Valley House Tour: The Laundry Room

You guys. Can I just tell you how insanely excited I was to have a laundry ROOM!?! I have never once in all our homes and apartments had a space that was dedicated to the sole purpose of cleaning, ironing and folding our clothes. This is major business for me. So, so exciting.

When we were walking through the Valley house for the first time, heading down the hall, just past the office and before the master bedroom, the realtor said "And here we have the laundry room..." and everything went into slow-mo. The door seemed to inch open and there I saw it:

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Forest green buffalo check. Everywhere.

(More after the jump)...

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Countrified cabinets with that horrible gel stain just sitting on the top layer.

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Seafoam green laminate countertops with a forest green beveled edge!

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And more brick. Always more brick!

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Also, no appliances.

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This laundry room was a time capsule from 1986. But on the plus side, there is great light and it is pretty large for a laundry room. I like that there is a desk that I can use for my sewing machine. And even though the countertops are super ugly, at least there is plenty of counter space. Like, literally three times as much counter space as our kitchen in Brooklyn! Ha!

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I recently finished redoing this laundry room and I am so excited to share all the afters with you tomorrow. It feels like our savings account is really hurting this month after buying a new house and a new car for Michael and taking on some of the bigger reno projects (like the floors). So I was on a super tight budget for this room redo. Lots of cool projects to share tomorrow!

41 comments:

  1. I'm dying to see if you managed something with keeping that green countertop - I somehow feel you could make it work by changing the wall covering and the color of the cabinets.

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  2. I'm soooo excited to see what happened in there! I just did a stop-gap redo on my laundry room. The floors are permanent but the rest of it is temporary until we get new appliances. Soon. Lol.

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  3. Stop it! I can't believe you're already unveiling afters. I'm so excited to see what you did. I moved the same weekend as you and I'm still getting things put away. Don't know how you do it, but I'll gladly sit by and watch

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  4. That kind of thinking -realizing that there is more counter space than your previous kitchen- is what makes you awesome! You are grateful! Now, I still may have been like there's 6k off the house just for having to look at that...but even the positive is that it's a larger, fairly well lit,and a mostly functional space. I'm ready for the injection of your style and frugalness!

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  5. Super excited to see it all! Your project both old and new inspire me to be creative in my lil apartment!

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  6. Can not WAIT for the after shots tomorrow..bring it on!!!

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  7. What amazes me is that some actually liked this and could live here for years without going crazy...

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  8. Can't wait to see what you have done with it!

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  9. Wow, it's huge! We are in the process of buying a new house and I'm excited that I have a larger laundry room too! Not as large as yours, but I can't wait to see your update!

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  10. The Komendas move to Arizona and buy a weird but perfect house and make it awesome is my Favorite. Story. Ever! I am following along with rapt attention and loving every second!!! (This may have something to do with the fact that I dream unrealistic dreams about pantries, laundry rooms, garages, and closet space. Sigh....)

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  11. So funny that you started your renovations in a laundry room of all places. Must have been the relatively easy quick fix that you needed to get the momentum started. Can't wait to see what you did!

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  12. ok, i haven't really seen the house in the bad light that you've been painting it for all the rooms so far....but this one, i am in total agreement!! it is definitely ugly!!

    can't wait to see the transformation!

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  13. i cannot believe you are already finished with redoing the laundry. you must be working in that house around the clock! our current house is my first with a laundry room, and i just love it. i've made it into a space that i really enjoy being in & now laundry isn't nearly as bad! i think you're going to enjoy having it.

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  14. Cannot wait....we just did a major house reno and my husband told me I couldn't buy anytning for 6 months... well the six months are up and i'm still afraid to pull the trigger and buy stools for my new kitchen island.... (they are on sale)you guys impress me with your can do attitude. Don't know how you live in a playroom and renovate a laundry room w/ 3 kids underfoot but more power to you!

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  15. You're only a month in and you've already fully tackled a room? I'm in awe of your motivation and efficiency.

    Can't wait to see the reveal!

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  16. Very excited to start seeing some reveals! Also kind of glad the house tour's over ;)

    http://www.fullbellywornsoles.com

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  17. Looking forward to seeing your changes - the amount of space is so great for you and your family!

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  18. I have to admit I kind of dig the buffalo check! And I am jealous you got to shop for a new washer and dryer. That is my biggest suburban fantasy--having my own appliances!

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  19. cannot wait. i bet you painted those countertops.

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  20. My mudroom is the room I was most excited for in our house. Utility space makes such a HUGE difference in quality of life!

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  21. Part of me actually LOVES the buffalo check wallpaper, but I wouldn't blame you one bit for getting rid of it! Can't wait to see what you did.

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  22. i'm so excited to see what you've done! part of me thinks you either kept the wallpaper or the countertops...but maybe not. i know you didn't keep that fan though. :)

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  23. Holy shiz, that wallpaper. Please tell me you kept it. hahahahahahaha.

    Can't wait to see the reveal!

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  24. That is a really great space (despite the brick floor!). Can't wait to see what you've done with it. Thanks for all your inspiration!


    Laura at Rather Square

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  25. So excited to see what you do with your new home, Jenny!

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  26. We sold our big house last year and I think I miss my laundry sink almost as much as anything else we're doing without now. So useful for cleaning up paint, repotting plants, dying fabric and, of course, laundry chores! Can't wait to see the Komenda magic happen here!

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  27. Ok... My jaw literally DROPPED at seeing that. Like... omg... I just... I don't even know. Can't wait to see the update!

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  28. You are cracking me up with this house! I love hearing about your thoughts and what on earth you are going to do to fix things. I'm excited for tomorrow!

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  29. To make it really 1980's there'd have to be some burgundy with the green and maybe a floral wallpaper border as a chair rail. :-) Still I'd love to have a laundry room, forest green or not. My washer/dryer are in the master bath. Really hard to get a spa vibe going with the laundry staring at you.

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  30. If the brick floor weren't SHINY.... And I like Buffalo checks in a light beige. But green? UGH. I can't wait to see your reveal. I know you had to get this one out of the way so you could have your new washer & dryer installed. I, too, am sitting here in awe of your energy level!

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  31. I wish I had photos of all the rooms I have decorated and "loved" at the time. I would swear now that I would NEVER do country cute but lol I'm pretty sure that would be a lie. Remembering plaids and matching duck fabric. Not pretty, k

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  32. The forest green edge.....oh my goodness.

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  33. WOW! I am so jealous! I can't wait to see what you've done! Did you paint the brick white? I've always wanted to do that look on a floor! So excited for you!

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  34. I have a feeling that you were able to transform this space from 1980s to 2010s without breaking the bank... you're so talented! Can't wait to see the afters!

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  35. I feel you on the money flow. We just bought our first house a month ago, and our move-in budget, which seemed like plenty a month ago, is already gone. We went from a small two bedroom apartment to a pretty large four bedroom house. We have rooms that are still completely empty. I can't imagine having to finance a big project like new floors on top of finding enough furniture to fill all the new spaces. I just keep telling myself that we're going to live here for a long time and things won't feel finished for years and that's part of the fun. We "finished" our apartment after two years and then it wasn't really fun any more.

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  36. I'd love a big laundry like that - lots 'o potential, there!
    I used some of that gel stain on my parents' built-ins recently - to cover that mid-tone builder grade oak stuff. Didn't think it was that bad...Oops!
    ag

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  37. I have the world's worst cabinets in my kitchen. (To be honest the whole kitchen is a little iffy) I'm in no position to do a full remodel, but I really like the idea of modge podge and wrapping paper to clean and brighten the cupboards up. And maybe if I slapped some fresh paint on the walls and did a little decorating I could do something sort of like this.asbestos removal Los Angeles Thanks for the tips!

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  38. Looks like the homeowner before you really liked picnics!

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I so appreciate hearing from you. Nice comments make my day! Thanks for keeping things light here, friends! :)