basement laundry room spruce-up

12 years ago

Hi everyone,

I have an ugly laundry room, with low-hanging ductwork (recently painted black to blend in with th rest of the basement), concrete block walls, etc.

I am hoping to organize it as we are getting new flooring next week, and I'll have to put everything back into the room once the floor is installed. The new flooring will be white and gray tile set in a checkerboard on the diagonal.

I really need the following:

-a place to hang wet clothes (ideas for racks? free-standing racks? things that can be installed on the joists of the floor above?) And where would I put something like this?

-shelving above the W/D for storage (but I'm afraid to drill into my concrete-block walls, as there is dirt on the other side, and I don't want to tempt moisture....am I just being paranoid here?)

-a way to camouflage the gas hot water heater and furnace--a screen? curtain? bifold doors as in younghouselove? I realize they need venting, but I'm hoping to make it work somehow.

-a way to make my lighting look better. I just have two bare compact flourescents. I guess I could get my electrician to come back and install a couple of real fixtures, but I'm hoping for a cheaper idea than that.

And then the normal things like paint colors, disguising ugly stuff, etc. I know the ceiling looks low, but trust me--it is much better painted than it was before. The desk you see in the picture is actually where I keep all of my tools, nails, hardware, painting supplies, etc. I could paint it white or a fun color--so ideas on that are also welcome.

Figuring all of this out would really, really improve the space and at least make it functional and hopefully less dirty.

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Comments (8)

juliekcmo
12 years ago
I saw a great LR redo a few years back in a magazine.

To hide the WH, they used corrugated tin stood on its side and curved to stand on its end. That would work well for you. You can finish off the top edge with some HVAC duct/insulation tape (it is a shiny foil color). Then you can use clothes pins to hang artwork on wire on string from the top of the screen.

I finally had our electrician put in very very basic tube florescent lighting in my basement, and it is really awesome. I recommend to do that. It was not expensive at all.

For clothes drying. I think you could do a chrome clothes rack for hanger clothes, and a chrome "clothes horse" for flat drying. Also make sure to have a outlet in the right spot for the iron so you can have the ironing board there too.

Check out Better Homes and Gardens website for lots of ideas on the cabinets and storage.

And I think you should pick fun colors that you might not use elsewhere in the house...need to put some pep in the drudgery!
deeinohio
12 years ago
Ballard Design has some great wall-mounted drying racks. I ended up buying a vintage for my LR, but I only rack dry a few things.
Dee

Here is a link that might be useful: Laundry racks
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I'm looking at possibly moving my washer/dryer to the other side of the basement, but I have a few questions. In addition to moving the laundry, I'd also like to add a lavatory (bar sink) just upstream of the laundry. I have above ground access to a 4inch waste line that runs along the basement floor. However, in order to tie my new line into the current line at this point, I'd have to run the new line (likely 3 inch) just above the old 4 inch line, then drop down to tie into the old waste line. Is this possible? I'd like to know before I waste my time with a permit application and discussion with an inspector. How would they connect? I'm envisioning a 3inch horizontal from the CW and lavatory traps, connecting to a sanitary tee with a cleanout, dropping down to a long sweep 4x3 wye to mate with the 4inch waste line. This is a bit of a complicated path for the waste to follow. Is it legit? If not, how could it be done so it follows code (I live in PA)? This is an old house (1915) and the basement will never be finished. I'm just trying to move the current set-up to a more favorable location. Also, for venting, I have access to a 4inch vertical in the basement that serves as the waste stack for a second floor bathroom set (WC, Lav, Bath/Shower). I'm assuming that I cannot tie into this for venting. I can run a vent line to the attic to tie into this same stack if necessary. I could also use AAVs for the basement lav and washer. For the basement lav, the distance between the trap and potential tie-in is ~30 feet. This line would serve no other fixtures other than the basement lav and CW.
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I'm looking at possibly moving my washer/dryer to the other side of the basement, but I have a few questions. In addition to moving the laundry, I'd also like to add a lavatory (bar sink) just upstream of the laundry. I have above ground access to a 4inch waste line that runs along the basement floor. However, in order to tie my new line into the current line at this point, I'd have to run the new line (likely 3 inch) just above the old 4 inch line, then drop down to tie into the old waste line. Is this possible? I'd like to know before I waste my time with a permit application and discussion with an inspector. How would they connect? I'm envisioning a 3inch horizontal from the CW and lavatory traps, connecting to a sanitary tee with a cleanout, dropping down to a long sweep 4x3 wye to mate with the 4inch waste line. This is a bit of a complicated path for the waste to follow. Is it legit? If not, how could it be done so it follows code (I live in PA)? This is an old house (1915) and the basement will never be finished. I'm just trying to move the current set-up to a more favorable location. Also, for venting, I have access to a 4inch vertical in the basement that serves as the waste stack for a second floor bathroom set (WC, Lav, Bath/Shower). I'm assuming that I cannot tie into this for venting. I can run a vent line to the attic to tie into this same stack if necessary. I could also use AAVs for the basement lav and washer. For the basement lav, the distance between the trap and potential tie-in is ~30 feet. This line would serve no other fixtures other than the basement lav and CW.
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biochem101
12 years ago
I have a little collection of laundry room photos.
But I don't know where they bought the pieces.
Big Box stores?

Maybe one of these will help?

HTH!
biochem101
12 years ago
Oh, and I have a metal stainless folding rack myself.

Bought at Bed & Bath.

It's held up better than my previous wooden one.

Here is a link that might be useful: drying rack
dianalo
12 years ago
biochem's first pic looks like Ikea shelving, or at least they have that too...
hilltop_gw
12 years ago
I think you'll be amazed at how much the new flooring will transform your laundry room! I like the suggestion of florescent tube lighting. We have it in our laundry room and it lasts forever and provides good lighting. A screen or even three old doors hinged together would work well to hide the water heater and furnace. Painting the wooden cabinet on the right either a white or black will tie it all together.
biochem101
12 years ago
Hilltop, I was thinking of a screen too!

But where would you find one???
Don't know about an antique in the basement.

What about a colorful cotton sheet/curtain?
purrus
Original Author
12 years ago
OK guys-thank you for the help!

I'm so overwhelmed right now, I might not actually paint it just yet. It's primed white, so it's not that urgent. But I am going to try to find some way to hide the ugly furnace/hot water heater--perhaps this weekend I'll head to my local salvation army and see what I can find. And at some point (probably during the winter) I'll paint the desk white too--that should definitely help!

I've also decided to move the pretty white dresser, which holds craft supplies like fabric, into the main part of the basement, where I can top it with a mirror and a lamp. It's too pretty to hide back here and that will also give me some room.

I still need to find shelving for cleaning supply storage, but that's not so urgent, I suppose.

basement laundry room spruce-up

Comments (8)

juliekcmo

deeinohio

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basement laundry room spruce-up

Comments (8)

juliekcmo

deeinohio

Related Discussions

biochem101

biochem101

dianalo

hilltop_gw

biochem101

purrusOriginal Author

COMPANY

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purrus
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