Okay, so when I posted the plans to our Laundry Room Makeover a few weeks ago…I knew I was excited about the project, but had no idea just how excited all ya’ll would be about it, too! (If you don’t speak Texan, ‘all y’all’ is just an exaggerated version of y’all.)
So clearly Laundry Rooms and their corresponding makeovers are favorite topics for many of us. Which makes sense, considering the amount of time we spend in them. I’ve always had a dungeon closet of a Laundry Room, but lucked out with a larger, brighter space in this house, and plan to make the most of it! (See the design board here.)
So let’s get to the goodies, shall we?! Here’s the makeover progress…
So far, the floors make the biggest impact…and I’m pretty much obsessed with them! It’s a basic matte hex-tile, but I picked-out both black and white, and had them laid in a stripe pattern. A lot of bang for minimal buck! This room is also right next to the Kitchen, so they coordinate well with the graphic backsplash.
We swapped the sweet fluorescent box light with this quirky Ikea fixture…I’ve been itching to use this light somewhere for years, and love the impact it makes. However, I don’t love the lack of actual light it provides. #wompwomp We’ll just have to come up with a secondary light source! Any ideas where we could add it?
The fixture doesn’t pop much now, but imagine it against a brightly painted ceiling! #huminahumina
The puny bar sink and miniature faucet that was here before was only good for washing hands. And tiny hands, at that. Now it’s a fully-functioning utility sink…great for hosing down mud boots, buckets, and sweet pups.
My contractor just cut a larger hole in the counter top, and plopped in an inexpensive plastic tub sink…then topped it off with an industrial-sized faucet.
#saveme
Now let’s talk about those black beauties…our new Samsung washer and dryer…in their new black stainless steel finish. Nebraska Furniture Mart delivered and installed them, and made sure I was happy with the placement and comfortable using them…even hauling away our old units.
And not a moment too soon, either! I knew the old dryer was on it’s last leg, but literally the day before the new appliances arrived, I came home to discover the old dryer had been running for over 12 hours straight!
Talk about an upgrade…apparently there have been a few advances in washer/dryer technology since we bought our last set 20 years ago!! I’ll admit I was a tad intimidated at first, but the touch controls are pretty self-explanatory, and in no time I was washing everything in the house! And clearly, a lot more environmentally-friendly than before.
Seriously, not a sheet, towel, or sock hasn’t been washed in the last week! My favorite is the super speed setting…it washes an entire load in 30-minutes. And the dryer even has multi-steam technology that removes wrinkles and odors from clothes!
The tub is so big I have to stand on my tippy-toes to reach the bottom, but that also means I can wash large loads at a time…even duvets, pillows and blankets. And the spin cycle is so effective, the clothes are half-dry when I pull them out! I always thought it was normal for them to still be dripping a little?!
One of the coolest features is this built-in sink with powerful water jet…it’s great for pre-treating and spot treatment…then you just lift up the bowl, and the water falls into the tub.
Next on our project list for this room, is to turn this nook into a mini-mudroom (not unlike our last one, but with a few more bells and whistles). And who better to brainstorm ways to make the most efficient use of any space than my darling friend, Jen?!
We chatted-up tons of ideas when she was here visiting, and sketched out a plan that includes tons of storage for shoes, backpacks, musical instruments, trash, dog food, backyard essentials, and even a family command center! Oh, and laundry supplies, too!
I also plan to paint the ceiling a punchy color, and now I think I might paint this lower cabinet black to streamline with the washer and dryer.
We may also need to add a backsplash behind the sink, raise the upper cabinets to make more room for the washer lid, and add more lighting. All of a sudden, it doesn’t feel like much progress…so let’s just focus on these floors for now! #tileporn
Lovely! It is amazing how far the technology on washers have come! Love the lower hooks for the book bags.
I'm in love with your sink and faucet!
I am in love with those floors! The stripes are genius!
This is alllllllllllll good. My laundry room is actually a really good space, but it makes me crazy. Possibly because I treat it as a dumping ground for pretty much everything. If I painted the walls and added a couple of fun touches, I know I would treat it better. And I'm dying for some sort of built ins. Now to convince Chris…… 😉
Hopefully once he sees ours and all the storage they create, he'll be on board!! xo
Love the pretty light hanging in the laundry room- I've thought of putting a small chandelier in mine since even a laundry room should be pretty:)
Perfection! Love the floors- I was eyeing black and white hexagon tiles last week at Home Depot. Thanks for mentioning grout color- I would have asked. Ha!
Haha!! Glad I could stay one step ahead on this one! 😉
That floor is so much fun!! Loving it all so far!
Holy moly, I have never seen a sink within the washer before – that's too cool. I totally agree that the lower cabinets would look awesome painted black to match. On the lighting issue, you could do some under cabinet lighting. Would that help? There are some really neat options out there!
Those floors are awesome!!! So in Tennessee talk, the number of people you are referring to determines what you say…you=1 person, y'all=2-3 people, all y'all=4 or more people!! I have 5 kids so I say all y'all all the time!!! Lol
LOL…yes ma'am, you do!! xo
Maybe you could put some under the cabinet lighting above the sink and washer/dryer? And/or some cool sconces in the mud room area?
Oh yes…love the sconce idea, too!! xoxo maybe on the side walls?!
Love it all!!! I just saw the same style floor yesterday on PencilandPaperCo blog and took a photo to save to my files!
I saw that too and flipped!! love how they took the tile up the wall!
I'd go with under counter lighting strips. The kind with pucks. Also, is there another room in the house that could benefit from a stunning but dim pendant light? And put something in that really works in the space…
That's a good idea…may need to move the light somewhere else…but I sure do love it in here!
I cannot wait to see the pop of color on the ceiling!!! I'm planning on doing that in my little powder room; I just need to get on the ball!
Agree on under cabinet lighting!
Under cabinet lighting! Young House Love wrote a RAVE post about adding it in their laundry!!
Ooooh, good to know, I'll check it out! xo
Add getting a step stool to your list with that giant washer and itty bitty you! I have to agree with the under cabinet lighting idea, it will be perfect. But why didn't you paint the ceiling before the floor was installed? I'm a flooring gal and I always tell my customers to paint first so they don't have to worry about their pretty new floor. The black grout was the way to go!
Lol, YES! Already determined there's room for a step stool next to the dryer! 😉 We actually had these floors installed awhile back, and at the time, I just couldn't commit to a color…nor did I know if I'd want to paint the ceiling or the cabinets. But I knew I wanted striped floors. 😉
Oh Cassie this is gonna be soooo good! I just love that floor! Maybe some under cabinet lighting would be good.
I was thinking painting the bottom cabinets black would look good! Can't wait to see what you do!
This laundry room is going to be fabulous! I love the pictures of Maggie girl in the new sink. 🙂
Cassie- question for you! My laundry/mudroom is the EXACT same layout as yours, down to the window! My question is: Do you not hang your clothes to dry? I've often thought about removing that wire shelving and putting mudroom cubbies in there, but I'd lose the space to hang clothes to dry. Any thoughts or plans to address that? Or am I the only person who seems to only buy clothes that are not dryer friendly!?!?
I do hang some clothes…so one of the solutions I'm deciding on, is where to hang them if I fill that entire wall with mudroom! I'm thinking drying racks, or rolling hamper with top rails…a few things maybe! Hopefully it will come to me! 😉
Great- thanks for your quick answer. Can't wait to see what you decide! 🙂
Cassie! It looks phenomenal! I am obsessed with your floors!!
I wondering if you need a pretty little chandelier with at least 4, 60 watt bulbs?? Don't ask me how I know…. I love the ikea light and I know it's great on the budget, but I'm wondering if you could use it somewhere else? The under cabinet lighting is also a great idea. Love….love….the floors and the washer/dryer!
Great progress! About the lighting situation, maybe rope lights across the top of the cabinets would work, also painting the ceiling high gloss anything to bounce light around the room. Under cabinet lights as a second switch, similar to the way most kitchens are wired, would be very effective. Have you considered a stainless steel backsplash, to bounce more light, resist splashes, and have the bonus magnet option (a container for scrub brushes or sponges, etc).
I like the Maskros a lot, and came across this link (http://bit.ly/1pKQVf3) with some fun ideas to add color, if not brighter light. Can't wait to see your next post in this room!
How fun are those hacks!!!??? Thanks for sending that!
Love the idea of painting the lower cabinet black to match. My suggestion would be to install lights under mount on your cabinets. We had that in a rental laundry room, and it was great. So easy to hold clothes under to see stains. And even slight mood lighting to leave on when running in and out.
Wow, your laundry room is looking great! I love the flooring.
What a terrific project! Have you considered installing lighting underneath the cabinets for a little extra illumination? We have under mounted lighting with a dimmer in our kitchen and we love the off-set/ flattering lighting that it provides. As always, loving your posts and wishing you a happy Friday-Eve. Thank you heaps for all that you do and write.
I just got a new washer and dryer too. I washed just about everything I could get my hands on for a few days, so silly!
I'm going to go with the same as everyone else here and say "under cabinet lighting". My husband is a cabinet maker in New Zealand so we have them in the laundry and kitchen and the strips are so easy to install and all the cabling is hidden…the LED lights we use over here (which I presume are the same in USA) are extremely cost effective to run and give off so much light. I would never be without them now.
Looks great so far! I love how the floors coordinate with the kitchen. I have a couple of lighting ideas: 1) Add can/pot lights to the room 2)Add a fixture over your sink 3) Add under-cabinet lighting to your existing upper cabinets 4)Incorporate lights into your built in mudroom area (we are going to add lights to the front of our mudroom built-ins and will be sharing that plan on ourcorneroftheworldblog.com next week).
The laundry never ends! So cool you have such a happy place to do it now! And wash that adorable dog! How cute are those pics?! Dogs and babies, I tell ya!
I love the idea of painting the ceiling, but wallpaper would be fun too! I can see something floral and wild!
How gorgeous! I love the bold black and white look it's got going. Under cabinet lighting would be great for this, I think.