Laundry room design board & accessories | Classy Glam Living

You know the feeling of something so close, yet so far? That's how I'm feeling right now about our upcoming move. I've shared all of our new house's decor and design plans except for one very important room - the laundry room. I've never really given much thought about a laundry room until I realized how much of a pain it's been with a basement laundry here at the rental. Had this been a bungalow, it wouldn't have mattered. But our rental is a 3-storey townhouse + basement, and that makes putting away our clean laundry back up 3 flights of stairs quite the workout. Needless to say, I've just gotten worse in falling behind in this department constantly.

We had a great sized laundry room at our old house, and spoiled that it was upstairs with our bedrooms. Most people prefer the laundry with the mudroom downstairs, but I may be the exception. It's so convenient to have it upstairs, and makes laundry less of a chore... and a workout. Though admittedly, I didn't think of it that way.

Luckily, the laundry room at the new house is also on the bedroom floor! It is probably 2/3 the size of our old laundry room, so I'm determined to make it as functional as possible.

Builder's layout of our new house laundry room

No upgrades were made with the builder for this laundry room. We just couldn't justify the prices they charge for the optional upper cabinets and to have their favourite plastic utility sink fitted in a cabinet. Plus, we didn't want to be limited by their cabinet selections nor the positioning for what I have in mind.

I have a simple wishlist... but after having done laundry in the basement, these seem like luxuries:

lots of task lighting
countertop as folding station
ample storage
drying area - hang drying and lay-flat drying

Nice and bright lighting

The smell of fresh laundry would be more enjoyable in a brightly lit laundry room. Back at our old house, the laundry room lacked natural light and was dark, lit only by the builder's dome light fixture that we never switched out. At the new house, my first priority for this laundry room would be installing task lighting. This photo from Rambling Renovators below is my inspiration for bright task lighting. Even though this laundry is in the basement, it's nice and bright with the pot lights.

Folding station countertop

We had a long folding space at our old house's laundry room, but it was under-utilized since it was another dumping spot for miscellaneous household items. I'm paying for that now, as I miss that dearly and would love to have a folding counter at our new house!

A popular trend is to build the laundry room to function like a small kitchen, minus the cooking part. Pull-out hampers, built-in ironing boards in cabinets used for kitchens, and of course, a countertop as the folding station, just to name a few.

This photo below is my all time favourite. It's such an elegant space to do laundry! I also love how the countertop above the washers/ dryers is beautifully equipped with laundry supplies.

My plan is to run a countertop from the laundry sink and across onto the washer and dryer as the folding station. That should provide lots of space for folding and decorating :-)

Storage and lots of it

To avoid another dump site at the new laundry room, I need to designate a place for everything from the get go. You know, the usual suspects of light bulbs, extra cleaning supplies, vases, containers, etc. Don't know how they always found their way onto my laundry counter back at the old house.

I love this combination of closed storage and open shelves with baskets. The open shelves make the backsplash area look higher than it is, and in turn make the ceiling look taller. Open shelves would be an ideal spot to store frequently accessed items, such as towels and other linens.

This set of closed storage with frosted glass labels is super cute! The glass doors also help to reflect light in a small space, making the laundry room appear brighter.

Drying areas

There just never seem to be enough room to hang dry our delicates here at the rental. I'm just drooling over the hanging space above the counter in these photos:

I was back and forth on the location of the hanging space. If we do install the hanging rod above the counter, our hanging garments will face the entrance of the laundry room, I'm not sure how well that'll go with the clean and uncluttered look I'm after.

My best option is to leave the wall above the machines only for storage cabinets, facing the entrance, and install the hang drying racks on the wall beside the doorway, like so:

This way, the hanging garments are "hidden" from sight when you look in. I've already gotten this collapsible hanging rod to go on that wall. It'll be folded in when not in use to minimize the space it takes up.

And these foldable drying racks from IKEA can go under the rod, collapsed when not in use also:

Design options

While the wall with the drying racks won't be too attractive, my plan for the opposite storage wall will hopefully make up for that. My dilemma is whether to match the base sink cabinet fronts to our graphite set of machines, or to choose a wood toned front to add warmth. These are currently my coveted choices from IKEA's SEKTION kitchen series:

These horizontal wall cabinets, also from IKEA's SEKTION series, would be great for the upper storage. We can run them along the length of the wall, leaving out the bottom door for the combination of open and closed storage options mentioned above.

IKEA SEKTION horizontal wall cabinet | Laundry room design board | Classy Glam Living

As for the countertop, this slab of Caesarstone in White Shimmer with pieces of mirror chips in it would pick up the white shimmery lines of our builder's floor tiles.

To add visual interest, the curvy lines of these moroccan lantern backsplash tiles create an interesting juxtaposition against all the flat surfaces in the laundry room.

Since the Mr. is a visual person, I've put together this design board to help him visualize what's in my head.

faucet / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 — *faucet* / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Designing the laundry room to function efficiently is a must, making it pretty is a bonus. Don't know about you, but laundry is my most dreaded chore. I'm hopeful that beautifying this utility room will help me get back on track with our ever growing mountain of laundry. The logic is simple: happy laundry room --> happy wife --> happy life ;-)

Which base cabinet option would you choose?

Kid Space Area | Playroom Essentials | Modern Industrial | Classy Glam Living

***CHECK OUT THE COMPLETED PLAYROOM HERE!!***

One night during our bedtime chat, little man told me that he missed our old house, because it had more room (read, more spacious). I hear him for sure. There was a ton of walk-through space at the old house, where he could run around with daddy during gun battles or played never-ending sessions of hide and seek.

Of course, Daddy and Mommy can't wait to move into the new house either! So far, it's making good progress, even in this dreary winter weather. The builder had set up the scaffolding when we drove by last weekend (yes we still stalk our new house every weekend!), so they should be bricking this week. In the meantime, the Mr. and I continue to play around with room ideas. Looking at the floorplan, it seems our glass desk would be too large for the spare bedroom, which we naturally designated as our office.

Maybe we can get a smaller desk for the office? Instead of getting stuck on the notion that we have an office, the Mr. came up with an ingenious idea (yet again). How about we turn that room into little man's playroom?

I was reluctant at first, but eventually gave in. I guess we don't really need a home office - what I really wanted was the storage. We would use the home office only occasionally back at the old house. So I think the Mr. is right, the little man can use that extra space for toy storage and also for arts and crafts.

While I prefer the rest of the house to be a more traditional glammed up adult space, I also love the modern minimalist clean lines. I think the playroom would be the best place to try out this modern and playful twist; maybe even adding some industrial chic!

I would love to incorporate these modern/ industrial elements for little man's playroom.

I love the "kidified" modern and clean feel of these rooms. But clean??? Not sure about that for a PLAYROOM. So I've come up with a list of 8 essentials for my vision of the modern and whimsical playroom.

1. CLOSED STORAGE

To achieve a "clean" look, I would want most of the smaller toys out of sight. Storage units can easily hide the puzzles, legos, etc.. These units have that modern/ clean/ industrial feel I'm looking for. I'm leaning towards the Restoration Hardware style. I'll need to get the Mr. onboard for this DIY project.

Closed Storage | Modern Industrial Playroom | Kid Space Area | Classy Glam Living

2. OPEN STORAGE

When I was a kid, I don't think I had any problems fitting my toys into a storage unit. Did I not get enough toys, or are boys' toys bigger than girls'? I need the open storage because a Star Wars light sabre, or Nerf gun, wouldn't fit into a storage unit! I would keep these open storage in a neutral tone, just so they don't attract more attention than need be.

sources:  1. home decorators; 2. redinfred; 3. restoration hardware — *sources: 1. home decorators; 2. redinfred; 3. restoration hardware*

3. COMFY RUG

Kids love playing and rolling around on the floor. A rug would also protect hardwood floors from being damaged by dropped toys. "Oops, sorry mommy." - heard a lot of that when little man was a tiny toddler, trying to hold onto a toy too big or too heavy for himself.

As much as I love this rug, it's a no go for the playroom. Have you ever stepped on a piece of transparent lego? No fun. And shaggy rugs conceal every little piece of toy. OUCH!

To spare our soles (and souls), we would go with a low pile one. Maybe even an indoor/ outdoor rug for added durability.

sources:  1. IKEA; 2. kORHANI; 3. pOTTERY BARN kIDS — *sources: 1. IKEA; 2. kORHANI; 3. pOTTERY BARN kIDS*

4. ARTS AND CRAFT AREA

Before the idea of this playroom came about, I was going to put an arts/ work area in his room. I guess now we can spare that space in his bedroom, and move the arts and crafts area to the playroom. Maybe he'll get even more inspired to channel his inner Picasso!

I've always loved this round table from IKEA for its simple lines and great surface area. Its modern look pairs well with any of these chairs, injecting some colours and whimsy to the playroom.

Arts & Crafts Area | Modern Industrial Playroom | Kid Space Area | Classy Glam Living

5. ART DISPLAY AREA

After little Picasso is done with his art, of course he would want the world to see it. These are some pretty cool art displays to hang a ton of art.

*images via 1. living well spending less; 2. the project girl*

6. COOL LIGHT FIXTURE

With all the going-on's in the playroom, we need some comfortable lighting. These light fixtures reinforce the modern look of the playroom, while adding a touch of industrial chic.

sources:  1. DOT & BO; 2. IKEA; 3. RH BABY & CHILD — *sources: 1. DOT & BO; 2. IKEA; 3. RH BABY & CHILD*

7. WHIMSICAL WALL ACCENTS

Just like any other rooms, the playroom can definitely use some accent pieces. It's a legitimate space to add some fun accessories! I've always loved these cardboard animal busts, and even better when they come in patterns! The red plaid one would add a splash of colour!

SOURCES:  1. CARDBOARD SAFARI; 2. UNCOMMON GOODS — *SOURCES: 1. CARDBOARD SAFARI; 2. UNCOMMON GOODS*

Lighted marquee letters are everywhere these days. It's also a great way to add accent lighting. I think I just found another DIY project for the Mr.!

These art prints are too adorable and they can make up a small gallery wall. Having them all in grey frames would bring some uniformity to this accent wall.

sources:  1. Etsy; 2. ONE KINGS LANE; 3. CHAPTERS INDIGO; 4. ZAZZLE; 5. HAUTELOOK — *sources: 1. Etsy; 2. ONE KINGS LANE; 3. CHAPTERS INDIGO; 4. ZAZZLE; 5. HAUTELOOK*

8. A PLACE TO CHILLAX

Last but not least, it's nice to have a spot to chillax in this chillaxing room. Maybe after all the fighting with action figures, little man would want some quiet time and sit down with a book (in my dreams). He would need a comfy spot for that, and these bean "chairs" just look so inviting.

SOURCE:  FAT BOY USA — *SOURCE: FAT BOY USA*

Kids go bonkers with tents... they love hiding in their own private space (as much as parents want to hide from them sometimes?). I can see little man playing with his action figures in this teepee and then using it as a closed storage :-)

SOURCE:  RH BABY & CHILD — *SOURCE: RH BABY & CHILD*

So how will everything fit in little man's tiny playroom? I've tentatively come up with this layout/ moodboard.

Playroom Layout | Modern Industrial | Kid Space Area | Classy Glam Living

Playroom Essentials with a Modern Industrial Twist | Kid Space Area | Classy Glam Living

It's not a large room, but I want to pack it with fun stuff to look at. The modern feel is accentuated with clean lines and neutral tones, while accent pieces infuse colours into the room. This is a room that he can easily grow into as his study room once he's over the toys stage... but will boys ever be done with toys?!

This room has large windows, which will bring in lots of natural light for little man to play and colour... especially great during weekend mornings, when Daddy and Mommy prefer to sleep in.

Did I miss any essentials for a playroom? Please let us know... whatever helps us get more sleep on weekend mornings!