This post is the second part of my previous post titled “Joyful Entrees and Boot Rooms“. My first inspiration to write this post was “boot rooms”. The first time I encountered a boot room was the one I saw in a decoration magazine years ago, seen in the photo above, which belonged to a colorful house in Massachusetts, USA. Another house with a heartwarming story… (Photo above taken by my mobile phone from House Beautiful, Summer 2020 issue (Turkish edition))

The house belongs to designers and TV presenters Robert and Cortney Novogratz. It is where the couple and their seven children spend their downtime. They didn’t want to abandon New York, but after the 9/11 incident, they started to look for a place to run to from time to time – where they ended up in The Berkshires, Massachusetts. In the article in House Beautiful, Cortney Novogratz says:
“A girlfriend introduced me to this area near the border of New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. We bought in a small town called Great Barrington, where we could walk to our country market or call and get a pizza delivered if we drove up from the city. But it’s also rural.” (housebeautiful.com, May 21, 2020) (My ideal description of a rural settlement – rural but also close to the central…)

In another more recent article about Novogratz couple and the house, Robert Novogratz says:
“We are more chilled here, it’s not a fancy place, but a getaway from our busier lives in New York City. … We love the area’s antiques, its art, its interesting people, and its relaxed way of life.” (homesandgardens.com, June 16, 2025)

The Novogratz family outside their holiday home in the countryside of the Great Barrington, Massachusetts in the Berkshire County (Photo: architecturaldigest.in)

Cortney Novogratz tells that the house, built in 1917, was daunting for an average person but not for them as designers – so they got a good price. It was dark, musty, wall-to-wall carpet she tells, and they made a total gut renovation. The house had really high ceilings and spacious rooms she adds, but small enough for them to afford to fix it up. They ripped up the carpet and brightened everything by painting the old floors white she tells, and the whole downstairs was white.

Dining room -The mirror, chandelier and table, chairs and glass box are vintage. / Living room (also the music room) – where the family’s son Breaker, a singer, composer and piano player, performs and sings for family and friends. – The piano and record holder are vintage, rug from Novogratz. Designer and homeowner Cortney Novogratz says: “We love antiquing,” of the vintage pieces – including from the world famous Brimfield Flea Market near their Massachusetts home (Photos taken by my mobile phone from House Beautiful, Summer 2020 issue (Turkish edition))

Family photos fill the entryway running between all the bedrooms on the upper floor / Sunroom with vintage fabrics – Cortney had found the ship-shaped chandelier in a shop in Austin after searching for a light for this room for years… (Photos: architecturaldigest.in)
(Novogratz couple is known for transforming historic and run-down homes and decorating them with an eclectic style. Their home projects feature art, antiques and modern furniture.)

Cortney Novogratz tells further in the article in House Beautiful that while renovating their house in the Berkshires, Massachusetts, they allowed the children to pick up colors – even their fourth child Breaker who was just a baby when they bought the house. She adds that they never painted a whole wall in the kitchen though, where they measured the kids’ heights with local phone numbers to the side of it like the bowling alley and the movie theater. Cute:)

The Novogratz couple had chosen a bright orange for their bedroom. – Pendant from Kartell and art by Anne Collier, bed and table lamps: Novogratz / The room of the family’s daughters Tallulah and Bellamy – All portraits of women on the purple wall are flea-market finds
(Cortney explains that you seldom see a super bright color in New England, yet they wanted to do something different and mix it up.)

Mrs. Novogratz says through the years they’ve painted their shutters different colors. The lovely pink color of the shutters above was the first thing that caught my attention about this house…

The house of Novogratz family with lovely pink shutters… (Photos above taken by my mobile phone from House Beautiful, Summer 2020 issue (Turkish edition))
(The house is not a massive property, but sits at the very center of a very flat acre with 100-year-old trees – and that you really can’t find Cortney Novogratz says. They put the house to use after 9/11 and spent months there during quarantine. Among tens of houses the Novogratz couple owned this house had been with them the longest – where they celebrate Christmas, Cortney tells, and where all of their seven kids learned to ski...) (housebeautiful.com, May 21, 2020)

Robert Novogratz tells in a more recent article that they bought the house back in 2001, and have decorated it a few times since then. He says: “It’s now a little more traditional on the outside and cool on the inside.” (homesandgardens.com, June 16, 2025)

The Novogratz family’s holiday home today after their final renovation
(I would opt for the one with pink shutters though…)

Photos: Taken by my mobile phone from House Beautiful, Summer 2020 issue (Turkish edition)
Photo on the right: The boot room or mudroom – a recent edition to the house – Daisies Wallpaper from Novogratz, basket is vintage (The article says: “With seven kids coming and going, the mudroom becomes a repository for an ever-changing array of sports equipment“…)

The sweet boot room of the Novagratz family’s house was the my first inspiration to write this post and my first acquaintance with the concept of a boot room, which I found quite practical and jolly…

In case you are not familiar with it, a boot room is to store muddy shoes or wet coats especially in a country house, located at the entrance as a transitional space between outdoors and indoors. A wonderful idea I think, a place to hold the mess before you go inside the house where you take off shoes and hang your wet coat… Boot rooms seem to be perfect to store shoes, coats or sports equipment (like in the boot room of Novogratz family) and prevent dirt of outside go into the house.

Americans often call boot room a ‘mudroom’. Mudrooms may sometimes double as laundry rooms but it is not suggested to combine the two as “laundry and dirty wellies do not mix well“. (houseandgarden.co.uk)

The difference between a British boot room and an American mudroom is said to be style. An article says whereas the British prefer lived-in, slightly shabby places with unfitted benches, and muddy colors, Americans seem to like extensive built-ins and organization. (homeglowdesign.com)

Two British boot rooms (Photos: homeglowdesign.com) (The British also use boot rooms for storing the hunting equipment.)

Two American mudrooms (Photos: homeglowdesign.com)

In an article I have read, there are suggestions for a boot room – emphasizing that it need to be a warm, dry environment for maximum effectiveness. Underfloor heating is said to be good for drying soggy dogs, and a Pulley Maid rack or a heated towel rail to dry wet clothes. It says that a giant butler’s sink (with a hose feature to wash the sink) is always useful for washing wellies, dogs and children adding that a double sink would be better for soaking mud caked footwear in the other half.

For boot room floors, darker colors that hide the dirt are suggested rather than light-coloured floors which would require mopping permanently. Cladding the walls of the boot rooms with tongue-and-groove panelling is said to be inexpensive and offer a more durable than plastered and painted walls. (houseandgarden.co.uk)

Photos: (homeasandgardens.com)

Another article I have read mentions some tips for designing a boot room. Beginning with considering the practical elements, like coat hooks and shoe storage is suggested before the layout. The article says one should opt for floor-to-ceiling cabinets to make the most of the space and locker-style storage with vents for boots and wellingtons. The addition of a bench is said to be the perfect place to perch as you take off your boots, and shelving with baskets would provide effortless access to most-reached items like gloves and leads. Bench-style trunks are also suggested for storage as:
“For hidden shoe storage, bench-style trunks are a multi-purpose solution, doubling as an inviting nook to sit with a book and a hot drink post-walk.” (armacmartin.co.uk)

Photos: (armacmartin.co.uk)

A patterned wallpaper and painted cabinets, and adorning with rich brass details and timeless wooden panelling are mentioned to create a ‘showstopping boot room‘. Classic parquet flooring would bring warmth says the article, while a patterned rug, fresh greenery and an armchair would add character.

Photos: (armacmartin.co.uk)

Where space is limited, transforming a single wall in your hallway into your own boot room, or turning the space under your stairs into a mini-boot room are among the suggestions.

A single wall as a boot room with a series of coat hooks above a bench with shoe storage / A space under stairs as a mini-boot room (Photos: armacmartin.co.uk / homesandgardens.com)

A classic boot room though, is located at the very entrance of a house…

Below are some boot room ideas I have chosen to inspire your boot room designs:

Photos: (houseandgarden.co.uk)

Photos: (houseandgarden.co.uk)

Photos: (homesandgardens.com)

Photos: (homesandgardens.com)

Photos: (armacmartin.co.uk / houseandgarden.co.uk)

Photos: (houseandgarden.co.uk)

I think one of the beauties of owning a country house is that it allows you to have a boot room. Boot rooms are practical and functional, but also relaxing places to chill out as you enter or leave the house, and can be quite jolly …