I decided that the plan of attack was to first get the house livable and functional. Then the fun stuff, the decorating. But the house is twice the floor space we had before, so its a little overwhelming. Don't get me wrong, we don't have a mansion, but 2000 square feet is big for a lifetime apartment dweller! I made a list, which only seems to get longer as I go along, but never mind that. First off was the laundry room. I chose this only because it was the smallest room in the house and I thought I could knock it out quickly. I'm so naive. It took about a week, but I might actually venture to say I enjoy doing the laundry now because I get to visit this little room.
Before: I painted the room before I realized I hadn't taken a real "before" picture. I was on a time crunch because Sears was coming the next day with the washer and dryer, so I had to move fast! The paint is actually leftover from Little Bug's nursery in the apartment. I thought it would make this little room more cheery because there are no windows in there. Apologies for the sad iPhone pic. It was late, I was tired.
After: It took about a week to complete after the paint and appliances were put in, but I love the results. I made, as in "made from scratch", the counter top. Home Depot has a nice product called Pure Bond. This one happens to be Red Oak, but they are all nice. Home Depot was even nice enough to cut it down to size for me. I chuckled when he asked me if I had measurements. Of course, dude! Who asks to get get something cut without measurements? I guess it happens all the time. I'm not that girl. Anyway, he cut it, I sanded and stained it (using 2 different colors of stain), and lovingly brushed 3 layers of polyurethane on it. The last part was not my favorite. They aren't kidding when they say to get a good brush for this job. I spent way too much time picking out my cheap brush bristles from the sticky poly. Not fun. But in the end it was a pretty darn close match to the existing cabinets.
This room is only 5.5'x6', so I had to bust out the wide angle lens to get most of the room in the picture. The counter top is hung from the walls (but still removable), so there is some clearance above the appliances to keep air circulating and reduce vibration noise since it's right next to the baby's room. I hung the ironing board from hooks because I liked it better than the generic contraption that also hangs the iron. I can hide the ugly iron in the cabinets! There are three other hooks on the white stripe to hang drying clothes, or whatever. The over sized safety pins are from Ballard Design. They add a cool vintage touch to the walls.
I'm still looking for a nice black and white rug to complete the look, but nothing has spoken to me yet.
I gathered a few decorative items to jazz up the counter top, and to hide the ugly water spigots. The laundry sign is a free printable, but I can't remember where from for the life me! I've had the easel for years and have no idea where that came from either. The candle holder is used for collecting coins my hubby leaves in his pockets. It was on post-holiday clearance for $2.98 at Target. The berry picking pot was a purchase last summer at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. That place is SO much fun! The (fake) plant is from Ikea and was stolen from the kitchen. I "hid" the detergent and other such items in the basket because I didn't want the Costco-sized container we actually use to be on display. I just refill the little ones when they get low. The big guns are hidden in the cabinets. Since these pictures where taken I've added a very large apothecary jar filled with Oxyclean. That stuff is magic, especially if you have pets and kids.
So that's one room crossed off the list. On to the next project!
-Sarah
