Kim Emery was tired of the kitchen island in her Maryland home being used as a drop zone. She and her handy husband knew the solution was to create a mudroom to house all of their family's stuff, including the gear of the couple's small children.

"Mudrooms have become very trendy," says Emery, who's owner and designer of the blog Clipper City House. "Everyone needs a 'drop zone' for their stuff and a mudroom is the perfect space for this."

Their mudroom includes a closet where they store the vacuum, extra lightbulbs, coats and more. They added cubbies as storage lockers as well as a bench seat, hooks, baskets, wall art and throw pillows.

Emery says a mudroom adds value to a home and encourages homeowners to use quality finishes so the space can withstand the traffic.

*Great Investment

Adam Graham, a construction industry analyst at Fixr, a home remodeling information website, calls mudrooms "fantastic additions to any home."

He says they were originally used in farmhouses and rural homes as an entry point after a person had been outdoors on the land. Their function is similar today.

"You can use the area to store your muddy outdoor belongings so the rest of your home stays clean," Graham says, noting the space is also an ideal place to clean off pets after they've been outside and to store a pet's toys, food and accessories.

The shelves, cubbies and hooks mean each family member can have their own place for their items. That means organizing everything from shoes, hats and gloves to sports equipment and school supplies.

He advises installing durable flooring that won't be stained or scratched, such as porcelain tile or slate. Wainscoting can help keep the walls clean, too. Benches are great for storage and they double as a place to sit when putting on or taking off outdoor clothes and footwear.

*Built for Organization

One advantage of having a mudroom is that it will "keep the items needed for leaving the home every day, in one spot," says London, Ontario-based professional home organizer Brenda Scott, owner and operator of Tidy My Space. "It makes the morning rush a lot smoother if you don't have to go hunting for shoes, hats, purses, etc."

She says that containing items such as those not just to the mudroom, but to a space particular to each person can help, too.

"I always recommend having a hook and bin for each member of the family," says Scott. "This eliminates the argument about where the family member's items should go. The bin can be labeled with their name or initial and it should go above their hook. Their shoes can go directly below their hook."

Scott recommends having a place to put keys, such as a tray or drawer, and a place for incoming mail. A recycling bin is handy when sorting junk mail. She also suggests having a boot tray to keep wet or muddy footwear together and the nearby floor dry.

*Creating a Mudroom

Since mudrooms aren't large, they can be built as an addition or converted from an existing area of the home, such as a laundry room, closet or garage. Graham says the average cost to build a mudroom is $12,000 for a 7-by-7 addition, including cubbies, flooring and a baseboard heater. Converting an existing area will likely be cheaper.

Scott says if you don't have a mudroom, you can make a scaled-down version yourself by installing a board anchored into a wall stud with a row of hooks, a full-length shelf, a tiered shoe rack on the floor and a boot tray. The budget for this would be around $100.

Large or small, a mudroom provides the opportunity to keep your entryway clean and your family organized throughout the year.