick Tail (a story of its own). We don't have a mud room at our cabin. The outside covered porch takes care of the really messy items and the rest go inside next to the door. Our small cabin it pretty easy to keep clean with a broom and dust pan (not enough electricity for a vacuum). -- Margy

Anonymous said...

Your log home is just beautiful. It is our dream one day too. Do you think we could get a picture tour of each room? I have seen lots of the dining area and kitchen and always wondered about the other areas.
Anne from MI

Mary Helen said...

I love your log cabin! My husband and I dream of having one some day.
Great photos!

Judy said...

What a great idea. I'm glad Marvin has a cubey too!

Anonymous said...

Marvin looks adorable and very content. I don't have a mudroom either. I have a back hallway with a shoe rack that is always buried in shoes. It isn't a pretty sight. I love your cubbies!

Shelley said...

Sandi- I have it on my dream list now too! :-)

Cedar - you know Marvin pretty well - ha,ha! I was thinking about lining the storage bins w/ plastic for the winter. I like your idea too!

Lady 0f the Mote - I had thought about the cubbie bench too - Pottery Barn has great ones!

Connie - I've considered opening up a shoe store - LOL!

Dawnie - I would like to see it!

Sandy - I have thought about a future addition too!

NC - I have become the poster child for Woolrich and Eddie Bauer!

Brandi - Marvin is a good boy! Loves to be held and loves to snuggle!

Jill - I LOVE Plow and Hearth too - they do have many great things! Now I'm going to have to ck out their latest catalog again. And thank you for your nice comments too!

Joated - I'm thinking I need more boots now!

Wendy - he is spoiled rotten!

Margy - I really like that name Cessna for a cat! Can you think of one for a male dog? (I'm on a waiting list for a Bernese Mountain Dog.)

Hi Anne - I will post more pics of the other rooms. I've been trying to get them more furnished / decorated. You can also check the old archives of my blog on the right side bar. Also, I'd be happy to send you one of our brochures too - let me know.

Mary Helen - thank you for stopping by! I hope you do get your log cabin one day!

Judy - glad you like my cubey!

JyLync - marvin has to explore anything new - so this will be his new "toy" for a while I imagine.LOL! P.S. I'm doing that random things post tomorrow!

Jen said...

Tripping over shoes in the mudroom is much more enjoyable. :D
Marvin is sooo cute!!

Denise said...

I'm feeling your pain. ...and men say that we women have a lot of shoes...YEESH!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Yes, a mud room is a must when you live somewhere with alot of snow... We have a boot tray right outside the door in the garage for muddy garden boots.

Anonymous said...

It's compact & beautiful furniture for any home.

Jennifer said...

That is a cute organizer. Great idea. I also enjoy having a mudroom. We are renting a house out in the English Countryside and it does get muddy. I like having one area for all the dirty boots to go. Marvin is to cute!

reliv4life said...

great idea! shoes are always piled by our doors - I love the cubby, but tell me how it works. You must wait for them to dry before sticking in the drawer on top of other shoes, right? Or give me your ideas...

George said...

I change shoes in the garage before coming into the house (Betsy does NOT require this) and could sure use your organizer.

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

The shoe bin looks great and was a great idea! I have the same problem with shoes and they all end up right near the back door....and we don't have the snow boots, so I can just imagine! I often wonder how 4 people could possibly have THAT many shoes!

Tammy