Laundry Room

This was the NIGHTMARE room for me! To redo this room, I had to call in the troops...well, ONE troop...a real trooper in deed ;) Stefanie Westerburg from LaMode Designs (www.lamode-design.com). She helped me take a room that was totally terrifying, and make it into a room that I actually don't MIND spending time in.

Here's the BEFORE picture (dum dum da dum...):

Do you see why I was so intimidated!? I mean, that's BAD! No walls, no ceiling, not even a complete FLOOR...AAAK! Can you really call that a "room"?? Help, Stefanie, help!

We poured a TON of time and resources into this room. I have to say, probably the MOST annoying aspect of designing my laundry room was hearing people say, "Oh, don't worry about that (detail)...it's JUST a laundry room." Seriously!? Do you have any idea how much time I have to spend in this room?! I am in and out of this room so many times a day it's not even funny (really...not funny...) Life is too short to spend THAT much of it in a room that's literally SCARY (are there spiders falling from the non-existing ceiling?!) All that to say, I wanted it to be an inviting, happy, energizing, clean, organized, functional space.

Yes, ALL THESE THINGS:

inviting

happy

energizing

clean

organized

functional.

I'd say we accomplished that :) Now, on to the details...that MATTER...

The overall affect of the room was greatly enhanced by adding better light (thank you to our brother Darryl, the electrician!) and pops of colour. The cabinets are from Ikea (thank you to my sister and her hubby for assembling them for us!) I chose the brushed metal and frosted glass to keep an open feel to the room...it was so important that this tiny space didn't feel boxed in. But, I didn't want shelving instead of cabinets because I still like to be able to put things AWAY and have them behind closed doors.

To create a faux ceiling, but not put up drywall (that would result in an extremely small, boxed in, low, bumping-my-head-on-it finish) we used tension rods and cotton fabric. Love the way the lights can drop down, and how the white makes it feel light and airy.

This is one of Tim's creations: a lovely, beautiful, functional, big shelf hidden behind the door when you walk in (to your right). It's sturdy and will NEVER bow, and the floor of it is a small "deck" that finished off the flooring, where there was only concrete. We painted it white to keep everything bright.

I put three baskets on top of the washer and dryer to cover up the ugliness of all the pipes behind the machines. They also function to hold the mending, ironing, and crap that piles up in here and needs to be put away! I got this idea of the three baskets from this site: http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/ I changed it up a bit to meet my needs, and I love the result. It also gave me a way to bring in some more colour.

Those furnace/heaters/pipes are really an eye sore! But, they needed ventilation and accessibility, so we came up with using a screen that I already had laying around (I'd used it as a headboard, room divider...oh so many things over the years!) I bought cheap fabric and sewed (yes, I sewed...it doesn't happen often) sheets to tie on with ribbon...then I added a few little silk flowers for accents. I think it's kinda cute!

This rug was a super great find! I was so excited when I came across it at Target and it perfectly brought in all my colours for under $10! Woo hoo!

I made this canvas using only scraps from my scrap bin, some leftover paint from another project, my big shot to die cut the butterflies, and a little ink to line the edges. I finished it all off with modge podge and love the result! My hubby thought it was really funny that I made ART for the laundry room...he thinks that's a little over the top. I think it's a room that needs beauty! Also, you'll notice the bead board (aka "wainscotting") behind the canvas...Tim installed that all around the room to finish it off without having to drywall - love love love it!

Oh, I should probably mention our awesome new machines. We weren't actually going to buy new machines just for fun...my old washing machine was RUINING our clothes and was full of rust. Also, our dryer didn't actually work anymore...it stopped using heat. Woo hoo. So, we caught a last minute boxing week sale after Christmas and got these: http://www.maytag.com/other-assets/en_US/maxima_laundry_pair/ I chose them because I loved the steaming options, the stain removal settings (which totally work!), and the awesome pedistals (which, even though we measured, when they came in to install them, the cabinets were too low...sadness...) We're so happy with them and love how the white keeps everything clean, fresh, and bright.

I went crazy with making labels in teal and yellow...I wanted a home for everything and everything in its home! Mission accomplished.

Thanks for looking, friends! Come and visit my laundry room IRL ;)