This week, my fabulous niece, Shaunah, has been interning with me. She is an Interior Design student at U.C. Davis. We've been having lots of fun working on various projects and we have collaboratively agreed upon what Miss Karla from CT should do with her pass through.
Karla and her husband like to entertain and since this is a pass through from the garage to the kitchen it makes complete sense that this room should be a mud room/butler's pantry. Our suggestions are as follows: Go with a ceramic tile on the floor (it's very durable, inexpensive, easy to clean, and comes in a wide range of styles). Remove the paneling and patch existing drywall, then paint with a fun color! If possible, I suggest putting a small sink and lower cabinets. The sink, when filled with ice, is a great place to put beverages for your parties. I suggest a porcelain farm house sink. In the lower cabinets you could have pull out recycle bins or large pull out drawers for platters and bowls. Incorporate the wine refridge into the lower cabinets. While entertaining this can become your beverage station. Countertops can be as simple (and inexpensive) as butcher block. I also suggest a bench to sit on while removing boots, etc. Use wall hooks or pegs to hang outerwear, umbrellas, etc. In my mud room we each have our own initial. This is also a great area for a small desk if you can fit it or at least a chalk board to write messages (I use ours to write inspirational quotes). Here are a couple of pictures for inspiration from http://www.kmarshalldesign.com. Thanks for the challenge Karla. I hope that gives you some ideas!