Laundry Nook Makeover

I'm happy to report that we finally finished the laundry corner of the kitchen...for now at least! And we made it before the two year mark here! The long term plan ("when we win the lottery") for this corner is a shallow pantry that spans the length of the wall, with the washer and dryer moved to a mudroom area we want to add on through the back kitchen door (which is now the basement/garage access). When this house was first built the far half of the current kitchen was the original kitchen, while what is now the front half of the kitchen was the dining room. The two rooms were separated by a wall that had a built-in China cabinet (and it makes me incredibly sad wondering what may have happened to it!)

I added details of how and what we used in this update for those of you (like me!) who love the "This Old House" step-by-step version of projects. For those who prefer the dramatic "Before and After" results, scroll all the way to the bottom for the photo. 👍

The laundry area was stuck in a time warp the first time we saw it. Tucked along the back wall of the kitchen and slightly in the way of the bathroom door, it is not the best place for the machines in terms of aesthetics. But in light of practicality, its location makes it super convenient in staying on top of laundry. It sure beats running down to a damp chilly basement multiple times a day!

These are the realtor's photos from early 2016 when this place reappeared on Zillow.

Over the last decade of rentals, we've had the laundry in some pretty strange places, so having it back in the kitchen was not a deal breaker. When Aidan was a toddler and I was pregnant with Gavin, I dreaded hauling the baskets of laundry out of our apartment and down the sidewalk to the corner "laundry unit" in the building. I'd pray no one else was using the shared machines, and at times had to set my basket of dirty laundry in line waiting for others to finish their laundry. Some neighbors would start a load and then leave for the day, so I'd take it upon myself to finish their laundry to keep the line moving. Oh how I don't miss those days! In the next place the washer was butted up beside the stove. And finally, in a closet off the dining area.

The day we took possession of this house we noticed an odd bulge behind the wallpaper that hadn't been there before. I had to investigate, of course, since the wallpaper was coming down anyway. I popped the "bubble" and discovered a large hole in the plaster wall that had been wallpapered over. Oh Grandma, how right you were. Wallpaper does hide a multitude of errors!

We lived over a year with this wall hanging out behind the washer and dryer...like an elephant in the room.

This was just after we finished moving. Before Thanksgiving of 2016, I ripped off strips of the outer layer of wallpaper trying to tone down the orange and olive hues.

To remove the paper backing/glue from the wall, I used a putty knife and a spray bottle full of hot water and Downy fabric softener. (It smelled so good and clean in here!) Then I wiped the soap residue off the wall with warm water. The paper scraped off the wall like butter after leaving the spray sit for 5 minutes. Speaking of butter...the kitchen was once my old shade of yellow!

I got impatient to see what the new paint would look like...right in the middle of scraping and removing the quarter round trim along the ceiling. The paint is ColorPlace brand (from Wal-Mart), Shadowbox Beige color in satin finish. 

I had to take quite a few breaks to feed boys and nurse the baby.

I couldn't wait for the spackling to dry over cracks and nail holes, so I painted around them....

Spackled, sanded, and paint dry! I didn't touch the wall right behind the machines because it was going to be covered in beadboard. We got the beadboard from Menards because it was on sale: $16 for a 4'x8' panel...though Eli said never again, since when he asked an employee if they could cut the panels in half for us the guy quipped, "If I had a saw...." and walked away. 

A thorn under both our sides was the pile of junk that found its home on top of the dryer. It included my cleaning supplies, detergent, iron, clothespins, paintbrushes, screwdrivers, garden seeds, etc. This white cabinet was discarded from a kitchen remodel of friends of ours. They were kind enough to salvage it for us, and we repurposed it as a laundry/cleaning supply cabinet after giving it a fresh coat of paint.

I didn't get any photos of the beadboard installation...it was a stressful ordeal and I mainly tried to stay out of Eli's way in between holding panels up for him to glue (Liquid Nails) and nail (finishing nails) in place. For the baseboard we used a regular 1x6, primed and painted, to match the rest of the kitchen and bathroom baseboards.

No more ugly holey wall! 

Eli cut a 1x10 into three shelves to fit the space between the cabinet and the wall above the washer. I stained them with Minwax "Chestnut" gel stain and we put the shelves up with these cast iron brackets that were on clearance at Hobby Lobby.

And finally, the last piece of the laundry corner puzzle:

We bought our very first washer/dryer set 14 years ago. The washer died about four years ago (it literally shook itself apart), so we replaced it with the cheapest washer we could find at the time. Recently the original dryer started squealing and being temperamental about when it wanted to dry clothes. Eli (conveniently!) won a large gift card to Best Buy at his work Christmas party, so he decided we were getting a completely new set. The old washer is still in great working condition, so we're passing it on to someone else who could really use a different washer.

The last thing we plan to do to this corner this year is replace the light fixture...and I'm hoping next year the floor!

(In case you were wondering what I do instead of sleeping...I make plans that are sure to stress my husband out!) I took the glass dome off the old fixture so we could get better light back in this corner. I'm currently researching ways to refinish the kitchen cabinets and shelves so we can eliminate the last of the orange/honey vibe in the kitchen.

Update 3/13/18: we got the new light installed! The ceiling under that wood medallion needed some love, so until we are prepared to tackle that, the medallion stays. 

Slowly but surely we're making this place our own!