I've mentioned before that I live in a loft - the complex was a corset factory before it was converted to condos. We have a quirky laundry "room" - it's actually more of a large closet, but it deserves a little love! The room is about 6.5 feet square and contains a stacking washer and dryer, a bookcase, and a large return air duct for the heating and cooling system.
I put together a moodboard to inspire me and give me a direction to head in. I decided that this laundry room is the perfect place for a small feature wall so I'll be stenciling a design on the wall to the right as you walk in, and swapping out the light fixture.
The design started with the rug - isn't it a beauty? I need to change the wall sconce (an unfortunate accident occurred with the existing shade when I changed the light bulb the day we moved in. Oof.), and add storage containers and a trash can for emptying the lint tray on the dryer. I'll need to deal with the dryer vent hose situation as well. Because of the way the condos were constructed and the local building codes, all of the dryers in the complex are "ventless", which just means they vent inside of your house instead of outside and it takes longer for your clothes to dry. Oof again. We need a neater and more efficient system so some research is in order!
Here's the floorplan of the room and I'm adding a list of the functions this space needs to be able to handle. The laundry room needs to house the laundry machines (natch!), provide storage for detergents, the ironing board and iron, the mops and brooms, the toolbox, dog supplies, and some shoes! Plus all of the touch-up paint lives in here too. And the vacuum cleaner. And the snow shovel. This room works hard!
The odd nook at the upper left is mostly taken up by the returning air vent for the HVAC system and it has a bookcase sitting in front of it for storage. I have a shoe cabinet with tilt open drawers from IKEA that fits perfectly in the space to the right of the door and that will be staying with an upgrade. I'm going to be brave and show you the true-to-life before photos. You'll see why the space is crying for a makeover! Don't you find that if you don't have specific "homes" for items that you're storing, that an area quickly becomes pitch-and-putt when things are returned to a room or closet? Well, this makeover is going to ensure that everything has a home and that it's easy (and maybe even fun) to put them away after use!
Half of the walls in the laundry room have never been painted and much of the finishing trim is missing, so those two things are definitely on the to-do list. First up will be priming and painting and then I'll tackle the stenciled wall, which will be the one with the sconce on it, shown above.