Wow, it's hard to believe this thread was dug out of the depths! I'm sure by now it had to be on page 20 or 30. LOL California dreamer, the piece had plain cabinet doors on it. DH took them off, built an oversized front lined with cork and hinged it from the top and then we just screwed in little hooks from the bottom. Wahlah a multipurpose thingymagig. Our came from Lowes and they don't carry them any more but I bought one for my Mom from Sears, they call it a laundry valet. Thanks for the compliments! Neesie, I love wall words and have them on my pantry door. I had considered using one in the laundry room and I really like the same one you do. Thanks for the suggestion, I may go ahead and do it now... Alicia, my sweet friends came from Stein Mart but we have owned them for 6 or 7 years now. I just checked and it doesn't have a stamp or makers mark anywhere on them, sorry... patricia, Thanks, thanks and thanks! The pinky thing is actually a light terra cotta, I wonder if I sealed it with and enhancer if it would look more orangey? Anyway I have changed a bunch in the room but still haven't gotten around to the valance. Here's the new pictures minus the cover I made for the electrical panel, what do ya'll think? I decluttered a bunch and got some new baskets for underneath and moved a few things around. Any improvement??

Smallhouse: Thank you for the links to your friends new kitchen. I like it! And it is so helpful to see how some ideas have worked out in small space. TBB123: Our upstairs is not too-too convoluted, but we do have a room that was divided in half. Both rooms are useful, but one is a weird shape. If your son ever puts info on his house online, I'd be very curious to snoop into what they've done with it. (I haven't gotten the chance yet, but I will map my other two floors and post the diagrams to this thread.) Brewcat: Happy hunting for renovation ideas. I am going to order a copy of the book you mention. I have read a little bit on rowhouse history, since I live in one and am (barring a massive career shift) setting down roots here. But what I read was not super detailed. I bet the book would be very illuminating. Maybe I could even figure out when our house was built... I have a rough idea but its really rough. Thanks for your observations re: the real estate market. My broad impressions are in line with yours on Fed Hill and Canton. I am uncertain what is true in my own market (Hampden). The market is not, I think, nearly as robust; at least, the home values are not as high as Canton. There has been a noticable uptick in buying and selling since I got here (I bought during the housing crash), and all the sudden people are gutting properties and doing the total overhaul inside that tbb123 and 4kids mentioned. Will the trend continue? It seems very recent, almost like it started last summer. I'm not sure I trust it yet. It does make me feel optimistic about the wisdom of smaller projects, esp if they improve aesthetics. I did try to do a little survey of what was up for sale this spring. A lot of houses have 2 baths, and many of them - not even the totally overhauled homes - have those baths above or below first floor. A lot of people who could use a basement seem to have done so. But it's also not super hard to find places that do have the first floor bath. So if a buyer wants it, she will have a choice of houses, and some will offer it. My suspicion is that, in terms of the market especially, there is wisdom in holding onto the powder room. One reason a person might consider Hampden over some other areas is that you can get a little more space for your money, you may be able to get a little yard, and the prices for the not-totally-overhauled houses is still reasonable. My observation is that this has attracted a lot of couples with babies and toddlers. And that, as some have pointed out, makes the first floor bath an asset. Also, having looked over our house very hard this last weekend, I realize that it might be difficult to find (a lot) more bathroom space on the other floors. So if I have space for a powder room on floor 1, it might be a bad idea to erase it. One advantage of the daylight rowhouse layout is that even if we keep the back partially blocked by the powder room, we could invest in nice windows all along the wall that is not shared with neighbors. It is mostly closed off right now, but it is south-facing and very bright. I suspect it that more windows would really open up and brighten the space.

Kirkhall, without doubt, that's the easiest, cheapest option here -- I looked at Lowes online and found nothing bigger than 36" and told myself, "Well, that's what's available". This would eliminate the need for a separate door. Everything could fit together in one room, nothing stacked and room for the cart. Thanks for sharing this! Yes, blocking the hallway would be a negative. These doors are 24" each, and my hallway's in the neighborhood of 42" ... so that would mean a person could turn sideways and scoot by these opened doors, but it wouldn't be convenient. However, realistically, if the washer door is open, it's blocking the hallway, so does it really matter if the bifold door ALSO blocks the hallway? Choices! Thanks, Kirkhall!

Has anyone installed the pivot and slide doors in their W/D area? I stopped by a custom cabinet maker yesterday and she said they can do it, but the widest cabinet door they make is 24", so for my stacking W/D I'd need a pair of doors. But that won't work. My contractor's plan was to put the hookups on the side wall so they can be easily reached. Also, it takes 4" on each side to accommodate the pivot and slide doors (they build a little partition using 3/4" plywood). So that means I'm losing 8" just to accommodate the doors, which would eat into the pantry space next to the W/D. This company makes hardware that can accommodate a 30" wide door. Has anyone used them or someone like them? https://www.rockler.com/kv8091-slides-full-overlay-pocket-door-system-pocket-door-slides Any hope that I can keep the dream of pivot and slide doors on the W/D? lol ;)