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This project has been on my mind since we bought this house in 2011 and I'm so glad it's done!
(p.s. this room is only possible because I convinced my husband to hire a pro and move the washer and dryer upstairs to an unused closed in the unused guest room.)
Like most of you I have a tiny room between the garage and the rest of the house. They call it a laundry room...but I can it a IHateEverythingAboutThisRoom room. It has three doors, one linen closet, no windows, and more plumbing and electrical outlets than probably should be crammed into such a tiny space. We had our washer and dryer there for the last 3 years and I have hated every stinking day of it!
So after the washer and dryer were moved upstairs I got to work turning this high traffic room into a mudroom of my dreams. I first installed 6" plywood planks on three of the walls. The wall where the W/D used to be is built out with 2x4's to allow us to keep all the plumbing and electrical in place. We know this isn't our forever home and need the option to move the W/D back in this room if it will help with resale. Next, I built a simple bench (at the perfect height to conceal the large dryer plug and duct work) with two rolling bins for shoes. I kept the white cabinets we had from the laundry days, and added a modular two piece bookcase in the space on the right. This piece was built to be the exact same footprint as a small refrigerator in case we ever decide to get a second unit. The bottom of the bookcase unit is the perfect size to store an upright laundry hamper.
Finally, on the opposite wall I took out the door to the hallway that was never used and built a few organizational items to serve as a family command center. The two frames are built from 1x4's and one is a magnet board, and the second a plexiglass dry erase board. The center organizers are from metal fabric and 1x4's to hold school papers and pens. Finally, a simple stained 1x4 with some picture wire acts as our own family art display and is hung at the perfect height for my 3 year old and 5 year old to hang up their masterpieces.
This project has been on my mind since we bought this house in 2011 and I'm so glad it's done! (p.s. this room is only possible because I convinced my husband to hire a pro and move the washer and dryer upstairs to an unused closed in the unused guest room.) Like most of you I have a tiny room between the garage and the rest of the house. They call it a laundry room...but I can it a IHateEverythingAboutThisRoom room. It has three doors, one linen closet, no windows, and more plumbing and electrical outlets than probably should be crammed into such a tiny space. We had our washer and dryer there for the last 3 years and I have hated every stinking day of it! So after the washer and dryer were moved upstairs I got to work turning this high traffic room into a mudroom of my dreams. I first installed 6" plywood planks on three of the walls. The wall where the W/D used to be is built out with 2x4's to allow us to keep all the plumbing and electrical in place. We know this isn't our forever home and need the option to move the W/D back in this room if it will help with resale. Next, I built a simple bench (at the perfect height to conceal the large dryer plug and duct work) with two rolling bins for shoes. I kept the white cabinets we had from the laundry days, and added a modular two piece bookcase in the space on the right. This piece was built to be the exact same footprint as a small refrigerator in case we ever decide to get a second unit. The bottom of the bookcase unit is the perfect size to store an upright laundry hamper. Finally, on the opposite wall I took out the door to the hallway that was never used and built a few organizational items to serve as a family command center. The two frames are built from 1x4's and one is a magnet board, and the second a plexiglass dry erase board. The center organizers are from metal fabric and 1x4's to hold school papers and pens. Finally, a simple stained 1x4 with some picture wire acts as our own family art display and is hung at the perfect height for my 3 year old and 5 year old to hang up their masterpieces.
