My new little laundry alcove (at last) - pics

14 years ago

When I decided to move the laundry machines out of the dungeon basement and onto the first floor, I knew it wouldn't be a simple matter. Nothing is simple in this 1850 house. But I wasn't prepared for the news that I'd need a new floor (not just flooring, but the whole deal), new walls, and new ceiling. It wasn't a contractor telling me this to make a profit--it was my son, and he was right.

The new plumbing had to be done twice because the first plumber didn't allow room for the washer and dryer.....

I posted here (ad nauseum) about my decision making, especially the walls. We eventually decided on 3/8" beadboard, which I painted white (Valspar's Ivory Dust). I toyed with the idea of painting the horizontal piece (between the wall and ceiling) dark brown to match the stained hemlock that abounds in the house, but I ran out of steam. Still, I'm happy with the result.

Here's my enchanting Before picture. It doesn't show much of the area, but I think it shows enough to let you know what we were up against:

Here's the vinyl wood going down. I've posted this one here before:

This will show you the location, more or less, of the alcove. It sits behind the black (actually very dark green, but it looks black even in person) Dutch pantry:

Here it is today, showing the "wood" floor:

We joined the vinyl wood and the real wood with a wood-look (sort of) strip:

Here's a closer look at the beadboard. It had a HEAVY wood grain (see photo above), which the top-of-the-line Kilz primer obliterated completely. I was surprised (and delighted).

And finally, for those who would like a closer look at the photograph, it shows my cousin Barbara and me in 1944. My dad took the picture. For some reason our "outfits" (if I may call them that!) reminded me of laundry. Barbara, always more fashion-conscious than I, is on the right. So cute! Today she's an artist, and her paintings include scenes of my garden and oils done from my dad's photos of the two of us.

Thanks for looking!

Susan

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Comments (25)

kgibbins
14 years ago
Wow! What an improvement. It looks really nice. Great job and LOVE the picture.
valzone5
14 years ago
LOVE it! It looks great! Love the picture too, and the flooring is fantastic!
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Who are you calling a lady? LOL, my wife (who is indeed a shorter person) will get a kick out of that one. We inherited the space when we purchased the house and are fortunate that it's so large. Of course we could use some additional room, but isn't that just about always the case? Please note that I, a taller person, need a stepladder to reach the upper shelves of the cabinets. Putting the machines on pedestals would have made the countertop too high for me to fold comfortably, and I'm OK with the height of their doors as-is. The pattern on the floor is similar to the wall tiles, and I believe the material is a simple stone tile purchased from Virginia Tile. It extends all the way to the kitchen, encompassing the back hall, closet, and half-bath. Apologies for my sideways photos. They weren't that way at the hosting site the last time I checked.
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abundantblessings
14 years ago
Bravo, Susan! Well done, and perfectly in keeping with the style of your home.
zipdee
14 years ago
Fantastic re-do! Looks great.
barb5
14 years ago
Such a nice job, and I love the way you kept the wall planking under the window. The pic of you and your cousin just makes me feel happy looking at it- a fun moment in time captured in a picture- wonderful!
ttodd
14 years ago
I love it - it's wonderful!!!! The pic really brings it home!
My3dogs ME zone 5A
14 years ago
The whole alcove looks wonderful and SO darn handy, but that vinyl wood flooring is INCREDIBLE! Tell us more about that?
alisande
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, everyone! I love your comments.

The flooring is Armstrong Rhythms, in Old (Olde?) Hickory, Style No. 92190. I bought it at Home Depot.

The contractor who installed it was very impressed with the quality and thickness--a good sign!
ttodd
14 years ago
I love it - it's wonderful!!!! The pic really brings it home!
teacats
14 years ago
Fantastic transformation!! Very charming! :)

LOVE the photo too!

Jan
ctlane
14 years ago
Very nice. I just love beadboard painted white.
folkvictorian
14 years ago
What a wonderful change - I bet you love having the laundry on the main floor! Our current house is our first to have main-floor laundry room and I'll never go back to the dungeon! Congratulations on a great job!
postum
14 years ago
I love it! Does the flooring look as good in person as it does in the photos?
Great job!
mrsmarv
14 years ago
Really well done! It looks like a very stylish and functional space. I love, love, love the beadboard (we have it in our mster bath) and the "wood" floor is really good-looking. Very, very nice.
alisande
Original Author
14 years ago
Does the flooring look as good in person as it does in the photos?

Yes!! I really love it, and wish I'd known about it when we did the kitchen six years ago. I suppose that floor will need to be replaced eventually....... :-)

Thank you, everyone!!
DLM2000-GW
14 years ago
Yeah yeah yeah the laundry alcove is great, yadda yadda.....but that photo is just too cute!!! I love that you have something so precious and light hearted to look at while doing laundry chores.

Seriously - what an improvement and hopefully worth all the headaches to get there. The flooring is very handsome and SO practical in that space - great choice.
User
14 years ago
You have a really great area. I know what you mean about the "surprises" in old houses LOL...we have had our share too.I loive love that picture. The whole place just looks so nice now.

What can you tell me about the beadboard. Can it be used in a covered outdoor porch area? What size are the sheets? Any tips on install ? I need a new ceiling on our front porch and may decide to use the type beadboard you used. It looks so good. Thanks c
alisande
Original Author
14 years ago
I suppose I shouldn't muddy the waters, but since I got such a great response to the photo I thought I'd show you the one I almost used. It was a more obvious choice, but I picked the other one. You can be sure I'll use this one somewhere.

My dad was a wonderful photographer who left behind many prints, negatives and slides, which I've been working on. Because he used fine equipment, the detail in his pictures has survived beautifully.

The same cousin (Barbara) with her mother (Elsie, my mother's sister). Barbara's dad was away, fighting in WWII.
rnest44
14 years ago
Gosh, makes me want to do laundry! I love both pictures but the one you chose to use makes my heart sing. As you say, the other will find a place too.
mustangs81
14 years ago
Fabulous! I'd say "you won" this one in several ways. The pictures are wonderful. I would love to come across family pictures that could be used for my theme.

Great job!
alisande
Original Author
14 years ago
Trailrunner, I'm not going to be much help with the beadboard. Home Depot offered two kinds: 1/4" pre-primed for painting, and 3/8" plywood. We bought the 3/8", and it seemed much heavier and more rigid than the 1/4".

I don't know the size of the sheets, but I can tell you they were lying flat in the plywood aisle at HD. All I did was pay for them.....my son got them home and onto the porch, and the contractor took it from there. He installed them over the original double-plank (hemlock) construction of my old farmhouse. We used the same beadboard for the ceiling as well.

I hope this small amount of information helps.

Susan
mimi_2006
14 years ago
That's just beautiful and I'm sure you're loving having the laundry on the main floor. The picture is too cute! You're lucky to have those preserved photos. The second one is great, too. Wish you could have them both in there! It must be nice to sit back and smile now that all the work is done :-)
dietcokejunkee
14 years ago
I love your laundry room! Looks great! We are going with a laminate "wood" for our laundry room, too! We were thinking the plank strips from HD. I am glad to see yours! Looks nice!
alisande
Original Author
14 years ago
It is, Mimi........and it's also nice to do laundry! The final breakdown of my basement dryer precipitated the remodel, and I couldn't take delivery of the new one until I had a place for it. So.........I was without a dryer for longer than I want to count. I schlepped a lot of wet laundry to the Laundromat in that time.
desertsteph
14 years ago
oh what a great space to do laundry! and the pic is great - it's jammies! that's a lot of laundry for a mom - lots of jammies!
love the other pic also - those diapers on the line? lol! great natural scene pictures. they're the best!

and the floor - great looking. someone used wood vinyl over on flooring and posted it - hard to tell it was vinyl. well...more than hard - you couldn't tell in the pic! everyone loved it.

you gonna really enjoy doing laundry now with that great area for it.

My new little laundry alcove (at last) - pics

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