We were lucky that the sellers of our first home included their washing machine and dryer in the purchase! They're tucked away in the corner of our unfinished basement. I shared recently about the process of enclosing (and painting!) our basement stairs, which created a new wall and closet as part of the laundry area – plus opportunities to make it feel a little more like a dedicated space.
Before I share the details though... the "before" pictures. The first one is from right after we moved in, so, you know, chaos. Next you'll see what it looked like cleaned up, plus a glimpse of the stairs as well.
Just getting it cleaned up was a big improvement, but still -- yeesh! A lot of that stuff is now being stored in the closet.
Here are the steps we took to freshen up the space a little:
- Kristie painted the concrete walls white, using a paint that also seals out moisture. Our basement is dry, but we wanted to be extra safe.
- Once the contractor finished enclosing the stairs and adding the closet, she and Miles painted the new sheetrock wall and the closet door. I love the color of the door – it's Valspar's Deep Twilight Blue (and seems super close to the Hamilton Blue color we'd both been seeing all over TikTok lately!)
- Kristie put down faux marble peel-and-stick tile [affiliate link], and we ordered and installed a small freezer [affiliate link] between the dryer and the wall (under the shelf) to keep extra food – especially coming in handy with the freezer cooking we've been doing to prepare for baby #2!
- Our everyday laundry detergent, dryer balls, and delicates bag are all kept within easy reach on the wall shelf, so I organized the rest of our laundry supplies in a basket on top of the freezer (I love that it's out of sight), and put out a few decor items on the shelf and the wall opposite the washer and dryer. I'll list sources below if you're curious about anything!
I'm so pleased with how it turned out. BIG shoutout to the new closet, which is now hiding a lot of what was in those "before" photos!
SOURCES
Peel & stick tile / Home Depot [affiliate link]
Freezer / Home Depot [affiliate link]
Rug / Nautica, Marshalls
"hello laundry, my old friend" wall hanging / Marshalls (but I found one on Poshmark!)
Small punch needle made by me / Urban Acres kit
South Hadley print / Casey Williams Art [affiliate link] (a gift from our realtor!)
Dog needlepoint / Made by my grandmother
Wire basket on shelf / Target; similar [affiliate link]
Faux plant on shelf / Marshalls
Delicates bag / Amazon
