Thursday, January 24, 2013

I am not the Laundress, but now that I have this room, they may come and get me..

Okay - yesterday was a deep day.  But to quote one of my favourite singers from the late 80s, Edie Brickell, "choke me in the shallow waters, before I get too deep.."

So today is all about the reno of my laundry room.

It isn't completely done, but I am so excited I could not wait to show you anyway!  All of the work was done by Barry except the crack-filling of the ceiling.  Isn't that amazing?  (well not yet I know, you haven't seen it yet, but remember how amazing that is when we get there, okay?)
This was the ugliest laundry room I have ever seen.  Dirty brown broken linoleum floor, old panelling painted a horrendous yellow, a broken window.  To be fair, the broken window was a relatively late addition to the already disasterous room.  It was broken purposefully by my son, who, upon finding himself locked out of the house during a bad snowstorm, and for some reason that is known only to him and his god, broke it to get in the house.  He never thought to go next door and use the neighbour's phone to call us!  Yes, I know.  You don't have to say anything.  I know.  There is more to this story, involving an ambulance, broken glass and a cut bottom, but I do not tell the whole story without having at least 2 drinks.  I am saving that one for Miller Time!  I know - off topic, but I am painting a picture here of utter desolation and despair.  And we lived with this desolation and despair for 15 years.

Please, compose yourselves.  It is sad, but we must all soldier on.



Sadly, i forgot to rush in and take a picture just before Barry ripped up the linoleum floor.  Likely this was some kind of blanking out on my part!  The picture above shows the stained concrete beneath.



Looking at the old window and the drywall.  By now the old set tub, worn down by too many years of the dog and other things being bathed in it, is gone.

To the right of the window was another cupboard and a water softener and water heater that were open in the room.  Always attractive.  Makes you want to go in and shoot darts, doesn't it?



Walking into the room, the washer and dryer on your left.  You can see he had everything torn apart...



He actually moved the door three feet to the left and built a new wall so that the washer/dryer could move over and make room for a nice new sink.


And he had by now torn out the old stained, dropped panel, ceiling, though you can see the delightful fluorescent light that had guided my laundry practises these last 15(!) years...

And in the middle of the reno:




THE REVEAL:

Consider me the Oprah to Barry's Nate. 



TA-DA!




Opening the door...Do you like the fun floor?  New walls, new window, new hardware on the cupboards!  New ceiling! New light fixtures!  All painted a nice crisp white and seafoam green.




Over the washer and dryer is a new countertop, a new deep laundry sink, lovely new lights, the fresh walls.  In the bottom right hand, you can see that he has not finished the facing that will go in front of the sink.  The little cupboard up above the sink to the right hides a laundry shoot (okay - all you early commenters, you must like me cause not one of you told me that I had typed too quickly and wrote shoot instead of chute!!!!) from our bedroom to the laundry room!  The laundry sink even has a built-in washboard in it!  Isn't that smart?

A close-up of my basket for detergeant and the new clock radio that we went out and bought so we can listen to music or CBC while we fold laundry:




Lovely elegant trim on the ceiling.

And a new cupboard that hides the water softener and the water heater.  It is just so bright and cheerful!


You can see that my beer fridge does not have the cupboard finished over it and painting is not completed on that wall.  He is still working on that!


The walls are bare, but not for long.  We are awaiting two Etsy orders.  Over the wall where the clock is will be these symbols, which will be helpful for someone like me:

Laundry Washing Symbols w/Labels Decor/Sticker FREE SHIPPING VI00102

And over the countertop, visually between the two lights, will be this definition:

Laundry Definition

I think you can see the inspiration for the colour!  The whole room now feels fresh and clean, which is a delight when one has to do something as prosaic as laundry.  However, if truth be told, I think I loathed doing laundry so much because I loathed the laundry room!

What you can't see is that in the summertime, my laundry room window will be partially filled with bee balm and honeysuckle as there is a lovely patch of it right outside that window!  When they are in bloom, that window will be open constantly!

So what do you think?  I think Barry and I could do this professionally, don't you, searching our ugly laundry rooms around the world and like Mike Holmes "Making It Right?"

Now when you come over for a glass of wine, we may just haul our chairs down here, to watch the laundry spin around, listen to music and the humm of progress and just enjoy it all.

I hope you have the loveliest of Thursdays!  Stay Safe (and for many of us, warm!) out there!  FFM, I may just get in my car and drive to you - the thermometer just hit - 22!

51 comments:

  1. this is absolutely lovely. I had to laugh when you mentioned watching the laundry spin around. The summer that I was a camp counselor, we were driven into The Town Where Two Roads Don't Cross every week to do our personal laundry, and the migrant workers from nearby farms would be there watching their clothes go around. The guys had worked out a way of betting, I think it was on which item of clothing would be mostly on top when the cycle stopped. I never understood it, so I never placed a bet.

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    1. That is so funny! If I take this up I will let you know - maybe there could be a live feed in the corner of the blog where Nigel could take bets and everyone could see how it all works on it! You know I may be looking for a career change! Other blogs advertise, we could bet on laundry!! I love "The Town Where Two Roads Don't Cross"

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  2. O my gosh, I'm giddy with excitement for you. The transformation is sensational. May I say your laundry room is beautiful? Can I borrow Barry for ... maybe a few months?

    I'll come over for a glass of wine when the bee balm and honeysuckle bloom. You can come visit now. We had some low 80s last weekend and after this weekend's rain, it will be mid-60s and sunny next week.

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    1. Careful Tiffany Rose - you and Kathy live in a part of the world I have never been and am dying to visit! Maybe that is our next career - travel to people's houses, stay with them and help them get some work done!

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  3. Oh it's so beautiful! My washer dryer is in the kitchen, which is quite common here, we envy all of you for your exclusive laundry rooms. And oh to have a husband that can do things, mine is hopeless at anything handy, I got a quote yesterday for a horrible job outside that needs done - £1200! Ugh,so come Spring I will be getting out the wheelbarrow and stripping part of the driveway, then shovelling new chips on top - am dreading it.

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    1. Hey - I am seeing something here! This could become our work-cation - we visit folks for a week or two, Barry does the work they need done gratis! I hate the driveway stuff just miserable.

      I actually had contemplated moving them up into the kitchen, but we are stogged full there. Actually, we are stogged full everywhere. I keep putting things in my crawl place (christened the scrawl place by Sydney when she was 5 years old) in anticipation of the dreaded spring yard sale. Oh that will be a bad day as Barry hates people as a general rule (despite being very friendly and jovial) - he is shy and it takes him a bit to get going and then he never stops and he is dancing to answer the door... Whereas I always started out dancing!

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    2. Wendy - yes rent him out in exchange for a fortnight's holiday!

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    3. People here would envy you for having your laundry on the main floor of the house (or at least not in the basement). Carrying laundry up and down 2 flights of stairs is a pain!

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    4. Well he thinks you are beautiful Tabs, so it could be dangerous! :-)

      Cate - I am with you - even with the laundry chute and the new room, carrying it all back up is a real pain!

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  4. I can't believe it! It's gorgeous! What a difference and that Barry is a genius. As you know we can't even really change lightbulbs. I so admire people who can do this stuff themselves.
    I had my laundry room redone a few years ago and it made such a difference to my life. It was truly hideous before. You are going to love working in there and the image of the window open to the summer garden is so pretty. I'm going to plant something nice outside of my laundry room window this summer, thanks for the inspiration.
    The colours are perfect and the floor is so fun, really you did a wonderful job!

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    1. Dani - the lightbulb line cracked me up! Once at an Irish funeral full of lots of 80 year men, we got a flat tyre and hub's called the AA - the shame was more than palpable, old men with walking sticks were irate at him, and they ended up changing it whilst we stood like a couple of frilled up little Lord Fauntleroys!

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    2. Darlinks, if you do live with someone handy you still have to nudge, convince, bribe, persuade etc. that they should get out their Allen wrench instead of reading, game watching, gone fishing, road tripping etc.

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    3. OH Where to begin to respond to these!

      Dani - I am a lightbulb changer myself. I can't do a whole lot, but I am a good (in my own opinion, which is what really matters) decorator, so we work it through together. We usually only ask for help when we are stuck re-imagining one more time or need to make sure we take the right wall out!

      Tabs - OMG! That is the funniest story ever. Was your husband very quiet driving home. I admit to being shamelessly sexist about a) tire changing b) bug/critter killing

      GF - you are RIGHT ON! The room was a torn apart mess for a year. On a certain day, something moves him and he is away to the races. He is like all the tradesmen that way!

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    4. GF--- I have the opposite issue-- I have merely to think outloud about a project and ML is at it. Have to be very careful as I like to think about something for ,say, 2-3 years before actioning.

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    5. Lane - somewhere in the middle is the perfect home handyman!

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    6. When we my husband and I first began living together, I came home to a note that said "Please call electrician, many lightbulbs out." It's been a running joke in our family for years.

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    7. Oh Kathy - that is too funny! AT least you knew not to call Dani and Mr. BP!

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    8. Tabs that is hysterical!! My hubs is so hopeless I would PAY him not to attempt any "handy" jobs.
      Kathy, can I get a copy of that note??

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    9. Oh the flat tire story is priceless! Little Lord Fauntleroys!
      Kathy that note is hilarious. I can see MrBP leaving something like that for me. I can change lamps but those lights in the ceiling I have to phone my handyman, it's true!

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    10. Tabs - I told Barry this story and he was shaking his head with wonder. If your old boys are like the old boys around here, I am surprised they let you keep the car!

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  5. This room is gorgeous! It's nicer than any room in my house lol. Barry did such a great job, and you must have had a vision for the room and it's turned out beautifully. You could definitely host Miller Time there!

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    1. Maybe we will have one miller time here in late June - looking our whilst the bee balm is in bloom and the hummers are everywhere!

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  6. NAILED IT! WMM, Dancing at the floor, the Etsy finds and those pendant lights. A laundry room with a beer & party food fridge *dies*. Know a few folks at Alliance-Atlantis and I am tempted to pitch your "Renos on the Road" show. My own laundry closet just won't wash anymore. But I am chuffed to bits for you - 15 years is a patient wait. (Also looking for extra work and bit of a yard-estate sale set-up navvy, maybe that's when I should come visit you?)

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    1. Oh and Barry definitely is the bomb!

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    2. GF - maybe that is what we are supposed to be doing! Of course, the houses we visit have to pay for their own materials!

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  7. Ack, it's gorgeous!! Well done Barry and you! Love the countertop over the machines for folding and what-not. The shelves over the beer fridge are genius. With my cleaning up and staging for the house sale, I did a mini-makeover of my laundry room and it makes a world of difference. Just bringing in some cute bins and baskets, putting a skirt up over the ugly sink, tossing down a cheerful rug and organizing everything really spruced things up. It's so much nicer to do laundry now!

    Thanks for sharing, I adore a good before and after! :)

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    1. Thanks! It will be even better when all done, but I have no ability to wait! I took a LOT of pictuers of my family room as it is so ugly for the reveal later this spring/summer. That is, if the mood hit him!

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  8. Absolutely fabulous! You would have a fun floor ( mine would be boring) and the deep sink! I am one of the hand washers of sweaters and this would be so great to have.

    I have my washer-dryer in a hall closet near the bedrooms upstairs so I don't have to go up and down; Like the counter on top of the machines so may need to action this. Team Barry-WMM--- thumbs up!

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    1. Well I do like a bit of whimsy as you know! And the deep sink - it was cheaper than stainless steel! And so much more practical. I wish we had an upstairs hallway. We have what could best be described as a "space" at the top of the stairs between all of our rooms!

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  9. It looks fantastic and such a cheerful place to do laundry. Really great job, and wonderful planning on both your parts.

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  10. I am a long-time lurker, first time poster, but had to say job well done!

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    1. Well I love long-time lurkers, because I am a long-time lurker on some blogs myself, so thank you so much for your kind words!

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  11. Hi WMM, what a wonderful job you and Barry did! I love the colours and I am besotted with that floor - I've never seen such a lovely, whimsical pattern on flooring before.
    Our laundry room is tiny, it's on the way to the garage and there's very little floor space. It was the first room I painted, so that's fine, but I definitely need more shelving. Anyway, well done!

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    1. Hi Patricia! Thanks! Got the flooring at Home Depot, or as I like to call it "Home Despot"! I think it is fun, although it turns out new flooring does not hide the dirt so well as old dirty flooring! Who knew??

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  12. Congratulations on the spiffy new laundromat!! Mine is so hideous, and I detest doing laundry so much I let my hubs do it most of the time out of desperation. Of course he's horrible at it, so I hide things I care about.
    Hmm, sitting watching the laundry go around sounds like fun with the right cocktails involved.
    LOL...my son's antics have been buried so far in my subconscious it would take many, many drinks to excavate them.
    Out of desperation I've learned how to wire a light fixture, replace the pipes under a sink and other nasty jobs. If I ask hubs to change a lightbulb he's more likely to short the whole house out!

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    1. You are a heroine! I need to learn those things, too. The horrible truth of it is that I have no patience, so even when he is trying to teach me some of these things in my head I am thinking "should I buy those pants? Did I leave a light on? WOnder what time Modern Family is on?" And then he accuses me of not caring!!!

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  13. Another long time lurker de-lurking to say that this was a fantastic inspired job! I may be motivated to undertake some renos myself. My problem is that I usually get uninspired after I have ripped or taken everything out and I am discouraged by the mess. You guys did a great job of soldiering on!
    I can feel the fresh new atmosphere of the room through the photos.

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    1. Hi Jill! Thanks so much for de-lurking and saying such nice things! What we are doing differently now is that we have a whole plan and we follow it, step by step. and we have the finished plan that we work on with one of our friends who is a designer who helps discipline us. It has made all the difference in the world! Good luck!

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  14. I especially love the polkadot floor and the big counter for folding clothes and drying sweaters! My laundry room is deplorable. It is the catch all for everything. Friends coming over at a moments notice? Every piece of junk that isn't bolted to the ground gets hurled into the laundry room. Problem is is nothing ever leaves. The laundry room is the portal to purgatory where junk sits awaiting it's fate. My room totally needs some divine intervention but you're looks awesome!

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    1. Shopping Celle,

      I still have a room like that. Once we do our family room clean up - will turn my beady eyes to it. It always looks like a jump heap and it is such a lovely room with lovely light, but we use it as spare room, storage room, plant room, etc, and people throw everything in there, me included!

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  15. Well done! I almost cheated and scrolled down immediately. But I am glad I waited through all "mess" for the big reveal. The colors are so fitting for a laundry room and the layout will make the menial tasks a bit better. It is beautiful.

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    1. Thanks BB! Wasn't it a mess? and it was a mess for many months. I am not a good person when it is that messy that long. But I sucked it up!

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  16. WMM,youre husband is a genius!That really is a job well done.

    Everything just looks so beautiful and inviting. I have my washer/dryer in the basement and it is no fun doing laundry in a freezing cold basement.

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    1. HI Ina!

      When I was a kid growing up, our washer and dryer was in the basement near the old sump pump. It was so creepy down there - there was a cold room, cobwebs everywhere, I was always so scared when my mother sent me down there!

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  17. I love it, WMM! Barry did such a fantastic job! I know you must be absolutely thrilled to have such a wonderful place to do your laundry after all these years...it really is such a lovely and inviting space!

    You are more than welcome to load up in the car and head down here! We would love to have you! :)

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    1. we will wait to see if you end up in a more exotic locale someday, but to be honest, I LOVE Florida. Love, love, love. There is nothing that I have seen about Florida so far that is not to love! Plus, I found all the people so friendly!

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  18. It is BEAUTIFUL! I love to see renovations. Don't hate me for telling you that I was in Pottery Barn today and they had the prettiest ironing board/covers ever- almost reminded me of the 1980's Laura Ashley home collections. I think they might match your room.(sorry!)

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    1. Oh will have to check when we go thru Portland in march!

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  19. It's beautiful! Congratulations on a lovely new place to spic-n-span your duds :)

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