Putting lipstick on a laundry room pig
The room is small and homely, but I’m trying to dress it up a little … just things I’ll enjoy looking at. It doubles as a passage to the garage, so we’re in and out several times a day.
It has a small tile counter and knotty alder cabinets pushed into one corner next to the W/D, ugly tan tile floors, a solid door going into the hallway (usually open and a few steps away from the kitchen) and a door with half window going into the garage. The other wall is just a wall, but both doors open onto it, so that leaves little space for anything. Wall colors are a sort of a light gold/khaki color with white trim. Everything I’ve described has to stay for now.
I want the decor to have a vintage feel. My inspiration is my great-grandparents’ 1922 Arts and Crafts bungalow I remember as a kid.
I’m wanting to splurge on a Spicher and Co vinyl runner, but am wavering on that. These are the ones I like best, in order:
This metal cart I ordered just got here today and is so darn cute! Army Green:
For the window on the garage door, I’m going to do a simple cafe curtain (but a bit higher than the halfway point). I’m either going to do fabric with ticking or something like these:
I’ll be using metal clips, though. And it looks gray here, but the above one is tan. I might end up making my own, and if so, maybe a block print.
I’d like to change the light in there, again with a vintage/retro style. I think a schoolhouse light, while not very original, might be perfect. Or we’ll look for something actually vintage. Maybe even funky ’70’s. When a local well-known DJ, remember The Zoo, D/FW people?, bought my great-grandparents’ bungalow in that decade, they did it up in a hippie/boho style that really impressed 9 yr old me (they didn’t ruin the integrity or original features of the house at all).
As far as art and such, I have a variety of things in there, and am deciding what will stay or go. I have a tortoise patterned lamp on the counter, not sure if it’ll stay. I don’t want the room to have a themed look, so am keeping that in mind.
Just sharing my latest project, thanks for looking! Please feel free to share anything you’re working on, I’d love to hear about it. :)
Comments (70)
Jilly
10 months ago
Irish2
10 months ago
This is one of 11 rugs that I inherited along with her dog “Maggie“ when my sister died from stage 4 lung ca.
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'You can't put lipstick on a pig'
Comments (6)Scarlett, I would give them the benefit of the doubt in that they were hoping that it all would not come true, in strong denial that she was that ill or that she would leave. They have neither the skill nor the coping to deal with any of what was presented to them. At any rate they just could not deal with it properly. They saw that you were and instead of being grateful, were still in denial. They in being irate at you now are just mad at themselves really because they could not act and you had the presence of mind to do so in every case. You did what they could not. Jealousy comes to mind which shows as anger towards yourself. Let them be and know that you did all that you could for your Mom too and that is what counts, she knows it and so do they or they will in time. She felt your love and compassion that has not yet touched their cold hearts, another words that they do not have your goodness within themselves. Sounds like the kind of folks you do not need to be with. God Bless you for your compassion and caring, your sweetness and diligence that you put forth for your Mom. She felt it and knows your heart my dear. You are blessed. All the best, Lucy...See MoreIf you had a laundry room...what would be its decor theme?
Comments (59)I have laundry closets, one on the bottom floor and one on the top. The top is a stackable so there's no room for decor. I wish I'd have made that room just a tad bigger so I didn't have to keep laundry soap in the adjoining bathroom (it's in a huge glass container though and everyone thinks I dropped a fortune on bath salts to fill it heh heh). If I ever have a real room dedicated to laundry I'd do antique butlers pantry as my look. Painted cabinets, marble counters, laundry machines hidden behind cabinets, beautiful lighting, a huge fold and storge area....heaven in the laundry....and I'd like a full time maid to stand there and deal with the laundry as well...as long as we're dreaming! My lower closet is in our family room. I painted the walls in a soft cream and the cabinets in a color called patince (a very soft yellow). It has my giraffe door handles for access, and the doors are painted in metalic chalkboard....See MoreHis kids are ( nice) PIGS!
Comments (7)Yeah, I'd stay in my own home for a time. I assume the BF cleans and picks up after himself? Does the mess bother the BF or just you? Asking cause even if the boys move on someday, are you going to be 24/7 maid to the BF/husband? I'd be honest with the BF about the boys, they're well behaved, mannered, enjoyable delights, but you can't live in an environment of total pig sty and that you'd just as soon not race into any arrangement that would subject you to it on a daily basis (I'd also keep an eye on the BF's own living habits, you want to be a GF and wife, not a grown man's maid/nanny). My oldest son now almost 33 could be a bit of a slob, but it had to be kept to his own room. Almost funny in that during HS years his room was scary but when he moved out and first got own apartment and then married, he's a regular Mr Neat and Clean. He had to be neat and clean in the community areas of my home..no rotting half eaten food in his room, no garbage so that a little mouse might want to move in and live in his room if one managed to get in the attic and sniff it through the attic door, dishes taken up had to be returned when finished, that type of thing. He could toss laundry all over his room if he wanted to, but I never went to go find it, it just didn't get washed unless it made it to laundry room. He was not so much dirty as he was cluttered. Books scattered across his school work area, crumpled paper tossed around his desk, a tee hanging over his computer monitor and the lounge chair covered in about a weeks worth of jeans and tops. He did manange to take his used underclothes to the laundry daily, guess even my slob did not wanna smell up his palace. Opening his closet door could be a trying experience so I avoided going near that to return an item, just laid things neatly on his unmade bed ( I was not his maid, I provided clean sheets to his room and would turn and leave, he knew how to change and make a bed) When son married a young lady from a different country and different ways of household life, the DIL kept asking me if she was doing something wrong. Her husband was cleaning house, helping with meals, and whatnot even when she said 'no that's my job'. So my slob just turned out to be a temporary slob and only in his personal bedroom and when it comes to his own home he now it's pretty much spotless. I would hope that BF is working with the boys in other ways like making them do their homework so they can enter higher education and guiding their career choice their along with their school guidence leader, maybe working part-time to learn responsibility and prepare for young adulthood? You'd certainly not want the boys to be helpless and grown men still living at home....See MoreDo you like open or closed cabinets in laundry room?
Comments (18)I'm having a hard time picturing cabinets without doors. . . My laundry room is pretty darn plain compared to most I've seen on here but I just have a white shelf above the washer and dryer and have a basket that holds my goodies. I also have a sink with a cabinet covering that. (has a door) I'd say if you have a lot of stuff and have the money then go with the doors. All that's in my basket is a small container of Charlie's Soap, Charlie's all purpose cleaner, shaklee ... gosh, I forget the name of it..(brightner stuff!)and my iron. I store cat litter below in the cabinet and other odds and ends. I think cabinets are more attractive but for the money it wasn't as important to me. Let us know what you decide!...See MoreJilly
10 months agoJilly
10 months agolast modified: 10 months agoJilly
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10 months agolast modified: 10 months agoZee, ha! I so wish I had room for a chair or bench in there!
Mtn, ohhh, I love your skirted sink so much!
The room is easy to draw. It’s just this narrow rectangle. 😄
The arrows are from the hall door to garage door, The green box is my new cart. 🤣
I drew all this with my finger. I might get it framed and put it in there …
I think it’s around 7’ x 8’. Tiny!Jilly
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9 months agolast modified: 9 months agoMy vinyl floorcloth will finally be here tomorrow!
”It’s been 84 years …”
😁
I LOVE my little cart. Just holding dish clothes and glass bottles so far, but it’ll fill up soon enough.
I have tea towels on the door window for now, might change later. It’s khaki with cream accents, bad pics:
The middle one:
Note: The lighting is awful in this room. It will be changed. Please excuse how awful these photos are. Even though it is a very homely room, I swear it looks better than the photos.I have lots of art in there already, but just got these two Chris-Craft pieces (I’ve been obsessed with vintage wood Chris-Craft boats since I took my first breath. Not kidding).
They might be a weird choice for in there, but I like them. :)
Distressed tin sign:
Drawing I need a frame for:
I’m trying to decide if I want a weathered frame (ala driftwood/barnwood) or something more refined. Not ornate or with gold, but a polished wood.Jilly
9 months agolast modified: 9 months agoIt came a day early! They must have seen my post. 😁
I LOVE IT.
LOVE LOVE LOVE.
The website has pics of some that look more distressed than I prefer (DH was worried about that) … this one is perfect. Just the right amount of ’aging’.I just now unrolled it, it’s perfectly flat. It has a neat textured feel I like. It’s a floor cloth, so no padding like old-time linoleum. But it’s heavy and textured — as DH says, ”grippy” — enough that I don’t expect any curling or moving around.
Finally … this butt-ugly room is making me smile. :D
Now I want a Spicher and Company rug in every room.
Jilly
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9 months agolast modified: 9 months agoAmy, thank you! I feel the same about you. ❤️
I came close to getting the turquoise, but decided on the Army Green. I felt it had a more old-school utilitarian feel, which I wanted for that room. :)
Other colors it comes in, if anyone needs a cart:
Jilly
9 months agoJilly
9 months agolast modified: 9 months agoKswl, excellent point, thank you. 😄
Chinacat, thank you, it is! I really didn’t know what to expect and am thrilled. It’s so unique. :)
I’m now searching for painted knobs for my very humble cabinets (just need four). These are from Mexicali Blues:
Jilly
9 months ago
chinacatpeekin