Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Laundry Room

I have a mental block when it comes to showing any project that has to do with my own home.  Furniture, signs, impersonal things…those are great.  But when it comes to a whole ROOM??  Well, that’s another story.

But the time has come to bite the bullet and show one of my summer projects:  the laundry room.

When we moved into this house, I was THRILLED that it had a dedicated laundry room.  In our first house, the laundry facilities were in an unfinished room in the basement (which was also slated to be another bathroom someday—didn’t happen while we lived there). 

In our next house, a rental, we had a laundry “closet.”  You know, where the washer and dryer are hidden away behind louvered doors in a hallway.

So this seemed like a big improvement.

Well, after 9 years in this house…I wasn’t so enamored anymore.

This is my real-life laundry room, folks—and with 8 of us in the household, I spend a fair amount of time in there!  Sometimes it makes me want to weep.

home projects 001

home projects 002home projects 003

home projects 004

The biggest problem, as I saw it, was really idiotic planning of the electrical/water hookups and the dryer exhaust.  As you can see from the next photo, they are on opposite walls.  That meant that, in order to make the connections, the dryer had to sit about 8 inches away from both walls.  Ugh!

home projects 008

The washer also sat on a drip pan, which further limited it’s placement.  When I took the washer out, this is what I saw:

home projects 007

OK, so how often do YOU clean under your washer??

The churning in my stomach helped me to decide that a drip pan was unnecessary (there is still a drain under the washer).

Our wonderful contractor friend (the same one responsible for the workshop project) created a new dryer exhaust for me, on the same wall as the electrical hookup. 

home projects 010

dryer exhaust

The exhaust actually goes into the garage, where it makes an elbow and then exits the house (see above left).  Honestly, I don’t care about that little piece of pipe in the corner of my garage.  It bothers me FAR less than the wasted space in the laundry room.  And now there are two holes on the outside of the house, but I don’t care about that either!

home projects 011

We replaced the shelf with stock cabinets from Lowe’s…

And then…I BUILT SOMETHING!!

Laundry Tower

I had an idea in my head after seeing various laundry “dressers” online.  I didn’t have room for a dresser, so I built a laundry “tower.”  It is made out of 1x2 pine, and I used the Kreg jig I bought for Christmas for the first time on this project (yes, it took me 6 months). 

Want to see how it all turned out?  Step into my laundry room…

living room 018

I used a can of “oops” paint (which I doctored a bit) for the teal-y blue color.  I have very little blue in my house, so this was a fun place to step out of my comfort zone a little!

Laundry Tower

I painted the cabinets white, and got some fun knobs from Hobby Lobby.

laundry tower

Here’s my beautiful laundry tower!  It works!  With the extra few inches gained from moving the washer and dryer over, there was suddenly enough room for baskets in the corner.  The tower allows me to stack them, but still use them for sorting.

Laundry Tower - chalkboard labels

I used chalkboard paper to label each basket for “whites,” “light colors,” “dark colors,” and “jeans & towels.”  Every Monday morning, the kids sort their own laundry into the baskets.  Then when I’m ready to do a load, I just pull the basket off the tower and dump it in the washer!  It’s brilliant, if I do say so myself!

living room 024

I love the fact that I have some floor space in front of the dryer now.  And I love that I finally found a place to hang my first ever “Sunshine” canvas that I made last year!  (You may have noticed that I painted the laundry tower yellow to “coordinate.”)

living room 019

Opposite the dryer, I hung a piece of pegboard, which I trimmed with some simple corner molding.  Now there’s a place for mops, a duster, extension cords, and a few things like a spare tape measure and scissors. (All of which the children have been threatened NOT TO TOUCH!)

living room 025

The last touch…a cute rug from Target.  And now my laundry room doesn’t bring me to tears each time I look at it!

This project has been featured at Better After, Elizabeth & Co., Someday Crafts, and

***********************************************
Linking up here:
Visit thecsiproject.com
Domestically Speaking Elizabeth & Co.
Primitive & Proper Thrifty Décor Chick
Friday Remodelaholic 2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday Miss Mustard Seed’s Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special The DIY Show Off
Stone Gable
Beyond the Picket Fence Someday Crafts
Knick of Time
Mod Vintage Life
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect {Primp}
Common Ground My Repurposed Life
From My Front Porch to Yours All Star Block Party
A Little Knick Knack
Cowgirl Up!
The Graphics Fairy
{aka} design
Coastal Charm

My entry into 2805's Potpourri Friday Party   
                   is sponsored by Appliances Online.

48 comments:

TheMoonAndMe said...

Beautiful! Isn't it amazing how a pretty room can change your outlook on even laundry? :)
Love the basket tower...brilliant!
Kelly

Joy@aVintageGreen said...

Love the pop of the teal paint. Such a happy laundry room now. Great idea for the baskets - especially the space above each basket for adding laundry. Thank you for sharing your laundry room and stacking baskets holder.
Joy

Kristin @ Yellow Bliss Road said...

I need a laundry tower!! Great job on the laundry room Korrie. I have the same wall color in my laundry room. Great job!!

Rachel said...

Tears of JOY!!! Someday I want to redo my laundry room. Right now, I call it the dungeon......

Actually, I think I'd like to board up my laundry room and just have a laundry service come and get my laundry everyday....... :D

Unknown said...

just AMAZING! I hope you sent pictures to betterAfter blog.

stefanie said...

its beautiful!!!!!

Jennifer said...

I absolutely love this laundry room, esp. the laundry tower! What a great idea. :) My husband and I are renters right now (and thus can't do this sort of makeover in our laundry room, due to the rental agreement constrictions), but I will DEFINITELY be referring back to this post once we're in a house of our own. Great job!

- Jennifer @ JennJill Designs

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Well, if there's any tears, they should be tears of happiness now, Korrie! You did a great job redoing your laundry room. It's great that something as simple as moving the dryer exhaust helped give you some added space. Love the cabinets and your tower is great. It's providing a function and is out of the way.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

It looks amazing! Love your tower of baskets!! Perfect! My laundry room is too small but I'm lucky I have one at all!

Patty said...

Red Hen, you did a LOVELY job on the laundry room ! I was sure you were going to say that the baskets for the tower were labeled for each child and they would use it to take their clean clothes back to their rooms. You did such a great job it inspires me to do something with my just-as-dreadful laundry room !

patty

Vicki B said...

I love your laundry tower. There are only two of us, but we make an amazing amount of laundry. Wonderful. My new house is going to have a mudroom/utility. Ithink a laundry tower would really benefit us.

thanks for the ideas.

Single Stone Studios said...

SUPER CUTE!!

Unknown said...

Your laundry room looks amazingI love the tower of baskets! They are such a great idea!

Sharon @ Elizabeth & Co. said...

How awesome! It's so pretty and functional too. I love the basket tower. I bet it makes life so much easier - yay!

Linda said...

That is quite a difference! Good job. My dryer vent is exactly like yours. The water pipes come from the floor, so both sit out a bit, but it is no problem for me.

The dryer vents directly to oudoors. Your setup has a danger built in. The long distance fr the dryer vent hose is a built in fire hazard. NOW, you need to unhook all that and clean it every six months. Or, have a service come clean it. My short one gets full of lint all the time. This is not to criticize, just a safety warning.

The laundry tower is genius.

Unknown said...

A great makeover, Korrie. Practical use of space with the stacked baskets and the colour is fun and fresh.

eleven-o-one said...

Yep. Brilliant. Love the tower. It took me 9 years to redo my laundry room, too. I still haven't shown it (no before pics) but it is about 50 times better than it was and it could still use some improvements. (Yes, that is how bad it used to be).

Honey at 2805 said...

Fab makeover and the tower is a great idea! Hate to admit, my laundry room looks somewhat like your before...

Thank you for sharing your fabulous Fall inspiration and creativity at Potpourri Friday!

Linda@Coastal Charm said...

That basket tower is soooo "cool"...lve this idea!!!

Blessings,
Linda

Cassie Bustamante said...

so happy and light and i loooove the basket tower! awesome idea!

pcb said...

So cute! I know you don't mind laundry quite so much in such a cheery space.

Ali Richardson said...

AWesome!!! So so pretty AND functional! WOW! Love it :)

Pollyanna said...

It amazing, adore the color scheme, so very cheerful!! Also the sorting rack is brilliant!

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

How cute is your new laundry room! Love the happy color and your LAUNDRY TOWER! So clever!!!!!
Please stop by StoneGable and share your laundry room makeover at TUTORIAL TIPS AND TIDBITS, going on now!

Linda said...

Thanks for explaining the configuration of the hoses, before and after. At least you are aware. Plus, it is an improvement with less danger.

My bathroom linoleum floor looks like your floor. I love that look. My "rocks" are irregular, but it is the same color.

Roisin said...

What a great change! More space, better organization, and cheerful colors. Good for you, girl. That laundry tower was a brilliant idea.

Unknown said...

My laundry room has a huge crush on your laundry room! What a lovely redo, and your laundry tower is awesome :)

Hugs, Tanya

Layn @ reignalayn.blogspot.com said...

Awesome job! Love the sign and the tower. That was a brilliant design plan with the laundry baskets. I might have to copy cat that. :-)

Homeroad said...

I would love to do laundry in that awesome laundry room Korrie! I love the color combo you chose too!
Susan

Lisa said...

Love it! Such a great makeover! Fun color on the walls and I LOVE the laundry baskets on the shelf! That is such a great thing to have!

Maria Elena said...

What an amazing change! I love, love your new laundry room! The color on the wall is gorgeous and the laundry tower is an amazing idea! You have done a great job with this room!

Sherry Hicks said...

Beautiful! I am sure you will now love going in there to do your chores.......
Sherry

SImple and Serene Living said...

That sound you hear is applause from me. Hooray!!! I love it :)

Bliss said...

It looks so nice now I'll bet the kids all want to help do laundry.

~Bliss~

Gypsy Heart said...

Love it! I know you are too. :) Well, maybe not the mass of laundry but at least the room is cute as can be. You did a wonderful job...as usual.

xo
Pat

Deborah@Green Willow Pond said...

Awesome! The laundry tower is genius! Way to use vertical space.

Full Circle Creations said...

Love it! The basket tower is wonderful! My laundry is in an unfinished basement that was the old cellar. It has doesn't even have regular cement walls to it, just mortar that was added well after the house was built. You did a great job on yours!

Holly

Megan Gunyan said...

I totally want to do laundry in there! I love that tower/sorter, what a great idea! The colors are so fun, too. Great re-do!
*I'm having a little personalized giveaway going on now! Hope you can check it out!

Ashley C. said...

What a great transformation! The laundry room is a fun room where I feel like you CAN be bold and step out of your comfort zone with functionality and creativity. It looks great!

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

Korrie--I love, love, love your new laundry room! I'm so jealous. Now you have a shop and a laundry room to die for. lol
happy you broke out that kreg jig. You did a great job on the laundry tower.

gail

Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap said...

what a nice job you have done! Love the sorting tower!!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Super cute! I am loving the color and the "shelves". This was the most viewed link last week at the Whatever Goes Wednesday party. I am featuring it today!

Roeshel said...

Awesome! I love how organized and pretty it is now! Love the new vent and that laundry tower is amazing! Great job!

Angie @ Knick of Time said...

It looks wonderful, Korrie! That wasted space would have driven me crazy too - glad you solved the problem and I love your new tower - very creative!!
~Angie

Mercedes said...

Lovely!
I am so happy for you. Having an attractive space in which to do a boring, never ending task must be a delight!

Unknown said...

It looks great! I love your subway art too. Isn't it so much more enjoyable to do the laundry in a cheerful room? The tower is very cool...may have to do something like that in my laundry room. Thanks for sharing!

Mel@Mellywood's Mansion said...

Great laundry the towers are so clever. I wish I had the room for a few of those!

Twigs and Twirls said...

What a great transformation !!! I can't believe such a small room can have such a small impact.