I have never been one of those people who hate to do laundry. It's certainly not a Herculean task like it used to be 100 years ago. I like the sharp, clean smell of detergent and bleach. I think methodically folding warm, clean clothes is kind of soothing. I feel a measure of satisfaction when watching wrinkles disappear as I iron shirts. I'm good with all that.
So, if I have a beautiful and functional Laundry Room to do it in -- all the better:
Ohhhhhhh, yes.
It didn't always look like that. And it took some time (and a LOT of man hours on Todd's part) to get it there. I'm a bit late in sharing this project, but this DID happen. 20 months, from start to finish.
Here's our story:
Our old laundry room had a lot going for it. Especially on the overall size, and those storage areas! Since we've lived at The Haven, the white shelves back by the door have been used as a tool catch-all. It was easier than heading out to the garage!
The big stainless front-loading washer & dryer set were super nice, and VERY heavy-duty, since they are commercial grade. The one frustrating downside was that the washer door hinges on the right. And only the right. Unlike a lot of washers, this door was not reversible. So every time we [read: *I*] moved clothes from the washer to the dryer, the door was in the way. That got pretty old.
Loved the upper cupboard space, and the big folding table, too!
And did you catch this:
We used to keep inspirational quotes on that white board. This one says, "You can't start reading the next chapter, if you keep re-reading the last one." I suspect Miss Darcie, our bookworm, wrote that last one! The note on the side references when we last changed sheets. (Time races by, and I can never remember how long it's been. So I cheat, and keep notes. Don't judge me.)
Back in the day, Todd's mom used this room also as a sewing and craft room, and it filled that purpose very well, too. But also, back in the day, carpet like this ....
.... was very, VERY cool. This was trendy home decor fashion, at its finest!!
It's just that it's not as fashionable now.
And I promise you -- I was still finding straight pins buried in that carpet, up to the day it got removed!!
Once I removed stuff from the room, we went right into cabinet removal. Cameron has always been a big help, whenever he is back at The Haven, and not off at college.
And that old carpet ...? That was also one of the first things to go!!
The next few pictures might be a little confusing. I'll try to talk you through them. But the very first thing you need to understand is that this room's footprint was destined to be re-assigned. We also had our "master bathroom" to think about, and we decided we could forfeit some of the very-spacious laundry room in favor of gaining square footage in the bathroom-to-be. So the back half of the laundry room (including the window) was sacrificed.
Opening up walls, especially in December, brought some interesting revelations. Like the WHOOSH of VERY cold air that was coming in behind the dining room fireplace -- from the attic!! Who knew about this? Not us -- until now. So, Todd patched that baby right up:
And just in case, that claustrophobic husband of mine also shimmied down in this small space on the opposite side of the same fireplace -- double checking for air leaks. We looked at each other, and said, "No WONDER this brick has always felt cold!!"
Wow, the things you discover when you crawl between the walls!!
(Our joke was that you could hide a body back there, and nobody would ever know! Fortunately, we closed it all back up, and now NOBODY'S getting back there!)
To make the new design work, we also had to move the laundry room door over a couple feet -- so, re-framing was needed. You can see the open studs with plumbing vents (from the bathrooms) in the walls.
Did you catch the problem with moving the door? (Not critical, but from a design standpoint -- well, it's just wrong.)
By moving the door, we now have a hallway flooring change -- hardwood to carpet -- right in the middle of the doorway. Well ...... it can't be helped right now. Sometime down the road, we'll get the flooring straightened out, and it will look right again.
Also in preparation for both the laundry room, and especially the coming master bathroom, .... THIS happened:
(That's the basement rec room, right underneath the upstairs demolition areas.)
The floor joists needed to be beefed up for the coming weight upstairs, so additional joists were "sistered in". I have to say that one of the smartest things about this job is the fact that our rec room ceiling is a suspended tile ceiling -- making it SUPER easy to access between the joists for gas pipe, drainage, and new water lines. Can't beat that.
Back upstairs, and here's the new wall framing going in ...
Todd was able to do quite a bit of work while un-hooking and re-hooking up the washer and dryer a few times, so we could still do laundry during construction. That made it possible to live with!!
Not sure where my sheetrock photos are .... did I miss that?
Let's go on to spray-on wall texture, both inside the new laundry room, and :
... outside in the hall (from that new section when we moved the door).
I say "we" like I had something to do with this. Let's be honest. Todd works really hard on all of these home improvement projects. His labor makes each project more affordable. Couldn't do any of this, LIKE this, without him!
I think we should own stock in 3M and Scotch -- we used enough blue painter's tape to cover a house!
(No, that's not some creeper guy. Just my sweetheart!!)
For parts of the project that allow it, we have the kids help. Emma really gets a kick out of painting. Someday, she'll realize that it's actually work.
(That seems so long ago! Emma is 6 years old in these photos. Now, she's almost 9. What a difference!)
Guidance from Alyssa -- even though Em wants to do it herself!
Maybe one day this style will also be "dated" -- but I really do like the wood-look tile flooring that we used in there! It's the perfect floor for a laundry room. You can also see Todd's tile spacers ......
.... they're not expensive, either. Just a penny apiece!!
After paint and flooring, came the new cabinets --- and that moment when you really start to feel like the room is coming together:
Hmm, the paint looks rather blue-purple in the photo, but it isn't really. Think cool gray.
The cabinets are unfinished in that photo, so the next step was painting them.
No, scratch that. The next step was masking off everywhere, and THEN painting them!!
(Todd was super-sweet to let me design the room, including exactly what I wanted for the cabinetry. It really is exactly what I wanted!!)
And here's my one tip for painting cupboards, a point of information that I didn't know, but we found out when getting the paint:
Did you know that there is a special paint formula that is specifically for cabinets?? I did not know that. When we were at the paint store (not the big box home improvement store) to get the paint mixed for the cabinets, we mentioned our purpose to the employee. "Oh, well did you want cabinet paint, then?" There's a difference? Yep. Cabinet paint has a harder finish. Designed to be handled, touched, grabbed, ..... without denting or scuffing.
Um, yes. We would like cabinet paint, thank you!!
And..... the nice thing about having the garage finished off inside, is .....
... it makes a perfect paint room when you have a bunch of doors, drawers, and trim to get painted!
There we are .... me with that blue tape again, and Todd with the sprayer.
(This picture must have been taken by Darcie!)
Can't beat a great sprayed-on finish!
So, by this time, the room was ready to come together. This is when it can really get exciting for this girl right here. I had a labeling project for the room, too:
So, when it's all complete, and filled in, and decorated up ....... voila!!
I tucked a few of my antiques in there ... the phone, the iron, the fake-soap bars.
And, of course, there's the beautiful new washer and dryer!!
Now, I no longer have the door-in-the-way issue of the last pair. Hallelujah!! The new set has a few more features that I do like, and USE, quite a lot. One is the Delay Start, and the other is the Fan Fresh. I use Delay Start when I'm pressed for time, and I can load the washer the night before, or when I leave for work in the morning, and then when I come back to it, it's ready to move to the dryer. The Fan Fresh works along the same theme -- it takes a finished load of clothes and periodically tumbles it, with a fan running, until you come open the washer. It sure keeps the laundry from "souring" in the washer! LOVE it!!
Here's the opposite wall:
That's my mom's old washboard in the left corner. (It has our last name written on the back -- was mom worried someone might mistake it for their own??!! Ha!) It is perfect decor for a laundry room! On the right is a nod to our Oregon Coast trip: the gorgeous blown glass seashell, and my towel "swan" like we had in our hotel room there. I wrote about it back
HERE.
Also, what you can and can't see is the under-cabinet lighting that Todd installed for me! I love light, and I didn't want to feel like I was missing out on anything by losing a window in that room. This WORKS.
And remember that little craft project? Here's where it went:
If I were really uptight about it, I'd change out the baskets so that the style matches. But I'm ok with this for now, too. And this totally beats the old hampers I used to use.
Quick family story:
When the older kids were young, we used to play a family game called, "Hide and Seek in The Dark". We played indoors, after dark, with only flashlights for light. We had some great hiding spots, but the best one was when Darcie was still small, and she wanted help finding a "good" spot, because the older kids could always find her. So I helped her -- and put her inside the laundry hamper!! NOBODY found her!!
Annnnd....... here's that beautiful tile floor. It's the best!!
So, that concludes the tour of the beautiful-and-much-smaller-but-hard-working-and-very-functional Laundry Room Remodel!
One last look .....
(sigh.) I do love this.
Ok, ok. Two more details for you. First ......
When I was a kid, my Grandma Davidson had an in-the-wall ironing board. I was fascinated by it. I thought it was the coolest thing EVER. I thought maybe they were obsolete, but no!! You can still get these babies!! It's really, really handy!! And I love the super-bright LED spotlight that shines right down on the work surface. Smart design. (And again, making up for that missing window!)
And finally, with a nod to my antiques collection ......
On the right is a new bottle of Bluing. What's bluing, you ask?? Well, it helps make clothes look whiter.
(The technical answer is that to the human eye, a bright, WHITE-white is actually a white with blue undertones. So to make whites look whiter, adding bluing to the rinse water will do it! And that was your 10-second science lesson for the day.)
On the left ---- one day while my sweet friend, Loralyn, came to visit me, we went out to lunch together at a fun waterfront restaurant. Right next door was a little antiques shop, so we went in to browse after lunch. Lo and behold, I found this old bottle of bluing -- still full!! It was a no-brainer: I had to have it!!
All that might maybe remain to do is to put up my old laundry room saying on the wall:
LAUNDRY ROOM
Drop your drawers here.
