in my house: laundry room makeover

I have been wanting to do a "makeover" on my laundry room for a long time now. I live in my laundry room. Well okay, not literally, but sort of... a family of {seven} tends to make a great deal of laundry. I also might have mentioned {once or twice} that I actually {LOVE} to do laundry. I love the calming affect that sorting and folding laundry has on my spirit. I love ironing. A monotonous but gratifying chore for me. I love crisp towels and sheets, miniature piles of soft little kiddo socks and stacks of sweetly scented dyed textiles for the studio...and so I want this room that I spend so much time in to be {beautiful} ...

...  I love walking into this room through a {screen door} ...

... this room was never {ugly} ... just {dark}. Very dark. It is an interior room, so no windows. A great panic room for when the occasional hurricane blows in, but a terrible in terms of available {light}. Among the many things that disturb me as a person who suffers from OCD is a lack of sufficient {light}. I need light. Lots of light. My living room and studio are flooded with light. It is wonderful, but sadly, unless I tear down my garage and the staircase leading to the second floor of my house and add a window or two, this is not going to be the case in my laundry room ...

...so I decided to bring the light in another way. Through paint and fixtures. Artificial light is better than  no light at all. This is what the laundry room looked like before. Don't ask about the paint color. I chose it. I hated it, but had to live with it for the last two years. 

FINALLY I made the time to repaint, rearrange. The result was nothing shy of {amazing}. I could not believe the transformation in such a simple move. Two coats of paint and an added lamp and it was literally like {night and day}.

It was the cheapest room makeover I have ever completed. Two gallons of paint from Home Depot {$55}. One new fluorescent light bulb for the ceiling fixture {$6.93}. One lamp from goodwill {$5.00}. 

Grand Total {$66.93} Wow!

All the other little decorating {details} were found by shopping my own home and closets. Swapping items out of one room to add to another is a biggie for me. I do it all of the time. An easy fix when you feel like you want something new, but don't want to spend a lot of money.

These cool wall stars came home on the roof of car from one of my many visits to Pennsylvania. They didn't even show up on the darker painted wall. Now they are beautiful focal point.

I shopped for this cool over sized frame in Miss Sophia's Bedroom. She has informed me that I will need to replace it ... I shall be thinking of what to put in it's stead.

... this piece from {IKEA} is not my style at all. It is modern and cold, but functional. I have a plan for what it is going in it's place, but have yet to build it. Will keep you posted on that. In the meantime I am going to try a sew this for the top of it...and while I do not like the looks of this piece, it really is a great item to have in the laundry room. The three large bins on the bottom sort laundry into whites, lights and darks. The three large middle bins are for the older children's clean and folded laundry. The three smaller bins sort hangars, school projects and papers that are ready to be filed and miscellaneous things that need a {home}...

... the counter top over the washer and dryer slides out for easy access to the machines ...

... Glass jars hold dye catcher, fabric softener and swiffer sheets ...

... an old lamp was given a coat of white paint. The bamboo shade was covered in shabby linen ruffles ...

... a vintage wire basket from the studio was dumped of its' contents and hung on the wall. A pretty hydrangea was clipped to side ...

... more glass jars were filled with all sort of laundry goodies ...

...an old candle tin was propped up on a pretty frame stand. The glass lamp is from {goodwill} ...

... little paper birds on a tray add some whimsy ...

... a reproduction crate with glass jars ...

...I hate cords. This sweet cord cover was fashioned from a length of linen. Now the cord can lay on the counter top without looking offensive ...

...a faux lavender bouquet. Perfect addition to a laundry room ...

... cork boards covered with burlap, vintage resin letters and shabby flowers spell out a favorite saying in french - {have faith my friend} ...

 ... { this is for petite michell } ...

 ...I keep my giant white enamel pots handy. I use these to dye my fabrics, but they look so pretty sitting out too ...

... a canvas pennant adorns the frame ...

... assorted large baskets for sorting and folding laundry adds warmth to an all white room ...

...the laundry room sink sits on the opposite side of the {IKEA} counter. It is indispensable to me. I use it for everything from rinsing dyed fabric to storing wet pool towels until they are laundered. There is a hanging rack that folds down from the wall behind the sink. It is great for hanging delicate "drip dry" items - they can {drip} right into the sink.

... and my favorite giant wire baskets. I love to use for storing folded sheets and towels ...

...  I love the feeling of walking into a {light filled} room. It is so refreshing and cheerful. I am still amazed at the difference such a small detail as {paint color} can make ...