Mudrooms anyone?

As the garage cleanup makes more progress, I'm getting to the point where I'm going to have to make some decision about the "mudroom" part of the garage.  No, it won't be a room, but it will be muddy. 

The garage is where we enter the house, and there is always a pile of dirty shoes and coats there, in a pile.  I want to build out the wall just before the door into an official mudroom, all painted and looking pretty, like it's a part of the house, and not the garage.

And this is where I get stuck.  My other projects were more for purpose than pretty, so I could just cut nail and go at it.  I was using leftover scraps, so if I messed up, it wasn't an issue. 

But this will be different for a few reasons:

• I want to paint it, which will require a bit nicer wood than 2x4's
• I want it nicer, so the wood will be more expensive than 2x4's
• I therefore need to plan
• and because I need to plan, I need to make some decisions. 
• And that is where I get stuck in paralysis by analysis.

I'm trying to make decisions based on the size of the space, how we need to use it, and what else needs to be stored there. 

The size is easy: It's long and narrow, and I will use the space I have. I think it's the perfect bench size.

Use? Shoes, coats, and I'm not sure what else, which is why I need some flexibility. It would be nice to have a space to sit down and put on shoes, boots etc. But how do I want to store shoes? Bins? Cubbies? Shelves? Under a hinged bench? See my problem?

This is beautiful: It's from The Gathering Place Design blog.   The size is perfect....although this is a bit too nice for my garage.  I love the idea of drawers, but I've never tackled those. But I love that it's part bench, part storage on either end. 

This one from House Beautiful is simple and has a lot of storage.  And I love the colors, but that's beside the point.   Or maybe it isn't...this is the first thing we'll see every day when we enter the house, so why not make it pretty and bright!

Same shoe storage, but simpler to make with no hinged tops.  And I wasn't  thinking we needed dividers, but in this picture I see how many more hooks you can have with sides. Hmmm..... (from http://pinterest.com/source/your-betrayal0.blogspot.com

So, does anyone have any advice?  Do you have a favorite mudroom/mud area you just love?  Should I just start with phase one, and go from there? Anyone?

Check me out on Pinterest as I pin away mudrooms and try to make some decisions.  Summer is coming, and I need to get some plans in the works!

 www.pinterest.com/laurag1va