Mudroom Cabinets Makeover: From Yuck to Showstoppers

Ready to add some serious wow factor to your mudroom cabinets? This cabinet makeover will leave their jaws hanging!

You know those chances you take sometimes where halfway through you realize there’s no going back?

It’s not that you didn’t realize there would be no going back when you started but it just didn’t occur to you what you might do if it failed.

Man, this is turning into some deep thoughts about plain old cabinets. 😆

Anyway, that’s how I felt about my mudroom cabinets. I had hated the look of them since we moved into the 70’s Landing Pad four years ago. However, getting the mudroom space into shape was at the very bottom of the list; it’s pretty closed off from the rest of the house and for the most part, we’re the only ones who walk through it.

While halfway through this project, the “oh shit, I’m in it now” feeling hit me, I’m happy to report that this project was a success…

Here’s what the mudroom storage looked like before…

Someone actually commented on this space saying it resembled what they think some prisons may look like. I was not offended at all. 😆

I most definitely did not want to lose this great storage space in here. Here’s how I pulled the epic cabinet makeover off.

Mudroom Storage Cabinets Makeover

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Supplies and Tools:

• Paint for the Cabinets – I used Bit of Sugar.
• New Hinges if the Cabinet Hinges are Visible – I used these.
• New Cabinet Knobs or Pulls – I used these acrylic and polished nickel ones.
• Upholstery Fabric in color/pattern of your choice – I used this one.
• Scissors
• Measuring Tape
• Staple Gun – I prefer using a power stapler for this; it makes the job go so much faster and smoother. This is the one I have.

Step 1

As you can tell from the before picture, my mudroom cabinet doors had holes drilled in them. While these may have been purely for decoration, I think they had more to do with ventilation since this space is in a partially below ground basement in the south. And while previous owners may have liked the “decorative holes,” this current owner did not.

The first thing I did was have the centers of the cabinet doors cut out to get rid of those holes.

While this was something I could have DIYed myself, I opted to hand it over to my cabinet guy. I knew he would do a better job of getting nice straight cuts and the same edge measurements for each door. I also knew he’d be able to knock it out in half the time of what it’d take me. I was right on all accounts and it was probably some of the best spent money on this space.

Step 2

Paint the cabinet doors and frames.

After the centers of the doors were removed, I painted all the doors and cabinet frames with Bit of Sugar by Behr. I did two coats total.

Step 3

Once everything was good and dry, I put the doors back on the cabinet bases.

I know it might seem weird to put them back up with them not being fully completed, but I felt it might make attaching the fabric easier if the doors were in place.

I installed the doors using new hinges as the old ones were gross and had been painted over multiple times. I also went on and put the new knobs on at this time too.

Step 4

Finally, I attached the upholstery fabric to the backs of the cabinet doors.

Roll out the upholstery fabric. Measure the openings in the doors and add about an inch or two to each side, then cut that measurement out from the fabric.

Using a stapler, attach the fabric to the backside of the door with the pattern showing through the opening.

I used my power stapler for attaching the fabric. It shoots all the way into the wood the first time, so no hammering staples down. It also goes much faster than using a regular stapler and it’s easier on your hands!

The biggest thing to remember when attaching the fabric is to pay attention to the pattern on the front. Make sure you’re keeping the pattern straight. Of course if you have a more abstract patten or a solid color, you won’t have to worry about this.

The acrylic knobs went perfectly with the green and white bamboo fabric – they complimented it nicely without distracting from the print.

Don’t forget to accessorize a little too! I’ve never met a tassel I didn’t like! These from SmithHonig are some of my favorites.

Window Shade / Pink Color on Door

I had enough fabric left over to create a window seat on top of a couple of the cabinets. The Circus loves to climb up here and chill.

The cool thing about this cabinet makeover idea is that if you ever want to change up the look of your space, you could switch out the fabric for a new print and create a whole new feel – and you’d never have to paint a thing!

Share any creative mudroom cabinet ideas you have in the comments!

Looking for more DIY cabinet ideas?

DIY Built In Office Cabinets – all you need are basic stock cabinets from your local home improvement store!

Best Paint for Cabinets – the lowdown on different types of paint for cabinetry.

How to Make Cabinets Taller – if you ever need to raise your cabinets for home improvement projects…

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