Hello Laundry Room...Nice to Meet You!

The laundry room and I have never really been friends. I'll be the first to admit it. We meet from time to time, mostly in passing. I bring the laundry room some dirty clothes, stock pile junk that has no other home, leave the recyclables by the back door....get in, get out and quickly shut the door. Yes, my friends, sad but true it had come to this...

Please keep in mind that I had already picked up a ton of stuff before I remembered to snap a few before pics. Picture, if you will, laundry on the floor, miscellaneous odds and ends scattered about...getting a good mental image? I've always loved the large baskets over the washer and dryer, until everything started spilling out of them. See the Halloween stuff? And the poor little red shelf...a junk collector for sure. And why is the monkey pirate nutcracker still out in June?

Well, I had finally had enough. I needed a space that was inspiring and made us happy. Even more, I needed the space to be a pretty room that just happened to have a washer and dryer in it since this room is right off of the kitchen and also the entryway to our future upstairs addition (strange, I know). So, here is the new laundry room...

We started out by painting it Du Jour. Yes, I know it's white, but I always pick my paint colors because of their names. I feel like it gives the room an identity before it even comes to life. I am really enjoying the new space. I'm not saying I enjoy doing laundry any more than I did before, but the space is really easy on the eyes now ;)

I wanted to fill it with lots of vintage, salvaged, thrifted and antique treasures. The goal was to use as much of what we already had for decor and maybe a few new pieces here and there.

More storage was key. I wanted a place to store cleaning supplies and chemicals, and completely fell head over heels in love when I found this piece at a local antique mall! It is the tiniest little antique metal cabinet with etched glass. It had already been redone in a glossy white paint, which was perfect!

Lots of storage for supplies in the lower cabinet, with plenty of room left on top for pretty dishes and glassware.

I put one of my favorite thrift store finds on top...a pretty vintage floral picture in a chippy white frame, along with an old clock, a buddha (I have one in every room, so serene), and a turquoise vase with flowers.

This key rack was a great find at a garage sale, and a great little organizer...

I covered one of the walls with art. The two large vintage syle ads were in the laundry room previously. I found the little bicycle print on clearance at Target. The embroidery hoop art was made with scraps of colorful fabric I already had. I found the vintage frame and tiny mirror at a local thrift store (the store is less than a mile a way and will be the death of me I am sure).

My favorite, however, is the silhouette of my daughter, made by a local artist. He looks at his subject and simply starts to cut. Absolutely amazing! He did a wonderful job! Such attention to each little curl on her head and her long eyelashes...

We replaced the wire shelf above the washer and dryer with white shelves from IKEA. It makes the space more modern and allows more storage space.

The biggest change is probably the lighting. The old light fixture put out a diffused glow and the space seemed darker. The chandelier puts out a lovely light with a lot of sparkle. Did I mention I love sparkle? When the light plays with the crystals it make the prettiest twinkles on the ceiling...

Thanks for letting me share our new space with you. Well, guess I'll do some laundry now. haha

Have a beautiful day!

Love,