Here's a variation on a checkerboard that your DH might like, although it's shown in a bathroom in this picture it would be jazzy in a laundry room. (This picture was posted to the Baths forum ages back, I can't remember whose it was.) I'm thinking I'll use it in the powder/laundry rooms in the new (old) house, although not in a black/white color scheme - that's off the mudroom and it will show every speck of dirt! IIRC those are white 6x6s and black 2x2s, which should be better suited to a smaller space. If ceramics aren't appropriate (due to deflection issues, for example), the same pattern could be made from cut-down linoleum tiles(Marmoleum, Marmorette) or VCT (like Blackcat's Excelon). Another fun look - sometimes laundry rooms and similar utility spaces of 100 years ago had brick floors. Brick is porous and a pain to keep clean but Daltile has a very cute "glazed paver" that looks just like brick called Union Square that is appropriate for residential floors.

My parents concrete sink was just sitting on a base made of L shaped pieces of metal bolted together, like you could get at a big box store. The base wasn't actally attached to the sink. The weight of the sink kept it stable on the base. I never knew it wasn't attached until we went to take the sink out (and wow, that sink was heavy!)

Bummer about the tree but perhaps it's a good thing in the long run. I'm a silver lining kinda gal. =) I'm not a huge fan of seeing so much of the kitchen from the front door. I'd rather see the dining room so I came up with this proposal for you: I moved the patio door closer to the front of the house. Is this where you come in from the car, carrying groceries to the kitchen? If so, I figured you'd want to keep it. But if you can eliminate it, using the front or slider you're proposing to install, let us know. Given your small kitchen, I think you should get front load, stacking washer and dryer and have them face into the kitchen. They would fit with a little room to spare against the closet wall. Machines are 27" wide and need an inch of clearance between machine and wall. I removed the door and bit of wall between kitchen and pantry closet, opting for either open pantry shelving or shallow cabs. One less door in the area is a good thing, IMO. Open shelving can be industrial or attractive like this (left side): If you opt for open shelving but don't want to see what's on the shelves, you can partition the space with drapes like this: You could even add a rod and drapes between machine side and pantry area. You'll want to keep the drapes open when you're doing laundry, especially when you're using the dryer to help dissipate any heat build-up. Adding a vent fan above the W/D would also help with that. I added a window where the door was to bring more light into the kitchen. You'll need to do some siding repair to the exterior. Hopefully that's doable. A good contractor should be able to remove siding, move the door and weave the siding back together so that the change isn't noticeable. Moving the door down gives a nice long stretch of wall for a 36" w, CD (counter depth) fridge, 30" range and plenty of storage. I added a MW drawer in this run but you could also do a MW on a shelf below the counter like this: Store cutting boards, cookies sheets, etc above the fridge like this: I eliminated the short wall where the fridge currently is to allow room for a long peninsula with enough room for sink, DW and drawer storage. I recommend a single bowl sink with an offset drain so that you have room below the sink for pull-out trash. Here's my trash pull-out under my sink (love it!): There is NO peninsula seating. You just don't have enough room for back to back seating (60" aisle recommended). Instead I added shallow storage to the backside, perfect depth for cans and many boxed food items. It also gives you a little deeper peninsula/splash zone behind the sink. To make the best use of the DR area, I created a banquette with additional storage at each end of the bench and under the bench like this: And this: If you need room for the DR light switch, you can add the switch to the cab side like this (left side of photo): Oops, one thing I meant to add but forgot to draw in was a drop zone for keys, mail, etc in the stud space in the LR wall by the patio door, something like this (but shallower): HTH!

Oh good grief. Once upon a time this was a great forum. By that I mean, it was a community in every sense of the word. There was a core group of regulars....ponders who were educated by their own experiences for the most part coupled with those who went before them who offered advice. They were happy to share said experiences including successes and failures with others and always quick to encourage... How I miss those days. I was thinking about this place the other day and made a mental note to check in. Of course it slipped my mind and then today I got a notification that someone 'liked' a post I made near 4 yrs ago. It was good to read those old posts again. You know, from way back when...when this was a fun place to be! So I logged in to see who was still around. I saw a couple names I recognized and then THIS... THIS NONSENSE is why I left yrs ago. A *know-it-all* showed up and proceeded to explain - in excessive boring detail, on darn near every post - why all the advice of the experienced ponders would not hold water. And by 'experienced ponders' I mean those who have puddles just for the sheer enjoyment of it. I'm here to tell you, these experienced ponders know.their.stuff. My puddle is 17 yrs old this month. Yup, it small but it's perfect. A balanced combination of volume/plants/fish. I've never.not.once tested the water or added anything other than plants & fish. Neither do I have the infamous bottom drain and [horrors] the filter is a DIY number. The water is always crystal clear and my pets eat out of my hand and even perform tricks for me. Funny that, I managed all this without an educated pro with an ego the size of the sea. Ha. Remember those experienced ponders I mentioned above? THEY are why my puddle is a glory to behold. I miss them.. I don't give a rat's behind how much 'education' one has, i.e. how long one has worked for what company, at what age he started, how many projects he's managed, how big said projects are, which products will improve the problem of the day, how many new installs he had under his belt, how many renovations he's done (because, of course, the installer wasn't nearly so smart as he) or who's ego trumps the latest argument.. I miss the community here that once was. I can't be the only one, can I?