Functional Redesign Results in Bright and Cheery Laundry Room as Part of the ORC

If you want to make six weeks go by quickly, do a one room design challenge, that’s for sure. We travelled to Nova Scotia for five days during Week Six for our middle daughter’s university graduation, so I felt like I was in the Five Week challenge. But congrats to our daughterSydney!

Let me remind you where this project started. Our laundry room is on the second floor of our house, adjacent to the bedrooms. As part of a renovation by a previous owner, it was build into the attic. As a result, the ceiling is significantly sloped and there is no window. The room was dark and the plumbing and electrical hook-ups were exposed. The laminate floor was just plain uninspiring.

This is what we accomplished in each of the weeks of the challenge: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5.

Lighting

We thought about adding a third sconce but felt it would be too much. So to provide extra light on the washer and dryer side of the room we added a lamp. This lamp can be turned on for specific tasks, such as folding.

Adding a skylight for the laundry room would not have fit well with the existing skylights we have on the roof. For this reason internal lighting was a priority. We installed two new hammered metal sconces. One sconce replaced the existing light by the door. The other is now on the wall opposite the washer and dryer. This new light makes a world of difference in providing light for tasks such as ironing.

Storage

Storage is another priority area. Previously, there was no storage for laundry bins, laundry soap etc. To remedy this, we added a cabinet. (You may recall the post from Week Three where my thrifty husband found two cabinets of different sizes in the “As Is” section at Ikea.) He resized the two cabinets that he bought in no time at all. I painted the $5 door he also found, in a lovely Stafford Blue. The leather tab handle we added is perfect.

Flooring

The step that made the biggest transformation was the stencilling of the floors. Stencilling the floor was not an easy task and took the better part of a week. I am exceptionally pleased with how it turned out. Painting the base colour of the floor white brightened up the room immeasurably. The pattern added is very forgiving. I think it will hide the dirt well.

Counter and Shelf

We were not certain that the counter top and shelf configuration was going arrive on time, so it was touch and go until the last minute. Thankfully they arrived just before the Week Six reveal.

You may recall that one of the two problems that I wanted to resolve with a new counter was an area for folding. Given that our new shedding puppy sleeps on our bed, the bed is no longer a reasonable spot for folding clothes.

The second issue I wanted to resolve was to hide the visible plumbing and electrical. The plumbing has to accessible but not on a regular basis. To address this, I designed at box that sits at the back of the counter and covers the plumbing and electrical. On top of the box is a wooden display shelf for smaller items. The box hides away the plumbing and electrical and it almost disappears due to the shelf on top of it. Problem solved. I love it.

Ironing Area

One the side of the room opposite the washer and dryer we added the new light I mentioned earlier and a hook to easily mount the ironing board. The cabinet is one that I refinished years ago, and its narrow dimension makes it a perfect fit for this room. It houses the iron, lint (dog hair) removers etc.

Giving Thanks

That brings to the end, my participation in the One Room Challenge. I want to thank @One RoomChallenge and @BetterHomesandGardens for providing this incredible forum for designers to grow.

I also want to thank my husband Geraint Jones @GerainttheWelsh who stepped right up to put my design plan into action and accomplished everything on a timeline, without complaint. He is always my greatest supporter!

I congratulate all of the designers and the other guest participants who have worked so hard on their projects. Please go and see what they have accomplished. I have have met some very ambitious and creative people along this path. And for that, I am grateful.

Thank you for following along and supporting me along the way.

My laundry room is open for business once again. And it’s just in time as my two younger ones arrive home from university this week with lots of dirty laundry, ready to put the new laundry room to the test.

Always

Leslie