So the new year is here! Happy 2018! While Christmas kind of snuck up on me and seemed to be upon me too soon, our holiday in Ireland over Chistmas and New Year gave me a great chance to recharge and make some plans for our home for this year. In making my list of home improvements, I realised that there are several half-written blog posts on 2017’s changes to our home that I never got round to sharing with you.
One room I don’t show much of on here is our laundry room. Firstly because it is in the cellar and hence has poor lighting, secondly because it is not the prettiest room in the house by a long shot. Today I am going to show you round it because we spruced it up a little a few months back and no one really knows because a laundry room is not where you take your guests really, it is? I do spend a fair amount of time in there and since doing it up I like it a lot more than I used to. I am a firm believer that if a space looks good, you’ll feel better spending time there, even if that time is spent filling the washing machine, unloading the dryer or folding towels. another big thing for me is the layout of a room, especially functional rooms like kitchens and utility rooms. If the layout doesn’t work for your needs, you are not going to be happy working there.
The main changes I have made are to the look of the room and to the organisation of it. With our laundry room being in the cellar, it gets dusty. To combat that, I’ve started keeping a pack of bathroom wipes down there so that I can give the surfaces a once over every so often without it becoming a chore. Little and often is my motto for jobs like dusting. To freshen up the air I’ve started using some Fresh Linen room spray. In a happy coincidence, the pale blue of the bottle ties in with my white and blue colour scheme. That I even have a colour scheme for the laundry room says a lot about how far I have come in the world of interiors.
I had a set of small baskets and I spray painted them white to keep in with my colours. They now house the wipes, detergent and so on, keeping the top of my dryer neat and tidy. I can actually use the space now to set down washing if I need too without fear it it being covered in grime.
Staying with baskets and organisation, I have lidded white wicker laundry basket down there now too to house anything that won’t fit in the machine. I can’t tell you have much nicer is it to be able to hide surplus dirty washing away in there. Previously it was in a heap on the floor. Not the nicest thing to be greeted with on entering the room.
In a diy-induced fit of industry, I decided to re-cover the ironing board while I was doing the room up. I chose the Lyla damask duck egg curtain fabric from Laura Ashley. One metre was more than enough to recover the ironing board and I sewed the cover in the space of a couple of hours. At the time I was planning on posting a tutorial on sewing a new ironing board cover but I haven’t found the time yet. Maybe some day. But anyway, the fabric is very durable and shows barely any signs of use after over 4 months on the ironing board. I love the romantic pattern so much I got the matching tea towels for the kitchen too.
With all of those simple little changes made, my laundry room is a far nicer place to be than the drab and dreary room it once was, plus I got to have a go at a couple of quick and easy DIYs, something I love to do and hope to do a lot more of this year as we plough through our list of projects.
[Disclaimer: I was provided with Laura Ashley products for the purpose of styling a post for the Laura Ashley blog. All photos, words, thoughts and opinions are my own.]
Looks fantastic – Great idea having a basket for surplus washing, definitely going to steal that idea to help keep us tidy 🙂
Steal away Suzanne 🙂 Keeping unsightly stuff out of sight is a great mood-improver!
Those are some great tips! I’ve got my new laundry room in the cellar too and it does always feel dusty
#HomeEtc
I think it must be a cellar thing, the dust. I try and keep on top of it now but t is never-ending.
Wow I wouldn’t mind spending time in there if my laundry room looked as pretty as this! Our is awful, cupboard doors hanging off hinges, scuffs on paintwork and it really is in need of some major organisation. Thanks for the ideas 🙂
I was amazed how much a simple makeover made me like the room and I an a lot more inclined to do laundry now.
It looks really fresh and pretty, it makes a massive difference doesn’t it? We did ours last year and it’s so much better x #HomeEtc
It totally does. I have noticed I am much better at keeping the room dust-free and tidy now it is actually looks good clean.
Ohh I’d love to have a cellar so much, it’s such a convenient extra space isn’t it? Love what you’ve done to make it a place you’re more comfortable using! I had a cellar in a property I was renting in London a few years ago and loved it but definitely didn’t take advantage X #HomeEtc
Yes, a cellar is brilliant. Ours is a mess of random stuff we may or may not need again. But at least the pantry area and the laundry room are sorted now.
I could do with some help in our own utility/laundry room! Love the changes you’ve made Fionnu x
Thanks Keira. It was so drab beforehand but those few little additions have actually made it nice.
Looks great, lovely and fresh which is just what you want – and Laura Ashley is always a winner in my book #HomeEtc
Yep, can’t go wrong with a bit of Laura Ashley. I think most of their fabrics are timeless.