A mudroom doesn’t need much square footage to change the way a home works. Connecting the garage to the kitchen, this compact mudroom in Missoula’s Ranch Club neighborhood needed to handle the daily traffic in and out of the home while making room for laundry, storage and a place to sit.

Working with Linley’s, we took the cabinetry upward rather than outward. Full-height black walnut storage makes use of the room’s vertical space, while a built-in bench gives the clients a place to pull on shoes without blocking the path through. Stacking the washer and dryer preserved more room for cabinetry, a granite work surface and an undermount utility sink.

Toe-kick lighting brightens the floor without taking up visual space, while the hex tile backsplash, oil-rubbed bronze hardware and porcelain flooring bring the finish quality of a larger remodel into one of the home’s smallest rooms. Because this is the everyday connection between the garage and kitchen, we also planned the work to get the space back in use quickly.