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How to plan a great Breezeway to Mudroom Conversion

40 min readTurning your breezeway into a mudroom is a great way to connect your garage and house. This kind of breezeway to mudroom transition is perfect for many mid-century ranch houses with detached or semi-detached garages. Here’s what I’m doing!

Let’s talk about the pros, cons, and process of converting a breezeway to mudroom space.

How does your house connect to the garage? And do you wish that connection was a mudroom? Most people do!

Early mid-century houses were built without garages, so the way an aftermarket garage connects to a mid-century house is inconsistent, but it’s not uncommon to have a covered space, a porch, a three season room or a breezeway, and it’s not uncommon to want to convert that breezeway space to a more functional mudroom.

So here’s what you might want to consider if you’re trying this. It depends on your house, your needs, and even your climate region. But this is a go to space to look for a little added interior square footage.

Note: this was originally posted 2019. It has been updated and now includes a podcast episode for those who’d rather listen than read!

So … this episode and post expand on this blog post series dating back to January 2019, when I was still thinking about this as an interim thing I was doing between one official, real job and another. Before I realized that I was going to make a life out of talking to people about mid-century homes, teaching people how to create their own Mid-Century Master Plans in Ready to Remodel and creating Mid-Century Master Plans for people directly.

I was working on my own home and talking about it because I knew people had questions, so I documented my own breezeway to mudroom conversion, mostly with progress photos. It’s still one of the most popular posts the history of this blog! Because other people are really looking for this. This is a major question for anyone with a mid-century house separated from its garage by a little covered area. It feels obvious to turn this space into interior space.

In reality, a breezeway to mudroom conversion is a little more complex. And in the years since I began my own breezeway to mudroom conversion, work with hundreds of design clients has provided me with even greater insight into what works and what doesn’t.

Can an open floor plan be too open?

36 min readThe open plan is a hallmark of modern living. Flow between spaces is a cornerstone of mid-century design. But do open plans always work in mid-century homes?

Right here at the top, I’m writing you a permission slip: If you like an open plan space, you can have it. Let’s open up your layout!! We’ll figure out structure and flow and make it happen.

And if you DO NOT LIKE open plan areas … you are not required to have any big open floor plan areas in your home. We can find pockets of rest, create visual and sound separation between spaces, and introduce elements to separate a too-open layout.

The right answer for you is the right answer for you!

Is an open plan good?

There’s been a lot of debate over the “right” or “wrong” nature of an open floor plan over the last couple of years. The pandemic years, in particular, created a big push back against a long standing real estate trend for big flowing spaces.

How to Choose Window Treatments for Your Mid-Century Home

34 min readChoosing window treatments for your mid-century home can be a challenge. The good news is, when it comes to window coverings less is (usually) more. Let’s narrow down your options!

The window treatments you choose to cover up your windows will have a big impact on the overall aesthetic of your home, inside and out, actually. This is true if you live in a magazine spread worthy post and beam home or a simple builder-basic ranch house.

So … what are the right window treatments for a mid-century home? And why are they either: floor to ceiling, pinch pleat curtains or modern up down, insulating shades.

There’s more to it than that, obviously. But let’s talk …

Progress: Transforming the Breezeway into a Mudroom (Part 2)

3 min readGetting the glass in these windows took me three months of waiting for the right weather conditions (and free time) and about three hours of work to install!
I am SO EXCITED that they are finally in!

Remember back in OCTOBER, when I posted about putting up this fun cedar slat wall? Well, the project is still ongoing.

Getting these DIY windows in was such a simple job that I’ve been waiting to get wrapped up for SO LONG now. It took a few moving parts: having the glass cut to size and having the right weather conditions to caulk it into place. Plus I’ve been crazy busy on all previous good-weather work days working INSIDE the garage to build the mudroom part of the project.

Technically THAT progress update should be Part 2, but I forgot to post about it in November and now I just want to shout from the rooftops about my brand new DIY windows!

Continue reading “Progress: Transforming the Breezeway into a Mudroom (Part 2)”