A Laundry Room with Style
The prospect of sorting, folding, and pre-treating
may not sound like a lot of fun, but in a laundry
room with some pizzazz, going through pockets
and ironing suddenly becomes much more
interesting. The problem with most laundry
rooms is that they are dish water, or rather,
laundry-water dull. Fix that with a laundry room
that exudes style and flair.
Build on the basics
Because a laundry room must retain
its proper function, focus first on making
sure it meets all the basic needs with a
washer, dryer, sink for washing delicates,
a folding area, and storage for washing
needs. Going a step further than just the
basics, like this room shows, can take the
laundry room from practical to practically
wonderful. For instance, the tall washer
and dryer on stands are wonderful back savers – and if you’ve ever picked up a basketful of blue jeans from the floor, you know what I’m talking about. They also offer storage. Once the basics are handled, it’s time to add some interest.
Start with color
If there’s one room in the house that can use a shot of energy, it’s the laundry room. The fastest way to correct washday doldrums is with a fresh coat of bright paint. This room has wonderful lime green paint on the walls above the cream-colored wainscoting. The lime green serves as that great punch of color between the black appliances and cabinets, and the white of the wainscoted walls, and makes the whole room more vibrant.
The curtains and seat cushion are doubled sided with coordinating fabrics in varying patterns with contrasting piping. This kind of pairing keeps the room fun, yet sophisticated. Working patterns together this way is visually interesting and custom-looking, yet it’s so easy to do.
Selecting a black washer and dryer and having them built into the cabinets not only keeps them out of the way, but also makes them less obvious. Because, let’s face it, a washer and dryer aren’t the prettiest appliances and these are both great ways to make them less noticeable.
Build in features
Once you’ve got color and basic functions down, it’s time to build in some custom features. This laundry room has a number of wonderful accents that can be easily re-created in most laundry rooms.
Chief among these is wainscoting and wall mouldings. Wainscoting is now produced in panels, making it a quick and easy application. The picture frame moulding adds a finishing touch to the wainscoting on the wall. A crowning touch of crown moulding is also applied here, and why not?
Crown moulding isn’t only for living areas and bedrooms. Dressing up a laundry room this way makes it so much more important – and that makes it more enjoyable to be in. A plate rail also provides a place to display collectibles and can be made easily with one by four lumber.
Great accents
Fun accents and touches are another
element of this show-stopping laundry
room. Mosaic tile work on the sink board
is echoed in the mosaic tile buttons on
the floor. Even plain tiles in varying colors
could be used, but this mosaic feel really
stands out from the crowd.
A bench with storage provides a spot
to sit down and take off shoes or
gardening boots, and shelves above
make the perfect place to store gloves
and other miscellaneous items. The
narrow table adds more display space and can double as a folding counter. Bringing in a furniture piece like this also helps put the laundry room on an equal footing with the rest of the rooms in the house.
Accessorize
Yes, even a laundry room needs a touch of decorating. Accessories are what pull this room together around a bird theme. Quaint, yet inexpensive, bird houses fill in the open cabinets and top of the counter. Framed art in the laundry room brings in sophistication and ties in with the other bird elements found in the cabinets and on the side table. As always, greenery rounds out the look. No room comes to life until life has been added, so don’t forget to bring in real or silk plants.
When you’re ready for your next decorating project, why not focus on that long-neglected laundry room? You might find yourself doing laundry more often – or at the very least enjoying the time you spend there.
© 2007 Kathryn Weber, all rights reserved
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Kathryn Weber is the publisher of the Everydayclean.com Cleaning Calender, that calender that puts you in control of your home by ending the power struggle. For more information log on to http://tinyurl.com/d9rh5.
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©2001-2007 Kathryn Weber
All rights reserved.
