Project Laundry Room: Done-ish (finally some after shots!)
A few months back we had a (very minor, but still rather scary!) fire in our basement laundry room (actually, technically the fire was in the washing machine itself) that started a bit of a mini laundry room reno, because:
a) the laundry room was dark and dreary
b) due to its apparently flammable nature, we decided the old washer might not be the safest appliance on the block
c) because our dryer was nearly as archaic as our washing machine, we figured we may as well buy an entirely new pair (my first ever new, and not just new-to-me, appliances – yay!)
d) see point a :)
The whole shebang ended up seemingly taking for-ev-ver. There were (rather expensive) decisions on new machines to be made (read about that HERE.) And then there was the sad sad moment when I noticed a scuff on top of my brand new shiny washing machine (I whined a wee bit about that HERE.) I even succumbed to some Pinterest-inspired daydreams over what my little laundryroom could look like (HERE.) And then there was painting and patching and shelf-hanging and all that fun stuff in between.
BUT, I’m happy to say she’s done. Well, done-ish. Our little laundry room doesn’t look A THING like my inspiration images (I’m blaming the smallness and lack of windows for that!) but it looks a lot better. :)
Here’s where we started (prepare yourself for overall laundry room ugliness)…
Ack, eh? Not a pleasant (little) room for doing ANYTHING, let alone something already as arduous as laundry.
A couple coats of Benjamin Moore Gossamer Blue paint (leftover from my dining room painting project – aka free paint), a shelf, and a few other additions later (baskets! I love baskets!) and it’s a far more pleasant place to be…
For the record, the room is TINY. In case you’re wondering why all of my laundry room pics only show a few feet of the room at a time. Without removing walls (which I’ve considered, but I don’t think Sweetie would approve) this is just the way it is! Here are a few other angles (for the really ambitious, I’m pretty sure if you cut and pasted all of these pics together, you’d get a pretty complete picture of the room!)
I painted the wooden pedestal our laundry tub is perched upon (and bolted to, we found out!) Just made things look a lot cleaner (Snowfall White paint fixes everything!)
The shelf is just a piece of knotty pine that Sweetie picked up and put a routered edge on for me (that Sweetie is pretty handy, you know!) and then I gave ‘er a good painting. It’s amazing how a little organization can make a laundry room a much friendlier place!
I repurposed a couple old jars (leftover from my pre-Slom-ed pantry) to hold paint brushes and that sort of thing. And the white basket holds extra roller refills quite nicely!
And, of course, no room in our house is complete without a picture of one of the cats. (We’re a little weird like that.) This picture was taken over 10 years ago (when Jacob was just a young lad!) with our very first ever digital camera.
I hate ironing. A whole lot. But at least my ironing devices are nicely organized in the newly organized laundry room. It almost makes me want to iron. (OK. I’m totally fibbing. The room could be clad in marble and platinum and I’d still avoid my iron. But at least it has its own spot now. Where it will probably stay, untouched, for a really really long time.)
As the wife of an electrician who seems to collect electrical stuff throughout the day, I was constantly making little piles of marrettes and screws and other random electrical things (ie: I have no idea what they are, but I’m pretty sure Sweetie uses them for something) on the washer. Oh. And piles of change too. Because apparently electricians carry a lot of change around in their pockets. These jars (also leftover from the Slom-ification of our pantry) have meant the end of the random change/doodad piles. Thus making me a rather happy electrician’s wife!
We even replaced the light in the room (er, rather, the naked hanging lightbulb) with a sweet (and inexpensive – I think the globe part was only $5) light fixture. I don’t have any pictures of the light installed in the room itself (since, well, that would involve turning off the light, which would plunge the room into darkness, which would make picture taking a bit of a challenge!) but here she is before Sweetie got all electrician-ish and got her all functioning and stuff…
(I think the design kinda looks like lace. Prettiest $5 light ever!)
And there you have it! My tiny little laundry room (divided up into many many images.) I mean, I wouldn’t want to hang out in there for HOURS, or anything like that, but it’s better at least, and (quite importantly!) neither dark, nor dreary now (such a pretty paint colour could never be dreary!) The best part (I guess, from a practical position) is that we are pretty sure this washer will operate sans fire. (Excuse me while I go knock on wood.) And it gets to do so in a cheery little room (because I’m sure that having pretty teal walls makes my washer happy too.)
Have a great weekend all!
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My big date (IKEA + a bestie = an awesome way to spend a Saturday afternoon)
My Jess was my partner in crime during our second and third years of university. There were bars. There were beers. There were soda biscuits with Cheese Whiz at 3am. (And lots Ally McBeal and Cybill watching in between.) We had so (too) much fun together in the two years we were roomies. I cried the day my Jess moved out.
We’re all grown up now (I suppose.) We’ve both adopted new roomies (our hubbies), and Ally McBeal and Cybill are long gone from tv-land (dear Cybill’s friend Maryann: I miss you.) Jess has three awesome little boys, and I have two awesome furry boys. We still meet up for the odd beer when we can, but we’ve graduated from soda biscuits slathered in processed-cheese-in-a-jar to real restaurants and coffeeshops (oh the luxury!)
And our bar days have been replaced by Ikea dates. :)
Today, we are meeting for our first ever Ikea date. I can’t wait. Not only do I get to hang out with my Jess (and her Cameron, the happiest baby I’ve ever met), but I get to do it at Ikea. Am I a happy Joy? Yes. I’m a happy Joy. :)
I’m excited to be Ikea-bound a) because I get to see my Jess, but also b) because so many projects are so agonizingly close to being complete around here, but require just a little Ikea-love before I can swish my hands together (like they used to do in old movies – you know what I’m talking about right?) and declare (outloud, of course, and rather overdramatically) “done!”
There’s my stairwell. Oh, stairwell project, how your unfinishedness haunts me. The walls have been carefully patched and painted (in lovely BM Edgecomb Gray), the baseboards (stringers?) tediously caulked and taped and repainted (the rumours are true: I do indeed have rather beautiful stringers now)… And yet I can’t yet swish my hands together. Why? Because I’ve got a bare lightbulb hanging from my ceiling at the top of the stairs. Yes. You read that correctly. A. BARE. LIGHTBULB. Please don’t tell. I’m a little embarrassed. And it’s even more embarrassing that that sad looking naked lightbulb has been swinging (all uncovered and stuff) for over a month now. Yup. Consider me officially mortified.
Yes, we could have just put the original ugly boob light back up (um… if I hadn’t thrown it away in disgust…) but after all the hard work I put into that stupid silly stairwell, I’ve refused to compromise. No, it needs a new lovely fixture. And Ikea has the answer…
Alang is Alovely, isn’t she? And she’ll look even more alovely at the top of my stairwell. :) When Sweetie and I last visited Ikea, they were sold out of dear Alang, so I’m guessing that I’m not her only fan (although I may be her number one fan.) (I love her just that much.)
I also need some of these…
…for my yet unfinished pretty little laundry room. It’s hard to put shelves on a wall without brackets (unless you’ve got one of those fancy schmancy floating shelves) (I do not have one of those fancy schmancy floating shelves.) And I desperately need shelves on the wall. I have THINGS (a few baskets, a pretty little picture, a new-to-the-laundry room clock) (oh, and laundry detergent too) to put ON a shelf in my laundry room, just no shelf. It’s a bit of a problem. So, Ekby Stilig brackets, you are indeed on my list. :) If Ikea-shopping was anything (at all) like The Bachelor, Ekby Stilig brackets: you would be getting your rose.
Lastly, I need a little more Slom in my kitchen…
…since I ran short on Slom mid-pantry project a couple weeks ago. And an unfinished pantry is an unhappy pantry (pretty sure that’s how the saying goes.)
And so, off I go (like, literally, right now) to meet my Jess, her Cammy, and my eagerly (if a jar can look eager?) awaiting Ikea-finds. There may even be a cinnamon bun waiting for me on the way out too (according to Jess, one cannot truly appreciate the full Ikea-experience sans cinnamon bun. Who knew? Apparently I’ve been doing it all wrong for so long.) Our Ikea date may not be quite as exciting as Cheese Whiz on crackers at 3am on a schoolnight, but it sounds like a delightful way to spend a snowy Saturday afternoon to me. :)
Leave a commentProject Laundry Room: Part Two and a Half (every tiny little laundry room needs a little art)
A quick post just to show off what arrived yesterday for my laundry room (yeppers – that little closet of a room gets art and everything!)
Hearts for the laundry room I heart :)
How perfectly laundry-room-ish eh? Can’t wait to put this on the wall (once the shelves are up and stuff – my replacement washer is coming today I think [yay!], so hopefully shelves will go up next week!) Purchased from etsy-seller honeytree (did I mention I’m an etsy addict?) just a few days ago (click here for more of her work!) shipping was crazy super fast, and it was packaged sooo nicely. This is what I was greeted with when I opened the envelope…
I love pretty packaging :)
So simple, but so cute. I almost didn’t want to tear into that little kraft-paper-tape heart (but I did.) :) Now I just have to find the perfect laundry-room-art frame for my pretty little print!
(Aside: I never thought I’d get so excited about my laundry room. I think this might mean that I’m officially grown up. Or just weird.)
Happy Friday! :)
Leave a commentProject Laundry Room: Part Two-ish (one step forward, two steps back)
A happy update! My eagerly-awaited and much anticipated (isn’t that a line from something?) (I think it is…) (anyway…) washer/dryer delivery took place over the weekend. Hooray! Well, kinda. I was in bed while the whole move-in (new appliances) and move-out (old appliances) took place – let’s just say it was a long dark day in migraineville. :( When I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, I ran (quite literally) downstairs to soak in (ha ha – funny washer pun) the view in my laundry room. That’s when I saw this…
Scuffy-wuffy was my washer
Yes. That’s right. My washer was scuffed. (Insert a very sad sigh here.) Right on top. Right near the front. Right about where I would be looking EVERY SINGLE TIME I do laundry. Like the mean old movers had dragged something rough and metal across my lovely and perfect new washer. :(
I won’t lie: some tears may have actually fallen over my now less-than-perfect-washer. I KNOW… it’s just a machine. And I know… it’ll likely get banged up over time, but this is the first time I’ve EVER (ev-ver) had my own, brand spanking new appliances. Purchased full price (kinda, minus the sale), not scratch-and-dent, not hand-me-downs, not new-to-me. New. And perfect. At least until I noticed the scuff. I kinda freaked out just a little (shhhh… don’t tell.)
To my rescue? The fine folk at Home Depot. One rather sheepish phone call later (during which I admitted that the scuff is only about an inch long, and mentioned that my hubby thought I was a little OCD for getting a wee bit upset over a scuff) and I have a replacement washer being delivered next week. Yes. Really. :) Brenda, the Home Depot appliances-section lady: you are my hero. She empathized with me. She stated that new appliances should be perfect when delivered to the customer. She agreed that the scuff-spot could rust over time (my main concern.) She was awesome. She has a big hug coming her way the next time I venture into HD. :)
In the meantime, we were told to go ahead and use the new (slightly imperfect) washer. And I’m loving it. Loooooving it. We actually stood there and watched the washer go through the entire wash cycle with our first load of laundry. (Yep – we’re big huge losers like that.) It’s stupidly quiet, and sings a happy little song when the load is clean. I do the laundry dance every time I put a new load in (um, yeah… really.) I’m so in love with these melodious and fantastical machines. And will be even more in love with the non-scuffed version of my washer coming later this week. :)
In the meantime, here’s a quick peek at the laundry room progress to date. Shelves still need to go up above the machines, and the new light needs to be installed still too (the hanging bare light bulb just isn’t fitting for such pretty machines) but the walls are coated in lovely Gossamer Blue-ness…
Laundry room loveliness to date
Big happy sigh. All’s well that ends well, right? More progress updates to follow. :)
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Project Laundry Room: Part Two (aka the quest for a pretty little laundry room continues)
Now that Project Laundry Room: Part One (aka purchase pretty new machines) is complete (yay!), so begins Part Two. Which will be a lot more work, methinks. But likely worth it. I hope. I can’t imagine putting such beautiful machines (I looooove my new washer and dryer. Almost as much as Sweetie.) (Ok, not really…) (Um, yeah… ok, really…) in such a dreary little laundry room. It’s just not right. I won’t have it. The room needs to be worthy of my lovely new machines. :)
Just to give you the pretty before the ugly (to lessen the shock a wee bit), here are a couple pics of what I’d like my laundry room to look like…
Lovely laundry room courtesy of Cameras and Chaos - looove the wall colour and chandelier
One Nutty Girl's practical (and pretty!) laundry room - definitely going to add a drying rod in there somewhere
Annnnnnnd here are a few pics of my tiiiiiny little laundry room as of this morning (be warned – she ain’t pretty and I didn’t do any staging or anything pre-shoot [but likely should have]):
This is what you're greeted with when you open my laundry room door...
If you look to your left, here sits the offending washer machine that started this whole project. And the cat carrier filled with cat towels.
And to your right is the dryer (aka the landing place for miscellaneous stuff) and some pieces of drywall. Because the laundry room is the obvious place for random drywall bits.
ACK. Frightening eh? I suppose I could have tidied up a little pre-camera (ignore all the stuff on the dryer – not even sure what all that is.) At least I spared you shots of the litterbox that’s hidden in the corner of the room (you’re welcome!) All in all, the room is ridiculously small. Maybe 5 feet wide (maybe) by 8 feet long (also maybe.) And it’s dark (oh how wonderful it’d be to have a window in there!) And icky (painted concrete floors and primed-drywall walls aren’t particularly inviting.) And not at all pretty. But I’m hoping for a quasi laundry room miracle here! The new (again: lovely!) machines will help lots. And I’m planning to slap leftover BM Gossamer Blue paint (from our dining room redo) on the walls, which should definitely up the prettiness factor by, like, a gazillion. Add a few white shelves above the machines, and clear out the army of paint cans all over the floor (oooooooh! Sudden inspiration: or hide them under the laundry tub with a pretty little under-laundry-tub curtain!) and I might actually have a pretty-ish room. Fingers crossed! I have SIX DAYS till the new machines arrive. SIX. Doable, no?
Kinda excited about all this. Dreary laundry room, be gone! Poof! (Waving imaginary magic wand…)
(Crap. It’s still there. K. Off I go to paint.)
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