When we moved into our house, the laundry room in the basement was completely unfinished (much like our furnace room that Dain has been busy insulating and man-decorating). Last fall Dain insulated it and added drywall, and we painted the floors gray and the walls a very bright color that basically screams “get excited to do some laundry.” It was a huge improvement, especially when it came to the bearable factor in the winter because before that was done, it was an icebox in there. Now it is nice and toasty, but it’s not quite finished. We added a new utility sink (that was a huge improvement from the 1964 model), new gas lines, a countertop with undermount cabinets, a laundry organizer, and a few large shelves for storage. But as always, there are still projects in there. The most obvious is the need for a ceiling and new lighting with the next most pressing issue being finding a way to maximize the space for our needs. We put on our thinking caps, and here’s where we are at.
The room is currently looking pretty good (compared to where we started anyways). Our dryer clinked almost immediately after we moved in, which explains why our washer and dryer aren’t exactly twins. We got the dryer at an appliance outlet for a really good deal though, and the washer works for now so we are letting it roll.
Dain added this sink along with the cabinet above it that came from our original bathroom upstairs before we gutted and remodeled that in its entirety.
We also added these two cabinets, and Dain cut a tabletop that we already had to fit and mounted it on top to make room for our laundry organizer underneath.
We’re not sure if the bikes will stay, but we also currently have these living in this room. It’s hard to find a good spot for something so big and cumbersome in such a small space.
Under the stairs is where Dain’s art nook lies. He finished it out when he did the rest of the room, and it provides a good amount of space for all of his art supplies.
We also have these random mismatched shelving units that hold all of our miscellaneous items, like our fun kitchen gadgets that will not fit in the kitchen cupboards. And this room also houses our vacuum, ironing board, and a few other cleaning items.
However, as you can see, the ceiling leaves a lot to be desired. There are these two weird light fixtures and no ceiling to speak of really, which is why we have plans to cover up all of this grossness.
The other problem is that the door doesn’t close all the way. The solution to that problem is to cut the door down with a table saw.
So what are we planning? For starters, we are thinking of buying some (relatively) inexpensive unfinished wall cabinets to mount above our current countertop to provide more enclosed storage. We are also going to add a shelf above the washing machine to hold our laundry detergent in a more organized way.
Dain also has dreams of adding a built-in ironing board. I don’t view this as a necessity, but apparently the clunky ironing board bothers him on some level that I don’t experience. He’s thinking of one like this that he found online at Home Depot.
He’s also thinking of consolidating the current shelves into one larger unit to better organize our kitchen and miscellaneous items.
Another nice little feature would be a retractable drying line because there are a few items that seem to fare better on the line than in the dryer.
Finally, Dain is thinking about a drop ceiling like this. It’s a little fancier than those old school ceiling tiles, but it shouldn’t break the bank. According to Dain, it should be no problem to attach a ceiling like this since it only requires suspending it with wires.
That is our current plan. Now that it is getting colder outside, we’ll hopefully be able to start doing some of these renovations soon. And hopefully we will end up with a beautiful laundry room. Or at least a really functional one. What’s your laundry room like? Is it in a basement dungeon like ours was before we started to finish this room? Or are you already rolling with a fab and functional room?
