I am not sure what prompted this, my desire for a pretty laundry room, or the nearing of Mother’s Day, but I recently decided to give this little room of ours a much deserved facelift. Most of you know we live in a 19th century farmhouse in PA, so prior to the redesign, laundry was not such a great experience in our home. Baskets teetered on an ENORMOUS wash sink that just didn’t fit the room, and there was absolutely nothing to look at while washing and folding clothes, day after day, hour after hour.
One day this spring I decided to change all that. After I forced my loving husband to agree with me (the toughest obstacle of all), we ripped out the gargantuan sink and faucet and patched the holes. Next we mixed up a bunch of old white paint left over from other jobs and just got to painting, praying I had just enough to cover the walls. I did. Then we bought a little bit of white base trim and covered some old glue that was all around the bottom of the wall to make it disappear.
We kept the same washer and dryer, as an upgrade was not necessary quite yet, but needed to hide the old pipes behind them, so I bought a shabby chic valance and draped it across a wrought iron curtain rod I had lying around, and attached it to a shelf. Presto…pipes gone, but still easily accessible.
We added a pegged shelf from another room, to hold memories and vintage laundry items I’ve been collecting. One of the items I’ve collected is an antique ironing board which I propped against the wall. Next to it I added an old white window that I found in my barn. I grabbed several christening dresses I have acquired from family and hung them on antique baby hangers. The linen dress on the far left adorned every child on my mom’s side of the family since 1927. All 3 of my children were baptised in this precious heirloom. But the main focus of my new room is a small sepia photograph of my mother pushing a bike at the age of 2. She sits centered above the ironing board right in the middle of “our new room”. Since I lost her 21 years ago this May, it’s nice to see her every day now. She certainly makes doing laundry much less of a chore.
This mother’s day week find your least favorite room and give it new life. Use your imagination and your Heirlooms, instead of your wallet. Total cost of renovation. $15 for wood trim, $50 for 2 white valances and $8 for a basket hook. All the rest came from upcycling and repositioning.
Antique ironing board framed by my collection of sepia children in white dresses, including mom, above ironing board.
An old window and a linen curtain hang next to my collection of sepia children in white dresses.
Find a stylish book to prop, grab a little lamp, and take a glass bowl and fill it with laundry detergent, then add a little tin scooper. This adds a fresh linen scent to the room, naturally. I just reach up and grab soap powder.
Found this great oval bucket one day and couldn’t pass it up. Paired it with an embroidered laundry bag I’ve had for decades. It was probably my mom’s.
Here is the collection of linen christening dresses. Some from my side, some from Mike’s. The one on the left has been passed down in my family since 1927, and christened my grandfather, my 3 children and almost every cousin and aunt and uncle in between. Antique laundry beater hangs alongside.
Pretty basket hook from Lowes.
Make sure it’s sturdy enough for everyday use.
Above the pegged shelf I have an assortment of things I just pulled from places around my home. Vintage sewing spools plopped in a cream crock, a little white McCoy pitcher with flowers, a vintage comb and brush holder and a book I love about New England design. Above all is a framed vintage school photo passed to me from my mother’s sister. The pretty white vase came from the salvation army shop, and I placed scrub brushes inside.
This wooden yellow table (now work surface) was just the right narrow width for the space. This, I found a long time ago at the Habitat for Humanity Re-sale store. It was a steal. I “repurposed pottery barn baskets” which were once lined in red checkered fabric and used in my children’s playroom, a gift from my mother-in-law. Now they store, plastic bags, rags and detergent under the table very neatly.
Found a wrought iron curtain rod and attached it to the shelf with a white eye-hook. Draped the valances to hide the ugly pipes and knobs. Who wants to see that!
A wrought iron candle holder from my uncle’s farmhouse. Incidentally, my mother’s brother.
I took a glass bowl from my kitchen and filled it with detergent, then found a old tin cup to scoop soap into the machine. The tin cup came from my mom.
And old lantern I had lying around, a framed piece of art from a neighbor and the framed photograph I had commissioned of the 1927 vintage christening gown sit on this shelf, along with dryer sheets tucked into a basket for easy access. I use the little lamp for all-day lighting. It provides a nice glow.
