Laundry Room Reveal

I've been showing you bits and pieces of it for weeks, and now here it is in it's entirety.  It's our new and improved laundry room!

Everything seems so natural the way it's configured now, like there's no other possible way to configure it.  Apparently there is another way, because this is how it looked before.

These notes are the ideas I had before I lived with the laundry room for awhile.  After I lived with it, I drastically changed my plans. 



The washer and dryer were "unstacked" so that I could better reach the clothes in the dryer. I'm not short (5'5"), but I had had to use a step stool in order to get everything out. A counter top was placed on top for folding clothes.  The old cabinets were removed and replaced by more functional cabinetry.

The bump out couldn't be eliminated because of the pipes located behind it, so it became a picture ledge for these sweet photos and hand prints I've had since my girls were babies.

 This tall cabinet houses all of my mops, brooms and rags.

This piece of artwork was the inspiration for the laundry room decorating scheme.

 I made this window treatment by hand using a piece of burlap I stenciled.

  Click here to see how I stenciled the burlap, and click here to see how I created the window treatment.

I wanted some open shelving above the sink, so I hit all of the local home improvement stores hoping to find a ready made wooden shelf that my contractor could cut and I could paint. Unfortunately, I didn't find any, but I did find these great stair treads that we used instead. Imagine my surprise when, in the September issue of HGTV magazine, Sarah Richardson used stair treads as open shelving in a kitchen remodel. She stole my idea! I hate it when she does that! Just kidding, of course. I'm sure I'm not even on Sarah's radar

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These shelves give me the opportunity to display a few of my Arthur Court pieces that didn't fit anywhere else in the house, and the hyacinth baskets add texture while concealing light bulbs and Swiffer refills. The rod over the sink allows me to hang clothing to drip dry.

Do you remember the piece of abstract art I made? Click here to see how it did it.

A pretty tray given to me as a moving gift keeps a few laundry room supplies in place.

  

I even love my new hardware.

Would anyone like to guess what purpose this box serves?

  

It's something I consider to be a laundry room essential - a sock box.  This is where all of our lonely socks go to live until they find a mate.

The rug ties everything together.

In case you are curious, here are my sources for the items in the room:

• Cabinets - Ikea (Adel)
• Stair Tread Shelves, Hardware, Plant - Lowes
• Rug - Home Emporium (also known as Southeastern Salvage or Discount Building Materials, depending on where you live)
• Flower Art, Sock Box - Home Goods

That's it. It's small but functional thanks to the changes we made. I won't lie and say I love doing the laundry now, but a few small personal touches in the room make it a more pleasant experience.

If you are interested in seeing more laundry rooms, please visit Remodelaholic's Laundry and Mudroom Linkup.

Also linking to:

http://www.beneathmyheart.net/2012/08/best-diy-projects-of-august-linky-party-2/

A Thoughtful Place