Laundry room re-do

One of my favorite smells in all the world is clean laundry.  Doesn't it stand to reason, then, that I would like to do laundry?  And that my laundry room would be a lovely space?

Not so much.

As ashamed as I am to admit it, here's how my laundry room looked just a few weeks ago.  Ugh.



Several years ago I re-did this space and added a number of decorative elements.  Actually, there were too many decorative elements.  The room was cluttered even when it was clean.  My friend Becky from Organizing Made Fun wrote a post emphasizing the need to de-clutter and explaining how she does it.  That gave me the kick in the pants I needed to clean out this mess.  With Becky as my online guide, I de-cluttered this space.

My laundry room is the smallest room in our home, and it had become the most maligned space.  Pretty much all I ever did was to complain about how small and inadequate it was.  Then one day I was flipping through some magazines from the World War II era (a favorite pastime of mine), and I realized that rather than complaining I should be grateful for this light, bright, well-equipped space.

That exercise in thankfulness led me to want a more vintage look for the room, just to help remind me of my blessings.  So here's my laundry room today.




Now, when I first realized that I wanted a new look for this room, there were a couple of things standing in my way.  I had no money set aside to spend on it.  And I had very little time to work on it.   Still, I wanted a new look!

I began with gathering inspiration online.  But to be honest, most of the "inspiration" photos I gathered ended up depressing me rather than inspiring me.  Custom cabinetry, expensive countertops, chandeliers--those were all beyond my reach.  Then I ran back across this post from Kim at Sand and Sisal.  Kim's laundry room is rightfully famous--it's gorgeous and it's been featured in a magazine--but it was her philosophy about laundry rooms that helped me the most.  Quoting Kim here, "The room had to be a happy color. I didn’t want a sophisticated neutral color, I mean who the heck feels sophisticated while doing laundry?"

Thank you, Kim!  You inspired me to go for what I really wanted and needed.  Here are some photos of my unsophisticated but very happy laundry room.

The sorting and folding station I created several years ago.  It's just two baskets (one for darks and one for whites) and a shelf that I mounted directly to the wall.  Not fancy, but it works.  I found the clock on clearance on Target; it's perfect for this room.  The rug I've had for years; I was so pleased that it works with the new decor.

 

Last week I shared the wall I art I made from pieces of a vintage tablecloth.  The rest of the tablecloth I used to create a café curtain for the window.  I simply cut the tablecloth in half, sewed a simple rod pocket into one side, and threaded a café rod through the pocket.  Instant window treatment!  Now I can keep the blinds open for natural light but still have privacy.  Love that!  And with this cheerful fabric as my principal feature, I didn't need to re-paint.  The wall color is Benjamin Moore's "Blue Hydrangea."

You can read here how I created the clothespin sunburst mirror for just a few dollars.  It's a great accent piece for a laundry room!

My "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster is a reproduction of the original created by the British Ministry of Information in World War II.  I purchased a reproduction "Keep Calm" poster for just £3.60 directly from Barter Books, the bookshop that re-discovered the poster.  It's perfect for my laundry room--the wartime era poster goes well with my vintage fabrics, the red is just the right color, and the sentiment is spot on!  When I feel overwhelmed by the amount of dirty laundry, I just try to keep calm and carry on.

To frame the poster inexpensively, I bought an off-the-shelf poster frame at a craft store with a 50% off coupon.  That made the frame less than $15.  Then I simply had custom mat cut at a local frame shop, which cost about $12.  I framed it all myself, and I have a just the look I wanted for very little money.

I like having a lamp in the laundry room.  Sometimes we keep our doggies locked in this room when we have company.  I turn off the overhead light and turn on the lamp; the low light helps them to stay calm.  This lamp was a Goodwill find; all I did was to hot-glue some rick-rack onto the shade for a fun retro look.  Along with the lamp, a plant, an antique iron and a housekeeper's box I've had for years complete a pleasing countertop vignette.   Now maybe I'll keep this counter clear rather than stacking it with junk.

A few little touches and tricks I use in this small laundry room:

I found this little galvanized bucket in the One Spot (the $2.50 part) at Target; it's a great place to keep socks whose twins have gone missing.  I used to have a big basket for this purpose, but I found that I was just filling up the big basket and never actually getting around to matching the socks.  No more!  If matches don't show up pretty quickly, I'm going to consign odd socks to the rag bag.

This tiny galvanized tub holds clothespins and loose change on top of the dryer.  This was also a One Spot (the $1.00 part) find.  I like the way it looks like an old washtub.  I like to keep clothespins close at hand.  All other laundry supplies are tucked away in the cupboards above the machines.

There are hanging rods on either side of my washer and dryer, but sometimes I need another place to hang an item.  I placed a wreath hanger from the dollar store over a closet door in the room; it's just right for hanging odd things such as a belt or empty hangers.  It's strong enough to hold heavy things, too.  Two of these hung a few inches apart would make a great hanger for an ironing board.  And you could paint them a fun color or simply paint them the same color as the door; maybe I'll get around to that some day.

There's a bit of space between my dryer and the cupboard beside it; I've found it's an excellent place to store flat items such as posterboard.  This is also where I keep the whiteboard I use for photo shoots.  

Total spent on this makeover: about $60.00 for the poster, clock, frames, curtain rod, and buckets.  For all other items I shopped the house.

Just for fun, here's one last look.  We went from this:



To this:

What do you think?  What's the state of things in your laundry room?

I'm joining these wonderful parties:

Home On Purpose at Life in Grace

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now
Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick