Emma Lewis
Photo of a mid-sized country mudroom in Cheshire with limestone floors, multi-coloured walls, a white front door and grey floor.

Photo of a small scandinavian mudroom in Paris with green walls, light hardwood floors, a single front door and a white front door.

An elegant contemporary interpretation of traditional hand-painted style, with a fresh yet sophisticated feel, classic proportions and modern powerhouse equipment Photo: Jake Fitzjones

Photo of a contemporary mudroom in London.

Inspiration for a country mudroom in West Midlands with white walls, a dutch front door, a gray front door and grey floor.

Bespoke fitted boot-room with Ben Heath cabinets and limestone flooring Photos by Adam Carter Photography
Inspiration for a small traditional mudroom in Berkshire with white walls and limestone floors.

Design ideas for a large contemporary mudroom in Gloucestershire with grey walls.

Décoration intérieure partielle d’une maison de 170m2 qui était auparavant une bibliothèque se trouvant dans le centre de Charentilly. Suite à l’achat de la dernière partie de cette ancienne bibliothèque, les clients ont pu finir d’aménager la dernière partie des « combles » pour regrouper les enfants à l’étage, afin de récupérer l’ancienne chambre du petit dernier au rez-de-chaussée. Le but était de réorganiser l’entrée, d’y ajouter des rangements et de créer un espace bureau que j’ai suggéré sous l’escalier, redécorer leur chambre qui était anciennement à leur fils, décorer les toilettes et redonner la fonction de salle d’eau qui servait de débarras en y intégrant une partie buanderie. Les clients étant à court d’idées et perdus parmi plusieurs styles déco qu’ils aimaient chacun de leurs côtés, ils ont donc décidé de faire appel à mes services pour y trouver les solutions attendues et trouver les styles de décorations qui leurs correspondent à tous les deux. Je vous laisse découvrir la nouvelle histoire que nous avons écrite pour cette maison de famille qui était anciennement la bibliothèque de Charentilly. Les clients finissent progressivement les travaux.

Design ideas for a small modern mudroom in Melbourne with black walls and light hardwood floors.

This bespoke boot room in Haslemere features a built-in bench with traditional turned legs and a solid timber seat. Tongue-and-groove panelling extends from the bench to an overhead shelf fitted with aged brass hooks for coats, bags and everyday items. The room is finished with limestone flooring and a vaulted ceiling, and the cabinetry is painted in Little Greene's Light Bronze Green (No. 123).

A curious quirk of the long-standing popularity of open plan kitchen /dining spaces is the need to incorporate boot rooms into kitchen re-design plans. We all know that open plan kitchen – dining rooms are absolutely perfect for modern family living but the downside is that for every wall knocked through, precious storage space is lost, which can mean that clutter inevitably ensues. Designating an area just off the main kitchen, ideally near the back entrance, which incorporates storage and a cloakroom is the ideal placement for a boot room. For families whose focus is on outdoor pursuits, incorporating additional storage under bespoke seating that can hide away wellies, walking boots and trainers will always prove invaluable particularly during the colder months. A well-designed boot room is not just about storage though, it’s about creating a practical space that suits the needs of the whole family while keeping the design aesthetic in line with the rest of the project. With tall cupboards and under seating storage, it’s easy to pack away things that you don’t use on a daily basis but require from time to time, but what about everyday items you need to hand? Incorporating artisan shelves with coat pegs ensures that coats and jackets are easily accessible when coming in and out of the home and also provides additional storage above for bulkier items like cricket helmets or horse-riding hats. In terms of ensuring continuity and consistency with the overall project design, we always recommend installing the same cabinetry design and hardware as the main kitchen, however, changing the paint choices to reflect a change in light and space is always an excellent idea; thoughtful consideration of the colour palette is always time well spent in the long run. Lastly, a key consideration for the boot rooms is the flooring. A hard-wearing and robust stone flooring is essential in what is inevitably an area of high traffic.

This is an example of a victorian mudroom in London with white walls and multi-coloured floor.

In this entrance the doors to the storage were painted in to match the wallpaper.
Contemporary mudroom in London with a white front door.

Designed and made specifically to fit in the hallway vestibule of the home, this bespoke boot room was designed by Searle & Taylor in collaboration with interior designers, Wells and Maguire. It features cupboards on either side of bench seating with walnut veneered internal shelving, drawers and pull-down cabinets, together with hooks against the tongue and grooved back panel above the seat. In addition, there is a shelf for storage baskets above the hanging space. The joinery is handpainted in Smoke by Neptune. When discussing the brief for this project, the clients mentioned that they own a robot vacuum cleaner, so a home was created for it by including a recessed space at the base of the cabinetry.

View from the entrance into a modern open-plan dining area. The shelf provides space for shoe and coat storage while allowing glimses into the kitchen. The bespoke bench, based on the design of the famous polo chair, provides additional storage. Bulkhead lights illuminate the large roof light, turning it into a lantern at night. Photo: Frederik Rissom

CLOAKROOM / BOOTROOM. This imposing, red brick, Victorian villa has wonderful proportions, so we had a great skeleton to work with. Formally quite a dark house, we used a bright colour scheme, introduced new lighting and installed plantation shutters throughout. The brief was for it to be beautifully stylish at the same time as being somewhere the family can relax. We also converted part of the double garage into a music studio for the teenage boys - complete with sound proofing!

A Charlie Kingham authentically true bespoke boot room design. Handpainted classic bench with boot shoe storage, as well as matching decorative wall shelf. Including Iron / Pewter Ironmongery Hooks.

Make an entrance. Exposed brick wall and tartan carpet create a welcoming space with practical storage in the vintage gym bench and pigeon hole wall cabinet. Colourful hanging lights complete the look. Photo: Andrew Beasley

Mid-sized contemporary mudroom in Stuttgart with white walls and medium hardwood floors.