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The article discusses architectural features and amenities in U.S. homes that are gaining or losing favor. Many regard entrance foyers as a waste of space, and prefer so-called drop zones or mud rooms where items can be kept temporarily. Formal living rooms have become less popular, while open family rooms are enjoying greater demand. Instead of a second staircase, some people are installing elevators.

The article present photographs of decorative elements and furniture in four mudrooms in the U.S., designed by architects Stephen Hentschel and Doug Burdge and designers Molly Kann-Carey and Ginny Snook Scott, and also cost estimates as of December 2013.

The article focuses on the use of mudrooms in houses especially in a place with multi-season climates, although it is not possible for every house to have space for mudroom but it is stated that it can be made in a closet or entryway with a rack for wet umbrellas and hooks for coat and hats in it.

Caterpillars have begun to appear outside my mudroom door. They look barely animate and thickly pelted, like moss creeping up the door frame in individual inches. I wonder about the feel of caterpillar fur, but some natural caution keeps me from touching them. They are a great improvement over the slugs and the millipedes that crept up the door all summer long. The slugs looked like thick, muddy drops of gelatinous rain. There is no analogy for the millipedes. I pretend not to know they are there. After months of rain, there is a bright sky overhead. The chickens lie in blobs of sun. The milkweed has blown, and the sun now sets in the southwest corner of the pasture. Among the humans, there is a sudden yearning for wood-stove gaskets and log-splitters. We hold off on lighting that first fire, because once it's burning the smell of wood smoke will lead us by the nose into winter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article offers tips on putting some order in the mudroom, including adding coat hooks, putting shoe bins and buying a good door mat.

Offers insights on vestibules or mudrooms, in light of the author's discontent at not having one in her home.