laundry room

Originally the laundry room was quite small, so this was one area we changed to give us more countertop and cabinet space.

The door you see on the left goes to the water heater. and the door on the right leads to the front porch. Already we had 6 doors leading out of the house, so we decided to get rid of that door and add a window instead. Where the door was, it was offset on the front porch, so we were able to bump out that wall and make the front of the house look completely symmetrical and give us twice the space in the laundry than was originally there.


It's difficult to see how crammed this space really was, but if the washer or dryer door was open, there was about 2-3 inches to spare before hitting the opposite wall/doorway. You might also notice that this washer/dryer is too deep for this space, meaning that this outside door is unusable.

Oh, and did I mention the house came with a bunch of stuff in it?

Even the washer and dryer were full of clothing. Yes, even the washer....ever smelled soured clothing? Well after sitting for a year, multiply the smell you know by 365. We ran several loads of ammonia through it just to get rid of the smell.

First, we removed the upper cabinets on the back wall and added open shelving.

This is a view from the base of the stairs. The dining room is on the left and the doorway past the pew on the right goes into the kitchen.

The cabinets are alder and are only poly-ed. No stain was used on these. The countertops are a stained concrete with a rounded edge. The entire wall is covered with white tile, which apparently was a chore to put up.

Globes: Various Etsy shops and flea market finds.
Milk Crate: Found
Milk Bottles: Ebay, found
Green Ampersand: Pottery Barn from a long time ago (no longer available)
Lunch Box: found
Wooden Spools: found (a good price for these is about $2 apiece at a flea market, but for more interesting ones, expect to pay $5-10)
Locker Baskets: Ebay, Etsy, found
Chalkboard: Found (ThreePotatoFour had this exact one on sale for $110. I paid $5 for mine!)
Brown Baskets: Basket Lady (If you're looking for nice baskets, really this site is awesome. I can't speak enough of the quality.)


Greg made the shelves from thick-cut barnwood. The underside and front were left rough and the top was planed. Then, about 5 coats of poly was applied so there would be a smooth finish to set all the knick knacks on. Also, dusting the shelves would have been impossible with how rough they were before.



We relocated the washer and dryer to the left side of the room, nestled next to the door that holds the hot-water heater. To the right of the washer and dryer, is some open space, perfect for holding the dog food and an extra laundry basket.

The ironing board pulls out from one of the top drawers there on the right.

We added a sink in here as well, which is perfect for rinsing clothing, but mostly gets used when the dogs need a bath. And, Addy needed baths quite frequently there for awhile after her run in with Pepe-la-Peu.


I seriously love my laundry room and I've never been able to say that at any house I've lived in except this one.