You excited??

I am. Why?? Because I finally did something to our laundry room.  Woot!

Granted, it’s a little something.  But something just the same.

So, let’s start with a basic floor plan refresher.  Our laundry room is located directly off of our breakfast nook…

It’s a decent-sized room that houses a spacious pantry and our teeny pool bath.   I actually think the pantry is larger than the bathroom.  I mean, it doesn’t take much, but still…  it’s kind of a strange distribution of space.

Here’s the room when we got the keys (along with some indicators to show you what’s where) ….

And here it is after we plopped down our stuff after we moved in….

And now….

Granted,. the space hasn’t changed much, and most of what’s in there right now (the rugs, basket, and wood shelf) will be switched out eventually.  I’m not a huge fan of the dark brown sink mat, but we needed something there functionality-wise (Lucas + sink = puddle = slippery), and it’s what we had on hand.   I’m on a use-what-I-got-front for most of the space at the moment.   I did, however, manage to hang a new mirror and towel hook above the sink (which will stay)….

Sometimes the smallest additions can seem like the biggest triumphs in a space that’s been stagnant in decorating.  In case you’re wondering, the mirror was a Tuesday Morning find for $39.99, and the hook (a clearance Young House Love hook) and towel I got from Target.  I wanted to tie in the red and aqua tones from the adjoining pool bath….

And I love how you can see the bathroom’s reflection in the mirror.  Heart.

I have to say that up to this point, the laundry room has been the most frustrating room in the house for me because I know EXACTLY that I wanna do with it.   We just haven’t gotten there yet.  And in the meantime, aside from housing the washer, dryer and a sink, it has little function.   I cleaned it up for the pictures in this post, but normally there’s coats, shoes, backpacks, hats, and laundry piled everywhere since there’s no storage or system of any kind.

Last year, the previous owners experienced a flood that affected half the house and started in the laundry room.  Apparently, a pipe burst in the attic above it when we had all of those super low temperatures.   They had to almost fully gut the laundry room and pool bath.   So in the process, the space lost all of its original cabinetry and storage.   They just put up drywall when they were putting it all back together again and called it a day.   I can’t say I blame them, but it would have been FANTASTIC to have inherited some storage in the space when we purchased the house.

But, on the flip side, we have a totally blank slate to work with, which is also kind of cool.

So, here’s the plan.   This space over the washer and dryer will sport some stained wood shelves that’ll extend all the way to the ceiling….

Then, this area where I stuck a random shelving unit, will be the “mudroom” space with hooks, shoe storage, etc.

I’ve been tossing around painting the sink cabinet as well, though I’d like to see how the rest of the room comes together first.

Then, comes the biggie.  THE BIGGIE.  The thing that I want to do most (aside from adding function).

That exterior door back there (straight ahead in the photo), which leads to our covered back patio.  I wanna change that out for an exterior door with a full length window.   That right there will be be a game changer.   Natural light will flood the land.   It will be glorious.   And most importantly, it’ll make the space feel like part of our house rather than a dark, cavernous afterthought.

I can’t wait until we get going on this.  We’re currently saving our pennies and planning, though we’ll likely have to wait until the other projects that are in progress right now are finished (our pool refinishing along with a few other outdoor projects and the wet-bar… I’ll post an update once we get to it, of course.).   In the meantime, I’m thrilled to at least have one small project for this space under my belt.   I’m a total proponent for starting small to add personality when you can’t really take on a larger project at the moment.   It’s amazing how just a small mirror and hook are enough to make me smile when I enter the room now.

So, tell me, what little changes have you made that made the biggest differences in your space?