Team TQ

Mudrooms: What to Consider for Your Custom Built House

Mudroom

Mudrooms continue to be a staple in homes, and for good reason. Most commonly a secondary entrance where homeowners can drop wet and muddy messes before entering your main home, mudrooms are a smart addition to a home. They provide extra storage for virtually everything: coats and shoes to school backpacks and sports gear to drop zones for keys and umbrellas. In fact, in a custom-built house, you can create a mudroom that’s both functional for your entire family and a stylish addition to your home.
As mudrooms continue to remain on the must-haves for a custom-built house, they’re especially practical in modern family homes—especially when living on the lake. With a mudroom in your lake home, you’ll keep dirt, sand, and messes at the door and far away from the rest of your home.

custom built house

Adding a Mudroom to Your Custom Built Home

When planning that mudroom for your custom-built house, start by making sure you have an adequate amount of space planned within your new build. Use the following checklist to consider the storage space you’ll need and that it will meet your family’s lifestyle demands:

1. Include a bench or seating
No mudroom would be complete without a bench or comfortable spot for sitting and removing your shoes. Fortunately, most mudroom benches pull double-duty, concealing storage under a flip-up seat or used to tuck book bags underneath.

Mudrooms: What to consider for your custom-built house

2. Add some furniture
Mudrooms are designed to provide plentiful storage, so look for functional furniture like cubbies, lockers, shoe cabinets, and closets for holding coats and seasonal items.

3. Keep adding storage
Since mudrooms are spots that are heavily used, make sure to find practical, durable items for the space. Think about it this way: you’ll want everything that comes in and out of your home to have a designated place, so make sure you plan accordingly. Each family member should have his or her own storage box or basket for convenience. Install hooks for rain jackets and coats. And consider cubby holes for shoes and drawers or doors to store away soccer balls, tennis racquets, and baseball bats.

Mudrooms: What to consider for your custom-built house

4. Add some character with lighting
You’ll obviously want overhead lighting in your mudroom. You’ll also want to consider task lighting for your space. If your built-ins aren’t decorative, use lighting to enhance the design and beautify it on some levels.

5. Be smart about flooring
Your mudroom will not only be one of the most high-traffic areas in your home, but it will also need to be highly resistant to dirt, water, and stains because of its utilitarian design. You’ll want to look at hard surfaces over carpet to keep the floor protected. Look into polished concrete or floorboards to help your mudroom stand the test of time.

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Team TQ

9 of Today’s Coolest
Home Automation Products

new home with smart automation

Have you ever thought about what life might look like if all of the devices in your life were connected? Think beyond your computers and smartphones. What if your clocks and speakers, the lights and doorbells, even appliances, windows, and cooking utensils could all communicate and take your commands?

It’s all possible when you build a new home with smart automation. It’s called the Internet of Things, and it’s all designed to give you the ability to control your home with a simple voice command or click on a screen.

The levels of automation available to you can range in costs, time to install, and ease of use. That’s why, if you’re interested in home automation, you’ll want to start thinking about your plans in the design phase.

The following are some of our favorite home automation products on the market, which we highly recommend you consider as you build your new home.

smart automation for new homes

ConnectSense
Smart Plugs

Smart technology can be achieved by installing smart plugs in your home. ConnectSense Smart Outlet 2  is an excellent, affordable choice for automating your small home appliances. This versatile dual-outlet smart plug can be controlled with Android or iOS mobile apps and works with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri voice commands. It can also work with HomeKit Scenes and Automations and can monitor energy usage for both outlets.

D-Link mydlink Outdoor
Wi-Fi Smart Plugoutdoor wifi smart home automation

As you build a new home with smart automation, it’s the perfect time to add outdoor smart plugs that are weatherproof. The D-Link mydlink Outdoor Wi-Fi Smart Plug easily controls your decorative lighting and pool pumps with your phone and an app. This smart plug includes two outlets as well as a USB charging port for ultimate convenience. It also supports Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands and works with other smart home devices and IFTTT (If This Then That is a web-based service that allows users to create chains of conditional statements triggered by changes that occur within other web services). It’s simple to install, making it almost a no-brainer for those relaxing outdoor moments.

Arlo Ultra Home
Security Camerasbuild a new home with smart automation

If you’re considering adding an outdoor camera for protection, the Arlo Ultra is the go-to solution. This is the first model we’ve seen that streams and records video in Ultra High Definition (UHD), which raises the bar for all outdoor cameras. This fully wireless, easy-to-install camera is loaded with incredible technology: automatic zooming, motion tracking, color night vision, an integrated spotlight and siren, one-click 911 connectivity, and a 180-degree field of view. If you’re considering budgets as you build a new home with smart automation, keep in mind the Arlo requires a subscription plan to take advantage of all that the camera has to offer. Considering it is the top on the market, we’d say the plan is well worth it.

RemoBell S
Video Doorbell

The handy thing about a RemoBell S is how simple it is to track what’s happening at your front door. This slim doorbell device provides on-demand HD video, free cloud recording, 2-way talk, support for Alexa and Google voice commands, and it operates with other smart home devices using IFTTT. Best of all, it’s easy to install and affordable, meaning you’ll have sharp video and responsive motion detection immediately at your fingertips.

August Wi-Fi
Smart Locks

We’re loving the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock —the company’s smallest model to date. It’s embedded with Wi-Fi and supports Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, and numerous other third-party platforms and devices. Easily grant virtual guest keys, check your door’s status, and see who is coming and going from your preferred device. It takes minimal assembly, making it a great solution for any home.

Ecobee SmartThermostat
with Voice Control

The ecobee SmartThermostat with Voice Control is now better than ever. The company’s fifth-generation model adapts to your schedule through ecobee’s eco+ technology, which helps save on energy bills. It offers enhanced Alexa and multimedia support, powerful audio components, and dual-band WiFi. Upon its easy installation, you’ll have access to a user-friend app, plenty of third-party support, and can immediately harness the power of one of the best smart thermostats on the market.

Yeelight Smart
LED Bulb

The Yeelight Smart LED Bulb is a fun way to light your home. Its simple-to-use app allows you to configure lighting effects and create lighting schedules. From dimmed lighting to 16 million colors, it connects to your home network via WiFi. With its ease of use with Apple HomeKit, IFTTT, and Alexa, Google, and Siri voice commands, it’s one of the best, most affordable smart bulbs on the market.

Rachio 3 Smart
Sprinkler Controller

Rachio 3’s irrigation system predicts weather changes for an incredible smart technology experience without waste. The cool thing about this sprinkler controller is it won’t water the lawn if it’s raining, and you can turn it on and off with your phone. Control multiple zones with one master valve terminal. Like other smart technologies, you can use it with Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings.

Worx Landroid M
20V Lawnmower

A robotic lawnmower might seem like it’s something from the future, but this technology is as modern as they come. The Worx Landroid M 20V Cordless Robotic Lawn Mower (WR140)  is one of the least expensive, but most intuitive mowers on the market. With GPS and WiFi radios, it allows you to schedule when it starts and stops and alerts you if there are any issues or if it has gone off its route. Its rain sensor sends it back to its dock to recharge. This is the kind of smart technology we love.

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