Mud Room...bit of progress, just a bit though

This room is the second smallest room we have in our house, and it's proving to be a hard room to get done, it's such an embarrassment now, that we have to finish it and quickly. 
Here's a view from above the room, half the window is on the first half landing and the other half in the dreaded mud room.
I probably won't keep the blinds when the room below is finished.

 Last week I starting filling in all the cracks in the walls (still not finished) and yesterday Alain started the wood that you can see here.  We *I am going to carry on the wood under the electric counter and then stop.

 This is the wall look up and towards our entrance, the marks you can see are where I've filled in many holes with plaster.  I was thinking when it's done to paint it in Charlotte's locks and then put this coat rack here, see below (yes why here?  well my kids are lazy, and I reckon that there's more chance they'll hang their coats up just inside the mud room, than having to go down 3 stairs and walk half a meter.

I find this rack pretty awesome, it's called "slastic" and was designed by Ana Mir and Emili Padros and what is so good about it is that you are allowed to draw on the walls with it, well when ones hangs ones coat, thanks to the five colored pencils it comes with.

Here's a close up so you see what I mean.  You can put a sheet of paper behind on even a canvas...I try in with paper first, and when a lot of mess has been made (which won't take long, as they are going to just love it) I thought I'd take in down and then get them to complete it,  then frame it.

Back to the hard reality of this room...this is the wall and door that leads down to our basement.  No photos, it really is worse than ever with all the mess that's been stashed away down there.


* I'm on my own this week (as of this morning) Alain has abandoned ship and flies off to South Korea this lunch-time....the question is, am I am to finish it on my own?