Hi friends! I hope you’ve all been having a good week. I managed to sneak in a trip to my favorite nursery to check out their hanging baskets and other annuals. Can you believe that picture? Gorgeous!
The weather FINALLY dried out here. I was starting to think it was time to build an ark. But we had lots of beautiful sunshine this whole week, so I’ve been spending my time outside getting things spruced up for summer. You know the drill…trim back the bushes you neglected last year, cut down the ornamental grasses that you should have dealt with in the fall. But more on that next week.
For now, let’s talk about the laundry room remodel! It’s still chugging along, but why does everything take twice as long as you think it should?
When we built this house, the plans included a decent size laundry room. But because of the configuration, there wasn’t really room to put in a laundry tub. I’d always had one before, but I didn’t realize how much I used it until I didn’t have one anymore.
Since the day we moved into this house nearly 3 years ago, I’ve missed having a place to wash out my (rather numerous) paint brushes and soak my (extra dirty) boy’s clothing. I usually ended up doing those things in the kitchen sink, but I’ve longed for the days of a laundry tub.
Until now! My longings are over. Now that my washer and dryer are stacked (thank you Electrolux!!!), I have plenty of room to add a laundry tub, so that’s what we did a few days ago. And by “we”, I mean our contractor friend who occasionally does electrical and plumbing work for us.
As much as we love DIY projects, we draw the line at things that could flood or burn down our home. For those projects, we call in a professional. Hi “J”!
My entire contribution to this project was a trip to Lowe’s to pick out this all-in-one laundry tub unit. It’s not fancy, but it works. I like that there’s a little storage in the base cabinet and it came with everything we needed, including the faucet. And the beadboard doors are cute.
I have never been so excited over a sink in my life. It feels like such a luxury. Sometimes I sneak in there in the middle of the night just to turn on the water. It feels so decadent.
Next project? A shelving tower between the washer/dryer and the sink. Something to store laundry baskets, detergent and orphan socks. Oh! And a surface on which to fold our mountains of laundry. I’m picturing something that folds up against the wall when it’s not in use. But I’m still working out the details in my noggin.
What’s the most important thing to you in a well-functioning laundry room? Obviously a working washer and dryer, but what else?
This post is part of a series sponsored by Electrolux as part of Homebuzz. I received an Electrolux washer and dryer in exchange for my participation. The opinions stated in this post are my own. The piles of laundry are also my own.
{ 13 comments }
oh I HEART your new washer and dryer! And in that color, too!
you have great taste in laundry sinks, hah! it’s just like mine. i love it! but hubby needs constant reminder that it’s there & to stop using the kitchen sink for grimy hands & clean-up.
i have a question – how do you reach the controls on the top piece (is it the dryer?)
i love the blue/red combo!
have a nice weekend -
I’m with you on the sink – it’s very difficult to go back once you’ve had one. Other ideal elements are: a folding table – a table on which to fold clothes, that is, or other counter space of some kind, a janitors closet, and a family sized built in hamper (in-box) and a bank of shelves, one for each family member (out-box). I would sacrifice half the space of the over-scaled master bedrooms in some of the houses we’ve been looking at for a decent laundry/utility area.
I love your laundry room – it really is pretty, I could hang out there.
My laundry room, with laundry tub is right off of my kitchen. One of the things I use my laundry tub for is to wash oversized pots, roasting pans, etc. I can park pans in there and let them soak for a couple of hours and they are off my counter/stove/island. Plus I have white porcelain sinks in my kitchen and large pots and pans bang them up a lot. We also have a very old set of porcelain laundry tubs on a metal stand in our very “rustic” basement.
My main thing in a laundry room would be space to have baskets of dirty laundry which I’ve already sorted. And someone to sort for me — cause that seems like such an “iffy” job.
I can not live without the counter in my laundry room. I use my laundry room as a staging area for entertaining, which we do a lot of.
We have a small bathroom right off the laundry room, so I use that for soaking, but I spied that exact sink at Lowes and thought it might just the thing to replace the bathroom sink in that bathroom.
Isn’t it crazy how much a functional laundry room makes a difference in our lives? And seriously, why is the laundry pile always so big in my house.
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I would LOVE to have a laundry tub too but condo living doesn’t really lend itself to that.
( Congrats on finally getting one back in your life.
I am so with you on the laundry sink. I have never had one, and we are in the process of building a house and it was one of the very first things I insisted on putting in the house. With 4 kids I have really mourned the lack of a place to soak dirty things etc. Your washer and dryer is so pretty and my favorite color too! I may have to think about those also
I am so happy for you! Its so great when you can see your small hopes come into fruition.
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We live in an apartment so there are lots of “wants” in a laundry room…namely, my OWN laundry room instead of sharing with 35 other units. Now, if I did have my own, I would love to have rails of some sort running all around the ceiling for hangers and air drying. Right now, we hang dry all of our clothing by hooking the hangers on any available door frame. It gets a little annoying on laundry day when we have to duck under drying clothes to get into any bedroom or the bathroom. I also make use of the window frames in nice weather. The downside is that any neighbors walking by can see jeans, t shirts, towels, etc. in said windows. The commenter above who mentioned having someone to actually sort the piles for her is a fab idea too! Heehee!
You and Mr. J did a perfect job. I can’t wait to see the washer/dryer and sink tower. I’m sure it will turn out good. Are you going to do DIY or Mr J. will be also involved?
BTW, we have the same Electrolux laundry set but mine is black.
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Love my fold-down laundry table. My brother made it for me. He used a 6′ piece of laminate countertop found at Lowe’s and ordered mounting brackets online. I use the table for folding clothes, piling up folded clothes and it also doubles as a craft table. When not in use, it folds down and lays flat against the wall. On my wish list is a laundry tub, but that can’t happen until I make room by replacing my washer and dryer with stackables. Someday………..
I’ve seen folding counters that slide out from under the dryer when your washer and dryer are stacked. They are on heavy duty drawer slides. My husband is building one for me right now! I think some companies actually sell them too. That might work to solve your space issue.