Here is my laundry room. (*Please excuse the clutter... I needed to put some laundry away on this particular day.) I definitely wouldn't call it fancy, but it's functional & I like it. This is the view from the door into the LR. My LR is down a 2 or 3 ft. hallway from my kitchen, then as you turn left you go through another 2 ft. "hallway", our furnace is located to the left in this pic. The room is only 5 ft. wide x about 8 ft. from the back to the doorway. I hung a rod over my washer & dryer for hanging clean clothes as they come out of the dryer & fold clothes on top of the washer & dryer. This is the view at an angle from the doorway: These are my shelves as you walk in & turn to the left: (Yes, I realize I spelled "oxy clean" wrong. Duh! LOL) This is my sorting area I made. Since this LR is much smaller than my last, I couldn't fit my 2 laundry sorters into it, so I hung the bags from my sorters on the wall. It works great! I used some hardwood floor planks we had left over to screw to the wall studs for a sturdy place to hang the bags. Then I attached grommets to each bag & they're hanging by cup hooks. Mine are on the top & DH's on the bottom (his clothes get too dirty to wash together w/ mine). Now when I do laundry instead of bending over into a sorter, I just take the bag off the wall & dump it... I really like it. I also made one for my towels that you can see in the bottom left of my "shelf picture". This bag was a laundry bag w/ a drawstring that had ripped. I sewed the rip & then removed the bottom from the bag & hemmed it, the hung it upside down (drawstring side down). Now when I wash towels, I just open the drawstring & the towels fall onto the floor ready to be put into the washer. :)

Ikea beech 1 1/8" thick BB counter on top of our 1957 birch cabinets. I chose the thiner IKEA BB because it would be easier and cheaper for us DIY's than the heavier thicker BB. It is finished with 3 coats of gloss Waterlox. Seven months later I still love this counter top. My BH was leary of trying to butt the thin BB so I opted to layer the long ends of the 'U' over the BB on the botton of the 'U'. Unusual but it works for us. We are both tall so the extra height was ok. My only regret is chosing the IKEA sink and faucet. Sink is too thin a guage and faucet doesn't have a spray setting. Though I do like the built-in drain in the Boholmen sink.

Hmmm... Is the original one still an option? I think it would actually be less obtrusive and there's a larger surface to "hit" so it strikes me as probably easier to use. In any case, couldn't be happier with the two I put in my kitchen and pantry. The down side? I can't have them in the bathroom because there are toe kick heaters under the sinks. Meanwhile, I keep pushing on the toe kick heater to turn on the water in the morning when I'm sleepy. The one in the pantry from head on. The one in the kitchen (we have since moved that hose up and out of view.

Can't be much help.....although mine are probably 'out of style', I have white....don't like stainless, not crazy about black either. I really wish they would bring back the old bisque or a creme...maybe by the time we get ready to build again, they will come out with something new and different. Same with granite (which I do happen to have),I am tired of it too....I never did see the "big rage" about it. Oh well, my age is showing~~ What are you using for hardware color etc? Shiny brass is out, oil rubbed bronze is trendy, chrome is said to look cheap.....guess that is what they do to keep us changing.