The Almost Finished Laundry Room

This room is so close to being completed! I am thrilled with how it all turned out. When we first looked at this home, I saw the charm in it immediately. The beautiful built-ins and the hardwood floors whispered of a long buried secret. A beautiful home was somewhere in there, we just had to find it. I really did have a plan for most of the rooms in our house from the get-go. The laundry room was the only exception. 

In our previous homes, the laundry room has always been an out of the way nook somewhere, barely noticeable and not worth much sprucing up. But this laundry room happens is the connecting room between our home and mom's apartment. So we share it and use it everyday. There is no closing the door and forgetting about it. I actually painted the door yellow right after the mister put in that far wall. I just needed something in here to be happy. I wish I had a good original picture to show you, but you can find the only snap shot of this room below, and it no where near begins to show the horridness of this once stinky place. So, seeing it's transformation, and near completion, is incredibly satisfying. 

My extraordinary mom made these delightful curtains for the bottom shelves. I first thought I wanted all open shelving. I was going to have cute vintage containers for everything and let it all be visible. But, upon truer examination of my actual personality, I realized something about myself. I like to hide clutter. I take pleasure in finding secret places to "keep" things and then discovering them months later. I decided I wanted a place to stash widowed socks, and that I liked my store bought liquid detergent in the bright orange container. So, curtains it is. I love them!

You've seen this before, but the chalkboard hides our electric box panel. Dave Herrington did so much work on our house, mostly on mom's apartment, to finish up her renovations. He framed in the panel for us and you can't even tell it opens up!

Dave also built this laundry sorter for me. During the deliberating process, I asked him if he could give me a counter space in this tiny room for folded laundry, as well as a place for all my sorted, to-be-washed laundry. He totally delivered! Mom made this cute pleated skirt to hide the sorter, and viola! Beautiful and totally functional!

THE PROCESS: 

STAGE 1

The mister ripped out all the old shelving and confusing wall panels. He also built a new wall with a door to close off mom's apartment from our shared laundry room. Then then mister pulled up all the old vinyl on the cement floor (we are still not sure what the new flooring will be yet). 

STAGE 2

Dave, the best carpenter in the world, put in new drywall on the back wall and made everything ready for paint. After painting, he built the shelves and the new counter with the sorter beneath.  

STAGE THREE:

The almost finished (minus the flooring) laundry room! 

I wonder what kind of flooring we will end up with? Something simple but bright. Whatever we choose, it will also be the flooring for the breezeway and mom's bathroom. This photo was taken from our breezeway, and mom's bathroom door is just to the left of the laundry room entrance. So, it may be sometime before it is finished-finished. But, this room is no longer a dungeon of despair! I can't wait for the mister to see it...this weekend!!!!