Closet Cleaning
Hello! In the last post I talked all about the decorative finishes in the master bathroom. Today we are going to talk about converting one of the master closets into the laundry room. The laundry for our house is currently on the main floor and the space also acts as a makeshift mudroom - mud and clean clothes are not the best combination. We have had an upstairs laundry in our previous two houses (a total of fifteen years) and I am really missing the convenience of it. The "master suite" in this house currently has his and hers closets in the hallway that connects the bedroom to the bathroom. I am going to turn the "his" closet, which is on the right hand side as you walk from the bedroom to the bathroom, into the laundry room and the "her" closet" will become our only master closet.
The "his" closet is, and the laundry room will be, small. It is almost a seven foot square (seven foot, one inch by six feet, ten inches) and has a slanted ceiling on the far end. There are no windows in the space and we are unable to put one in, nor a sunlight, because of the exterior roof lines. This little room needs to be a master of efficiency and look bright on its own. This is a link to the renovation post on the space if you would like to start there.
Before we start here, I should mention that I take my laundry duties very seriously. I have a schedule for what type of laundry gets done on which day, I (knock on wood) am able to get almost any stain we have created out, and I do not take anything to the dry cleaners. I clean everything at home. The exception to that rule is John's dress slacks and work shirts. He takes those to the cleaners - if those clothes ever come back into fashion after Covid - he may go back to the dry cleaners on occasion. It seems like forever since he has been there though. Therefore I desire, I need really, the following in the laundry room:
clothes sorter
hanging rod
sink
drying rack
counter space for pre-treating and for folding
closed storage for laundry paraphernalia
I mentioned in the renovation post that I want cabinetry/counter space on three walls and the architect thought it would be too small and said wait until we demo to see. I have spent a lot of time measuring this space and imagining what it would be like with the three walls of cabinetry and countertops to address my wish (must have list) and I have devised a plan that I am very comfortable with. Warning - we are entering graph paper land again lol.
This is the overhead view of the space without any cabinetry and/or machine placement:
This is the overhead/floor plan view with cabinetry, etc. noted:
The two side walls:
The washer and dryer will be centered on the non-slanted portion of the wall with cabinetry directly above
I am lowering the height of the countertop from the standard three feet to thirty-two inches because the machines are only thirty inches tall. Since the ceiling is only seven feet tall it will help give the illusion of more space between the counter tops and cabinetry above. There will be about seven inches on each side of the cabinetry/machines before the entry wall on one side and the sink/cabinetry on the other. These gaps should also visually add space to the room.
The countertop depth for the sink wall will be twenty-two and one half inches (slightly less than the standard twenty-four inch cabinet depth/twenty-five inch countertop depth) so that the cabinetry/countertop lines up to the slant in the ceiling above.
There will be two narrow floor to ceiling cabinets on the wall opposite the washer and dryer with a standard thirty-six inch high countertop between the cabinets.
Beneath the counter top will be the clothes sorter on wheels.
Above the counter top will be a drying rack that either hangs from the ceiling or pulls down from the wall for any clothing that cannot be placed on hangers to dry.
The sink wall:
The sink will be centered between the cabinetry on the two side walls - it will not be centered with the doorway. The space between the two cabinetry walls is thirty-four inches, closer to thirty-two with counter tops taken into consideration. I want to have a farm sink and depending on the size, we may be able to have two narrow cabinets on either side of the sink as well as a cabinet directly below the sink. If the sink is too wide for that, there will only be a cabinet spanning the full length of the space below the sink. A hanging rod will span the entire length of the wall above the sink (the height will be slightly above where the slant begins.
Small and mighty? I think yes! What about you?
Following are a bunch of images I have added to my Sixth House inspiration binder over the past year for small space ideas:
Now, the mood board for the space!
I really want to have terra cotta tile flooring in the laundry room, like the inspiration photo from Amber Interiors on the mood board; and I am also totally in love with this bathroom showcasing terra cotta tiles:
The kitchen in my first house had square terra cotta tiles and we put rectangle salvaged terra cotta tiles in our kitchen in Baltimore when we renovated it. I have always loved terra cotta tiles and I think a hexagon pattern in the laundry room would both give a nod to the hexagon marble tile in the bathroom and look absolutely fantastic in the small space.
The cabinetry and walls, with the exception of the wall behind the sink, will be white. The walls will be paneled with vertical boards and painted in a high gloss white to withstand water. The wall behind the sink will be a penny round tile. I am tempted to do a subway or patterned tile, however since the room is so small I think it will be best to keep it simple. I love the idea of having a honed black granite sink and countertop. It might be best to keep the sink white though....stay tuned for that decision.
I will need good lighting since there is no natural light. I really like the flush mount on the mood board and we will most likely also put in four recessed lights on dimmers to make sure you can really see in there when you need to!
This image gives an idea of a tall narrow cabinet and shows horizontal paneling:
This would be a perfect hanging rack for the space between the two narrow cabinets:
And I love the way this hanging rod looks - would take a few extra cuts to hang something like this on a slanted ceiling, would be worth it though!
Now I will finish up with the changes I have described above to the original architect plans for the space:
This one shows the washer and dryer being centered and the removal of a lazy Susan cabinet.
This one shows the changes to the sink wall. There will now be cabinetry on both side walls of the sink and the sink will be centered in the space between it. I will have a garbage can under the sink and forgo the double trash cabinet which was probably overkill for the space. There will not be room to have a shelf and hanging rod on the sloped ceiling, only the rod will remain.
Wow! That was a lot of detail for a little space. Careful planning is essential though to make the most of what we have to work with. Next time I will talk about decorating the master bedroom. See you there!
Thank you for being here today,
Kerry
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