Elsie’s Laundry Room (BEFORE)

Laudry room BEFORELaundry rooms are so exciting, am I right?

No? Not really?

Hmmm.

I have to admit that even though this room is at the veeerrryy bottom of our list of priorities, I am still VERY excited about it. I think it’s the wannabe organizer in me, but I really love laundry rooms. In our last home, I was really proud of how the laundry room turned out. So, even though it might be a year or more before we can prioritize the time and money to make this room truly beautiful, I’ll thoroughly enjoy the process of dreaming up ideas in the meantime.

Plans so far–replace some surface (per usual), add either color or contrast with paint, and organize it REALLY well to optimize those massive storage shelves and that teeny little broom closet.

Here are some more photos:

SmAR5A4890I love that this room has a sink. SO useful! I plan to replace it with a stainless steel sink so it will be a great, functional place for me to rinse out paint brushes and use for various DIY projects.

SmAR5A4892Here’s the opposite view. You can see the tiny broom closet to the right here. There’s a door that goes outside and bunch of windows, you know—so I can do my laundry in BEAUTIFUL, natural light.

SmAR5A4894You can see the shelves here. It’s awesome to have so much storage space. They are VERY high though. With the washer and dryer in place, I can barely reach the bottom shelves. So some kind of a stool or mini ladder will be necessary.

SmThe yellow counter tops were so my color in, like, 2007. But not anymore. They’re actually kind of charming though! Not keeping them. But I like how June Cleaver they feel.

SmAR5A4896It’s gonna be so pretty once I freshen it up a bit!

SmAR5A4971A close up of the linoleum floors. Definitely ready to be replaced.

SmAR5A4897SmAR5A4888And one last view from both sides. Next time you see this space it will be making some SERIOUS progress! xx- Elsie

ps. As always, if you have ideas and opinions, I LOVE hearing them!

Credits//Author and Photography: Elsie Larson

  • I would change all the cabinet doors to one’s that have glas so you can see the awesome organization that will be Going on in there. Maybe a large fun art piece on that wall

  • I love it! Here in Spain is not that common to have a laundry room, but I think it must be really useful. Is it connected to the kitchen or somewhere?

    Excited to see the changes!!

    xx

  • I live in an apartment in a big city. The idea of a WHOLE room for laundry sounds so luxurious! lol I would be very excited to decorate.

  • hmmm….. So excited to see how it looks! We already changed the counter tops, so now it REALLY looks like it needs a new coat of paint on the cabinets. 🙂
    xx- Elsie

  • This room isn’t connected to the kitchen, it’s actually in the hallway where all the bedrooms are, which I think will be useful for laundry. 🙂
    xx- Elsie

  • Almost everyone in Australia, who lives in a house, has a laundry. But I’ve never heard of a laundry not having a sink! The way that you mention it, makes it sound like a novelty to have one. In Aus the laundry tends to where all sorts of cleaning stuff lives; mops, buckets, brooms, vacuum cleaners, etc. If you don’t normally have a sink how do you soak stained clothes, or fill a bucket for mopping. Not in the kitchen(?)

  • Hi Curious Megan,
    haha! Well, I wouldn’t call it a novelty. But it’s definitely not something you get in every house. Even a lot of pretty nice homes we looked at had the washer and dryer tucked into a closet or in a basement. So having a nice size room with a counter and a sink is pretty exciting for us! :))
    xx- Elsie

  • As you’ve done in the past, open shelves with wire bins would be an easy way to see where everything is, especially since you’ll need to position a stool in the ‘right’ spot to get what you need. I would do a tile backsplash if you’ll be using the sink for cleaning brushes, etc. That far wall would look great with small repeated print wallpaper / stencil / hand painted design. And for the window, a planter box would be really cool. How fun!

  • I would love to see a shiplap tutorial. I’m hoping to use it in our half bathroom. Thanks for all your great inspiration. I’m a Missouri girl too 🙂

  • Random thought: I love look at all of you older late night post they are so fun and I also love your “10 favorite things” post!!!! So fun, so fun!!

  • It’s so funny/interesting to see how your style vibes have evolved after reading the archives! A lot more bright white, marble, and brass now!

  • That’s some nice space you’ve got to work with! Probably the most well-lit laundry room I’ve ever seen.

  • YES to sinks in laundry rooms! I use ours for potting plants, dyeing fiber, soaking hand washables, cleaning up minor scrapes and cuts, hanging air-dry garments over to catch drips, and whatever else… Sinks in laundry rooms are close to being a necessity.

  • I love the fact that there’s a door to the outside so that when you garden or do projects outside and you’re all dirty, you don’t have to go through the house, you can go through the laundry room and wash up before going into the house 🙂

  • Take a look into sinks with washboards built in – there’s one by Ukinox on Wayfair. I remember seeing one on Property Brothers and I thought it was absolute genius. Might be a bit pricey for a laundry but worth it in the long (future baby) run.
    Can’t wait to find out what you do with this room – I love seeing the utility parts of houses become wonderful and pretty.

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