One Room Challenge Week 2 – Spring 2019: Laundry Room Renovation

Hello there! Thanks for checking in. We are in the middle of Week 2 of the One Room Challenge. As I mentioned last week, I am renovating my laundry room, because why not? My daughter said “Mom, it’s just a laundry room. It’s fine. Don’t spend money on that. Let’s travel instead. Just keep the door closed like we always do.” Well, she has a point. It is just a laundry room but why can’t this utilitarian space have some charm as well? Wouldn’t you want to do laundry if you had a laundry room like the beautiful inspiration photo above? Our laundry room is the last room in the house to renovate from scratch and well, it just needs to be prettied up like the other spaces in the house.

Week 1

Here are the Before photos which I took today, by the way. Which means that the demo and work hasn’t started yet. But it’s a small space and should only take about a week to complete. See, sad, right? Not only is it small and windowless but it’s very unappealing and lacking storage. But I think I can make it look a whole lot better.

I inherited the appliances from the previous owners of the house. They are at least 8 years old and in good shape so we donated them to Habitat for Humanity. I think the pedestals make the small space feel even smaller and of course, a counter on top would be impractical. Also, the new appliances will be white adding to the brightness of the room. Did you notice the doors on the washer and dryer? Yes, they are facing away from each other rather than towards. Will fix that with the new appliances.

The laundry room is on the second floor adjacent to my daughter’s bathroom.

This is my upper landing and although I LOVE the wallpaper here, the antique armoire was just there temporarily. I need to sell it so if anyone is interested, let me know. I will be installing cabinetry across the back wall which will add function and be more balanced and aesthetically pleasing. Oh, and this is the reason that I’m not wallpapering the laundry room – it would be too much of a good thing with this beautiful paper right outside.

Last week I shared the inspiration images which are guiding the direction of the design along with the additional inspiration image at the beginning of this post. You have these ideas in your head but it’s always nice to see some of them realized in photos.

This is the design concept for the space. I am so excited to be working with some new brands I have never worked with before and a brand that I have partnered with for years.

Vanessa Francis Design

Ikea has been my go to for affordable cabinetry and products for years. Most recently, I designed my sister’s kitchen using Ikea cabinetry but I also have them in my basement as well. For my laundry room renovation, I am using their new AXSTAD matte white doors. Have you seen them? They have an extra detail within the inset panel – very pretty. I also can’t wait to install them in the upper hall just outside the laundry room and I will be sharing that as well. The Karlby countertop in oak comes in a wider depth perfect for over appliances in a laundry room.
I first discovered Native Trails at KBIS (Kitchen & Bath Show) in 2015 and I was just smitten with their gorgeous products. I feel they are a product line under the radar especially up here in Canada. I am using their Farmhouse 2418 sink in Ash. Do you recall the 1940’s vintage laundry sink in one of the inspiration photos last week? Well, I had searched high and low for a similar vintage sink with no luck. Then I came across this small yet deep 24-inch wide single bowl concrete sink perfectly sized for a smaller kitchen, a kitchen prep sink, or for a laundry room. I cannot wait for this to arrive and to get it installed. My contractor is building a wood stand for it and I will place marble behind it to protect the wall.
My go to place for appliances has always been Goeman’s so I was thrilled when they agreed to partner with me on the washer and dryer. I have yet to decide on the model and at one point I was thinking of going back to a top load because of difficulties keeping the front load washer clean and odour free. In the end I am going with a front load primarily because I want to run a counter over the appliances. Stay tuned for when I share my in store experience at Goeman’s. PS I am currently without a washer and dryer so I see trips to the laundromat in my future.
No surprise that I am working with one of my most favourite and supportive brands again and that would be Metrie. I am using their casing and baseboards as I have throughout the house. But I’m super excited to also use their Option M Modern Farmhouse Shiplap and apply it vertically on the walls. It will be painted out a gorgeous shade of green (yet to be determined but similar to the sample above.) It will also be similar to the colour of my kitchen island as I love that colour so much – Benjamin Moore Night Train. I will share more on shiplap in a future post.
The beautiful Kohler faucet is from Wayfair Canada. I love that it is a modern take on cross handles – it straddles the line between modern and traditional which is just the way I like to mix things up. I love ordering from Wayfair as items are usually in stock to ship within a few days which is great when you are running on a deadline.
My signature look is black and white with a hint of colour. The tiles will be a black porcelain herringbone (similar to the opening image) and the wall tiles will be a black penny round which will look beautiful against the white cabinetry
I will attempt to paint a portrait of my sweet Ellie because I can’t think of anything else that would make me smile as much as her while doing laundry. The painting of the adorable pup above is from here via Pinterest.
I already had the ceiling fixture but had yet to install it in my guest room. I think it will be perfect in the laundry room and a little bit of brass will add some glam and warmth and work well with the brass wall mount faucet.

What are your thoughts? I really can’t wait to see this all come together. Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly these next few weeks!

Go see what the featured designers have been up to here and the guest participants here. And follow these hashtags on social media to see 100’s of other transformations: #oneroomchallenge and #bhgorc

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