Wash, Dry, Fold, Repeat?

Let’s Discuss Sprucing Up the Laundry Room

Let’s face it, doing laundry is a never-ending chore. One that I personally do not like. While the machine does the washing and drying for me (LOL), it doesn’t do the sorting, folding, and pre-stain removal (those with kids understand what I’m talking about). Some of us do laundry every week, and sometimes several times a week. So, for such a dreaded, yet essential task, how do you get yourself motivated and inspired to tackle it each time?

Playing music and doing laundry with others are both handy tools that will certainly make the task less arduous. But would you believe me if I said an inviting, functional, and well-organized laundry room space could inspire you to wash, dry, fold, and repeat? Try me…

As with any room in my home, I started off with good bones and ample storage space. Unfortunately, everything else was less than desirable; brown (almost cherry red) cabinets, those hideous brown tiles again (we’ve established my dread for that color), horrible lighting, green paint on the walls etc. To make this a room I enjoy folding clothes in, here’s the run-down of what I did:

• Paint galore. I painted all the cabinets white and the walls a very light blue – this immediately brightened the space

• Stenciled the floors (did the same thing in my pantry – keeping count of how many floors in my home I have painted thus far?)

• Created a make-shift table for folding clothes and storing a few items. I did this with plywood and some spray-painted steel pipes. This table will change eventually, but it has served me well for the past 2+ years

• Replaced the hideous builder grade light fixture to a simple elegant lantern

• Added a section for hanging coats, hats, and keeping shoes. We use this room sort of as a mudroom as well, so needed a spot where we could dump all our stuff before getting into the house

• Changed out the cabinet knobs (channeled my secret love for glam design and added some crystal knobs)

• Added art and a few décor pieces– picked up most of these items from Home Goods and Ross

• Organized and organized some more – I used lots of storage bins and baskets from Ikea

Well, I will be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the fact that not everyone has a walk-in laundry room. So, for those of you who have a relatively small space for laundry, I have linked here and here to two blog posts from fellow bloggers who I think did an amazing job creating really utilitarian, stylish, yet functional laundry spaces.

Hope this inspired you to re-acquaint yourself with your laundry space and enjoy the wash, dry, and fold routine. Let me know in the comments what you think of this spruce.

Cheers

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ODD Tips for Laundry Spaces

Organize

• Get inspired and use sources like Pinterest for ideas on how you might want your space to look

• Don’t be afraid to think outside the box – my make-shift table for folding & ironing clothes is not the most aesthetically pleasing, but it's functional and suits my needs - for now at least

• Have a budget and stick to it as best you can

• Keep items you use often, easily accessible – I use acrylic jars to store laundry detergent, and use a very cute vintage glass bottle with a cork cap to store my fabric softener

Design

• Be very clear to yourself how you would like to use the room. In my case, I wanted it to function both as a mudroom and laundry room. So, I made accommodations for both

• Choose light and airy colors. I chose to paint this room with HGTV Sherwin Williams Olympus white paint. Not sure I would recommend a dark paint color for a laundry room, but perhaps if the room is well lit, it could make for a very lovely moody space.

• Lighting is key. You are in luck if you have windows, that bring in great light into the room. But I will always recommend a visually pleasing light fixture in any space even the laundry room

• Creativity is your best friend when it comes to design. As I’ve said before, if you can’t afford to rip out your tile, paint, and stencil it. Still no regrets on my end with this decision and its been 2+ years already

Decorate

• Incorporate art pieces that make you and your family happy when in the space

• This may be a cliché, but don’t over decorate. If you do, you run the risk of making the room look too cluttered. A laundry room should be an inviting space every time you walk into it

• Keep the room smelling fresh - always

Breakdown of Essential Pieces

• 1 gallon of HGTV Sherwin Williams Olympus White paint for the walls

• See other stenciling items in pantry blog post

• Black steel pipes and fittings

• 1 sanded plywood sheath