laundry room storage, before and after
The house we bought last August conveyed with a Whirlpool FL and dryer set already mounted on pedestals (soooo happy to have them on the pedestals) but nothing much otherwise for the laundry. As part of some other minor remodeling over the winter, we now have awesome and efficient storage as well, and I thought the GW community might like some pictures--I know I always do!
There's only DH and I living here, oh wait don't forget the dog (almost 15), and we're all retired so not too hard on things.
Before, looking from the master bedroom. The far door goes into the garage, the wood door was just added and goes into the walk-in closet. The big vent down by the dryer in the wall is a return-air for the HVAC on the other side of the wall and could not be moved or blocked. (the blue tape is trying out cabinet locations)
Same photo location as above, looking from the master bedroom into the laundry. The baskets normally live the closet but there are a couple of loads going. The drawers have everything for feeding the dog. The "countertop" is really just a cover panel, since it won't get the kind of abuse that a kitchen countertop does.
There's now a fabulous 40" laundry sink, big enough to wash my 40lb Australian Cattle Dog and hopefully contain DH's cleanup messes. I put pull-out drawers in every cabinet so I could reach more stuff without getting out a step stool. There's a filter faucet for the dog water.
The liquid detergent, bleach, softener, etc did not fit into the pedestals and I didn't like the idea of bending over so much anyway. Previously, everything just sat on top of the dryer. The same bottles are too tall for the 10" drawer, but I just left room so I can open both doors and pull out the drawer to easily access everything.
The big tall cabinet to the right in the first picture is a 30" wide x 90" tall cabinet with a pull-out cleaning supplies rack. There's a quad outlet in the back that charges the battery for the Shark and also powers the in-cabinet and on-top-of cabinet lighting. We have the corded Lindhaus vac for the carpeted master bedroom, and the rechargeable Shark for everything else. (LOVE the Shark BTW!)
Comments (10)
mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
5 years agoWe also put four 24" wide x 80" tall cabinets in the garage.
Here are some details:The cabinets are all Ikea that DH and I assembled and hung ourselves.
We did pay for picking and delivering, since we can't lift as much as we used to.
We're Ikea Family members and the timing worked out that we were ready to order around the time that Ikea typically has a sale. Sure enough, just a few days after we put in our order, a 10% off sale was announced. I figured we would make a trip back to the store for SOMEthing, which we did, and got both the $50 "design" fee and 10% back, with receipts, no question.
A total of twelve 15" deep cabinets with internal drawers, shelves, under-cab as well as on-top-of-cab lighting, handles, one toe-kick otherwise just fancy feet, door dampers everywhere, and the wider-opening door hinges almost everywhere for $4900 (that includes the discounts).
All Askersund fake-birch fronts, and all Blankett handles.
One 36" w x 30" tall cabinet
Two 30" w x 40" tall cabinets
Two 24" w x 30" tall cabinets
Two 24" w x 20" tall horizontal drawers
One 30" w x 90" tall cabinet oops, this cab is 24" deep. All others are 15"/
Four 24" w x 80" tall cabinets
We did end up returning some stuff (toekicks, shelves) and also exchanging some other stuff (Blankett handle sizes)
I loved using Ikea cabinets, because I could look at and plan to my heart's content online, then go verify stuff IRL at the store 37 miles away. Because it was a laundry room, it was a lot simpler than trying to design all the needs of a kitchen and I wasn't worried about it looking good enough or whatever. I was fine with the Ikea fronts for this purpose.
mtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
5 years agoIkea food for thought:
Yes, get a laser level if you're doing your own installation. A lot lighter than DH's 4' level.
Getting the Sektion rail level and straight is KEY
the Blankett handle is its own template. Don't bother with the $2 Fixa template if you're using Blanketts
I had originally ordered all 15" Blanketts to make things easy--or so I thought. It was a much easier installation to have handles the same width as the drawers.
To do over, I would first try to arrange the fronts on the floor to see if a particular order would look better. This obviously only applies to Askersund.
Torham would've been a better style for our house, but it's too busy for me and I couldn't take looking at it all the time. I also almost got Kallarp because I love turquoise and our house is rustic Southwestern, but in the end I thought it would be too dark.
The ceiling is almost 9' and originally I was going to try to do some trim between the cabs and ceiling, but the OC (over cabinet) lighting was a far better idea. That's the light (on the dimmest setting) we leave on when we'll be coming home after dark.
Because we did the work ourselves, and we're retired, we could take our time. This ended up in putting the cabs a couple of inches lower than planned; DH had first wanted the over-sink cab higher so he would have no remote chance of head bumping but then changed his mind. Whew.
We took 10 days-two weeks from start of work to the end, including the garage and laundry cabs.
I made sure we did the garage cabs first so we could practice before my laundry cabs lol!
We ended up doing the cover panels twice. So, please, first install the UC lighting and THEN do your cover panels! DH had to remove the panels to cut a notch for the new Stromlinje UC lights.
I found that I have no patience for fine tuning the cab front looks. I got them to function and well, close enough! So a pro would have done better here, I guess.
On the cabs where we knew exactly where the drawers and doors would be, we installed the slides and hinges on the cab sides BEFORE assembling the cab. That way we could have the sides laying flat on the work bench rather than crouching /reaching from odd angles after the cabs are hung. This did make the sides heavier to lift for assembly, especially the 30x90, but worth it.
We used a Sears ATV jack (left over from our previous life in dirt bikes) to lift and lower the tall cabs into place. This was especially great for the 30x90 cab, which was too heavy to comfortably lift and was fit into a corner to boot.
Well, that's all I can think of for now. Hope this might be helpful to someone.Related Discussions
New & Improved Laundry Room with Before/After
Comments (4)Thanks!! I did prime!! My goal was to make it look as if the cabinets came white, and not "hey...I painted them and you can tell!!!" My How-To: 1) Took down the cabinets and sanded with a black & decker mouse sander 80 grit. 2) Vac all the sandings (very important!!) 3) Primed with SW Prep Rige Pro Block Primer 4) Sanded again with a 220 grit 5) Vac 6) Primed again 7) Sanded AGAIN with 220 8) Vac 9) Applied 2 coats SW Pro Classic Alabaster (its self-leveling so it helps for a smoother cleaner finish) Dry for a few days then added hardware I also found I had a small gap along the sides where the cabinets met the wall and ceiling. So I ended up sealing it with latex caulk. A very easy step, yet make a HUGE difference, in my opinion....See MoreLaundry Room Before & After
Comments (13)Brutuses, Thank you so much for the accent color suggestions. Also, thank you for the "no-curtain" suggestion. I am going to add some paint to the pipes to have them blend in a little. I am becoming fond of those pipes for some reason, LOL. Frankie_in_zone7, You are so right with the "less is more" motto. It's a constant battle to keep the clutter away. Glad to hear I am not the only that has the stuff "creeping in", LOL. Thank you for your comments. Dazzlemewithcolor, Thank you so very much! I'm feeling good about my accomplishment and more importantly, I WANT to do laundry out there. Thank you again. TalleySueNYC, You are correct about that hanging rod making the space choked looking, especially after I fill it half full. Your suggestions for a simpler hanging rod are brilliant! The "wrestling it into submission" comment made me almost fall out of my chair with laughter! It definitely felt that way at times. Thank you so very much for your suggestions and compliments! Mustangs, I hope I was able to provide some inspiration/motivation. Thank you so much for your compliments! ____________________________ Since this post, I added a little vintage AM radio that works, so now I can listen to something while I am out there working. I will post a picture soon, the radio is so cute and vintage, and it WORKS! Thank you all again for your kind words and encouragement! Blenderama...See MoreBefore and After of laundry room
Comments (13)Thank you so much ladies. I am so happy with the outcome. I have to get my kitchen done by the 16th because my oldest son is graduating high school that day and we have out of town family coming. We are also having a huge party on the 17th so I have been working so hard on the kitchen. lyban, that is a GREAT idea on putting hardware on the two fake drawers. I hate how they look but putting hardware on would look really good. I sanded the cabinets to where the finish is just about off. My paint guy told me I didn't have to do that but I wanted to. I am using an orbital sander. I then cleaned and primed with Binser shellac primer. He suggested that primer and I have been very pleased. I sanded before putting the first coat of paint on. I then painted SW Alabaster (but had it mixed by Farrell Calhoun) in oil based, semi gloss. Sanded after first coat of paint and I painted three coats. I did use a 4 inch foam roller and an ox hair brush. I thought about using satin finish on the kitchen but decided against it. I figure that the semi gloss would hold up so much better especially with three boys. I do not know if I am going to do a glazing. I am going to wait until I have the kitchen done and the doors back on before I decide. I really love how the laundry room looks and would not want to glaze in there. So, we will see. Thanks again and I will post pictures once the kitchen gets done. I am back to work!!!!!!...See MoreA little laundry room before and after
Comments (19)Super nice! - I love the blue wallpaper that leads the design. It's bold, but the wainscotting gives a "break from the blue" and keeps it from overpowering the rest of the room. You said it was hard to install ... have you tried stenciling? It's sllloooooww but so easy /cheap. - I kind of agree with the above poster that the wallpaper on top of the machines is a bit much ... perhaps when you get your new machines, go with a blue stripe on the machine sides? And perhaps a solid blue matt on top of the machines? - Crown molding makes a room. I don't understand how such a small thing makes such an impact. And you already had nice trim around the window. - I'm surprised that two bathroom mats worked out so well as a long runner. I'd add a third so the "rug" will span the whole room. And they're washable! So practical. - I might've kept the cabinet ... but moved it up to the ceiling. Some enclosed storage is always good. - Just opening the blinds makes the room feel larger. - Finally, I'm amazed at what you were able to do on such a small budget! Your thrift store finds are impressive. I'm sure this room puts a smile on your face every time you use it....See Moremtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
5 years agomtnfever (9b AZ/HZ 11)
5 years ago
greenshoekitty