Remember when we first started out here, and I explained to you about how “if I can do it, so can you”?
Like, everyone has a mental spectrum, and on that spectrum there are two ends. One end is a paragon of fabulousness, of the unreachable stars of whatever it is that you are thinking about doing; the last word in perfection. This end is represented differently for different people.
The other end is that person who does stuff, slaps it on the internet, and causes you think to yourself, “well, gosh, if she can do that, so can I!”
In this post you will see how I'm that end. You're welcome!
Want to find out how we went from this:
To this?
So, some disclaimers. (There will be more sprinkled throughout this post, never fear.)
An online friend recently commented about how hard it is to take pictures of a bathroom. Yes, yes it is.
I'm not a professional photographer, as you well know. My camera is fairly basic.
Remember that the pictures here that make the room look big are taken with a wide-angle lens. It's pretty small, actually — about 8 x 9′.
I did Pinterest things up a little. I took out our ugly trashcan — will keep an eye out for a nicer one. But yes, we actually do dispose of trash in this room! And I put some hydrangeas in there because it looks nicer that way, don't you think? I don't know that I would normally do that if I weren't showing off to you here.
Okay, some BEFORES — don't judge, I beg! Think of how big this house is, and how many things, all chronicled here and more, needed to be attended to before this room! And how many children I had to send to college! (If you go here, you will see the map of the upstairs and the relationship of this room to the rest.) (We could actually tell you stories about this room, as I think the visual evidence bears witness.)
Note the rectangular fixture in the ceiling. This is important for later.
So this is a copper tub, from the 1800s. (That is true, not me being funny.)
I know, right?
Kind of paralyzing.
No claw feet, no actual charm. But old. We like old. (Needless to say, Bridget was the most pro-tub.) But maybe not this much…
Commence the gutting, the hauling, and the plumbing.
Keep in mind that all the money went into the plumbing. That kills, because of course, you don't see it.
Discussion:
By the time you get done with the plumbing and the appliances that are way deeper than that tub, you are pretty far out into the room. The dryer door has to open. Plus, on the second floor, we really wanted to have that pan under the washer, just in case (even though the floor is waterproof).
So pedestal sink it was. (If I could have done things differently, I would have tried to find a dresser and repurpose it into a vanity. That's actually not that hard! And it's cheap! But there just wasn't room.) I found this one on Craigslist.
Please note the hanging of the blow dryer on the command hook under the sink (the hook is on the chest of drawers). Not much room to put things + not many outlets = problem — but I solved it!
(I'll put all the particulars on sources/products at the end of the post.)
I don't know whether it was the plumber or the issues with the house, but there was a lot of exposed junk behind the appliances. Anyway, it is what it is.
DURING:
(I'm only showing you this bad pic so that you know that there is a stage where it's all blurry…)
AFTER:
As I said, the $$ went to the plumbing. So the shelving was put together by my handy Chief — stained and beeswaxed pine boards and the cheapest brackets available, spray-painted that pop of blue (I don't think they turned out too lurid, do you?).
I went to all the stores, you know, Marshall's, TJ Maxx, etc. for likely storage bins/baskets/holders. This part took even longer than the forever of the other parts!
Rosie gave me a pep talk: “Mom, just buy the things. They will be $6 and you need to just buy them.”
So I did. In the end, I will return some of them (not pictured). The baskets are all “shopped from the house.” The wire basket was from Homegoods or one of those places. The real challenge was to find things tall enough to conceal the bleach and ammonia jugs (I use them all the time — go to my laundry posts for more info).
I was in Joann's, actually, and those metal Eiffel tower bins were $5 and $6 each on clearance, so I did get those.
The laundry detergent will be stored in the enameled bin on the dryer — right now, I'm working on a jug of liquid detergent that I was able to store in the cupboard when the washer was in the mudroom. I see that on Pinterest, the thing to do is put your liquid laundry detergent in attractive bottles, but I don't know… seems… like it won't actually work in terms of being hasty and needing not to drip detergent everywhere.
It was really hard to figure out what to do about the huge rectangular hole in the ceiling, short of putting in yet more money and labor into redoing what was otherwise not a problem. Finally I decided to combine the large medallion with the big fixture. The ceiling is actually quite low, so it wasn't easy to find one that was both big and fairly flush to the ceiling:
The sconces are the ones that were there, moved closer together, spray painted black, and endowed with new glass shades. I sort of love these bubbly ones:
And here's how the mudroom, where the laundry used to be and where you enter, looks now:
Okay, on to sources!
Floor: The same as in the other bathroom, which is on the other side of the wall with the appliances. Here's what I said about it over there: Shaw’s Matrix Regency Vinyl Plank Flooring in Gunstock, from Lowe’s (I bought this after buying a similar product from Home Depot; I was actually hoping for a lighter color (which I think doesn’t show as much dirt). I was checking out with enough flooring for both bathrooms and caught sight of a sample laid out. My, it was ugly! So I turned right around and returned it all! After much texting of photos to Rosie and a considerable amount of agonizing over the fact that some colors are in stock and some are decidedly not and anyway how are you supposed to tell, I found this one at Lowe’s. I love it.)
Paint: Walls and trim, Valspar Bistro White — this was a real shot from the hip in the store, when I wanted them to match the Benjamin Moore White Dove and their computer wouldn't show it up for them. I really love how the white turned out; it made me want to paint every room this white.
Big shout-out to Bridget, who painted this room and basically rescued the bits that were not gutted (the walls on the window and radiator sides) and all the trim from despair. She worked really hard and did a great job. I made the decision to put wallpaper liner on the wall with the window – what you have to know is that we didn't remove the fake panelling that was there before, but it wasn't in good condition under the wallpaper. Old-house nightmares…
Ceiling paint: Take a tip from me and use glossy paint for your bathroom ceilings, preferably one that is mold-resistant.
Lighting: The ceiling medallion and the fixture were from Amazon. The sconces were there already — the Chief removed them for me, I spray painted them, and he put them back. The glass shades are from Lowes and are pretty cheap, under $10. I use those chandelier lights in them — vintage bulbs would have been nice but they are too pricey for me.
Shelving: Nice pine boards from Home Depot; Varathane wood stain in dark walnut; white brackets; Valspar blue spray paint.
Black chest of drawers: Brown chest of drawers in the guest room, something that Habou picked up, spray painted black.
Sink: This is a Kohler Archer pedestal sink, which I was lucky enough to find, brand-new in the box, on Craigslist, for $120. This kind of sink requires an 8″ spread faucet, which we got from Home Depot, I think.
Toilet: Kohler Memoirs, purchased from Lowes. It had been in the other bathroom, before we decided that no, we weren't actually abandoning the almond.
Fabric: The fabric is from Joann's, quite a while ago. I really loved it and then made peace with the fact that I was not going to make a black-and-white quilt. I had juuuuussttt enough for these curtains — used every inch!
Metal bins: From Joann's and Homegoods.
Mirror, washboard, and other sundries: Thrift stores and yard sales.
(The Amazon links are affiliate links — thanks for using them!)
Rosie says
It all looks amazing and wonderful, and good job on the bins and baskets, but I worry that you did not adequately express the non-functionality of the “before” blue bathroom.
Like, how the tub had been used ONCE (twice?) in 17 years.
Or that the toilet had not been functional for 15 years.
Or that only the hot water faucet worked, and it was just a light trickle that didn’t warm up for ages.
Or, in brief that this was actually just a place to fix your hair in front of a mirror.
And now it is an adorable, fully-functional laundry room and half bath!!
Rosie says
(I assume you just were trying to remember to show us all the new cuteness of it, and forgot to dwell on the before. But I think a little dwelling is warranted.)
Leila says
But this post was already so lo-ho-ho-hong…
Dixie says
Too long? You forget that we are like 3-year-olds and you are ice cream…we always want more, more, more! 😉
Leila says
haha Dixie, well maybe we will revisit at some point… there are STORIES I tell you…
Deirdre says
No, Rosie’s right. Let’s go ahead and dwell for a moment, because this bathroom is now basically like a hyper-useful and convenient gift from the fairy Godmother where previously there was just a dank hole of a space.
Sally says
I loved everything and appreciate you sharing the details!! I really thought putting the curtain where you did was such a good idea – so cute. That might work in my laundry room!! I am going to give it a try. You have inspired me:-) Also really loved the large light fixture on the ceiling. Thanks again!!
Leila says
Thanks, Sally!
BridgetAnn says
Oh, I’m with my nameshare on the tub…. but one must be practical, I suppose. Claw-feet or not, I’d still have a hard time parting with it! Did it work?
Lovely job! (Btw, my husband is a journey plumber & hands-down prefers pedestal sinks 🙂
BridgetAnn says
Haha, just saw Rosie’s comment about the tub 🙂
Woman of the House says
It’s beautiful and functional! I like the quirks of old houses . . . until it’s time to remodel. For fifteen years we lived in a house built in 1917, so I understand the complexities of working with old plumbing, etc. We moved our laundry upstairs about twelve years into our time there, and I loved it! No more lugging baskets of laundry up and down the stairs. We used a pan under our washer, too, just in case. I hope your new bathroom/laundry room brings you many years of pleasure and convenience!
Leila says
Thank you!
Jill says
What did you do with the tub when you took it out?
Leila says
It’s in the garage!
Want to buy it??
lisa says
I totally thought when I saw you’d removed the tub: I bet they can sell that for a pretty penny on craigslist! 😉
DonnaL says
Yes, I thought so, too! A pretty *copper* penny, right Auntie Leila?
Jill says
If you don’t want to keep it you should look into recycling it. My son had a couple copper pipe fittings and made $50 recycling them. The tub might be worth more recycled than sold. Just something to consider. Wouldn’t it be fun if the tub paid for the bathroom remodel?
Leila says
Don’t worry, Jill, the Chief is on it.
We won’t throw it away!
Elizabeth says
How lovely! you made something quite beautiful with a lot of thought, thrift and ingenuity! Looks very nice!!!
Leila says
Thanks, Elizabeth!
Jennifer says
I love your old house!! I too have an old one and currently no money to fix what needs fixing but I’ve always been inspired by your mentality of just making things look pretty by using what you already have.
Leila says
Thanks, Jennifer!
Carol Kennedy says
I just want to see inside all those cute baskets and bins. What’s in there and how do you keep at all straight and does it stay neat when you are not doing pinterest-worthy pictures?
Leila says
Carol, above the washer the tall baskets hold bleach and ammonia, respectively. The smaller of the metal bins holds those little things like a container of oxyclean, some shout, a little cup for measuring small amounts of things… the big metal bin holds light bulbs, previously stored in the linen closet (which I need to clean out, bigtime!).
The white enamel basin in the far right upper corner is empty — it’s for soaking things as needed.
The handled basket over the toilet holds the comet and a sponge, for cleaning.
We are just starting out on this journey of storage, so we shall see. But so far so good!
Kiera says
Regarding the old tub, I learned from my thrifty husband that, if the old tub is solid copper, you can sell it to metal salvage folks for a very good price per pound (or ounce?). I guess copper is quite in demand right now.
Leila says
Kiera, for years and years we have been trying to figure out what to do with the tub… craigslist, museum, scrap… but so far, well, we’ll see. I’m hoping that we can get rid of it, for real, and a little cash would be nice!
Stephanie in Germany says
So, do you do all your laundry upstairs? Folding, ironing… That saves a lot of lugging!
Leila says
Stephanie, yes — it all stays on that floor, other than ironing, which at the moment still takes place in the pantry/sewing area off the kitchen. We may figure out a way to have an ironing board here as well.
In the summer, I will now have to lug the wet clothes out to the line, but I think that’s okay, even though that’s heavy and before, I could just go right out my mudroom door. Our drying season isn’t that long…
Mrs. B. says
When I can figure out a place to put my ironing board I will be a happier soul… For now I keep lugging everything back and forth, downstairs and upstairs, ironing in the kitchen, in the bedroom, even in the living room, while the others are watching tv, then shoving the board now in the “laundry room” (if you had seen it you would understand the scare quotes…), now the closet in our bedroom. And of course the floor where I leave it is never the floor where I next need it to be…
I suggest a sturdy rope to lower the laundry basket out of the window 😉
Susan (DE) says
It’s beautiful! I am impressed!
I know doing things like that is such hard work.
What’s with the white house? Is that an unpainted side? I thought your house was YELLOW now. ????
Leila says
Thanks, Susan, it was hard work!! And TOOK FOREVER!
The house is yellow, it’s just that the morning sun was hitting it and the hydrangeas were sort of still in the shade, so the brightness took over!
Colleen says
For me, it’s always the simple things I overlook, yet make all the difference. I’ve been hating the ugly of pipes, cords, on the wall of my laundry room. Until now, I’ve always ruled out curtains because I thought they’d need to be flush with the existing shelving – which wouldn’t work because they’d cover the controls of my machines. But you’ve got yours set back a bit on the shelving. I could totally hang curtains closer to the wall, rather than flush with the shelf edge.
And now I’m all excited about making the laundry room a prettier place to see. Thanks for the inspiration! It was so simple, and yet….
Leila says
Oh good, Colleen! I’m glad! Yes, I really obsessed about the curtain a bit. If I had had more fabric, I would have put it even further back — it could go back another couple of inches maybe, but then the curtain would need to be longer.
But I made the curtain for the window with the fabric, and then was determined to make the last length work for below the shelf.
Some people repurpose a door, too… you can look on Pinterest to find ideas. I do like the curtain, though. It’s sweet, I think!
Margo, Thrift at Home says
I love your style!!! And thanks for showing us the before pictures – such truth-telling is an antidote to pinterest-perfect.
My laundry room is due for a facelift and my husband and I have just tentatively started planning. Yours is inspiring, but I think I will keep my cabinet which has a door to hide all my ugly bottles.
Leila says
Thanks, Margo!
Yes, do keep the cabinet. Long ago when we redid the mudroom, we took the cabinets out of the pantry (where they didn’t fit at all — that room was completely unused, because the cabinets took up all the room — there was a lower one as well that I think we tossed in the burn pile because it was damaged) and installed them above the washer and dryer. That was awesome and still is (you can see it there above the bench and utility sink). A little paint and they were good to go.
But now they are there… and I honestly couldn’t face finding new/used ones. I really was fine with shelves, but it does make hiding everything harder.
Lisa G. says
That looks so nice!! Really lovely.
Carolyn Hawthorne says
I was impressed reading your description and looking at the photographs but after Rosie’ s comments I am seriously impressed! I love this kind of practical transformation. We recently undertook a major renovation project of our own and I’m always telling people that the single biggest boost to my quality of life is the new position of the washing machine. As in, you can stand in front of it and put things in (in its previous – inherited from last house owner’s position- it was in a space about 6 inches deeper than the machine itself and you had to poke things in from the side). Three cheers for functioning laundry rooms and bathrooms! I also found this post interesting from a cultural point of view. Here in the UK you don’t have electrical sockets in bathrooms (except for shavers) so it was nice to have peep into another world. Also, what is a ‘half bath’? And the hydrangeas in the first photo are stunning. Sorry for being a bit rambling…I’ve not long woken up! Fabulous room.
Katherine says
In realtor speak a “full bath” includes a shower and tub, a “3/4 bath” includes just the shower” and a “half bath” is just a toilet and sink (also called a powder room and mainly used for guests; except, of course, if you have a large family and toilets are always in high demand).
Carrie says
Thank you Katherine
Leila says
Yes, we figured that having the toilet and the sink was important on this floor of 5 bedrooms and otherwise, one bathroom!
Becky says
I tried the liquid detergent in a pretty bottle thing and it is… ok. The kind that is the glass water jug with the spout at the bottom apparently leaks so I never did that. I use a fairly large bottle (repurposed pretty olive oil bottle) with a pour spout like you would use for oil or liquor- annoyingly *not*one that came with the bottle. It doesn’t drip but I had trouble with it clogging. I used the highly concentrated liquid detergent and it was just too thick and I don’t use the liquid super frequently. But, it worked reasonably well for fabric softener since I only wanted a little of that at a time, anyway. I eventually came to the conclusion that the laundry detergent bottle was something I was just going to have to live with. Although, perhaps you could make one pretty? Somehow? Spray paint? Then you could just keep refilling the one.
Leila says
Becky, yes, I’m just not convinced, and I just use (half or one third) a dryer sheet…
I think I will go back to powdered detergent. The main issue is that my usual grocery store doesn’t sell the kind without scent, so I’ll have to stock up elsewhere.
I thought about the jug — maybe spray painting it would work! That shape is not attractive, of course… PICKY 😉
Becky says
I started getting biokleen powdered laundry detergent via Amazon subscribe and save. With the s and s discount, it was competitively priced with Tide, etc (at the time I was shopping) and I appreciate not having to actually remember that we need laundry detergent. (knowing tp, tissues, and laundry power will magically show up is such a blessing) I get the citrus scent and find it quite subtle and it’s actually from the orange and grapefruit oils in the detergent so it doesn’t have the synthetic funky going on. It’s also oxygen based and performs reasonably well. It doesn’t dissolve terribly well in cold, though, which is why I keep some liquid on hand.
https://www.amazon.com/Biokleen-Laundry-Powder-Clear-Pounds/dp/B001WY7V32/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1475936072&sr=1-1&keywords=biokleen%2Blaundry%2Bpowder&th=1
L.W. says
It’s beautiful! What a lovely place to work. And a clean and tidy half-bath.
Leila says
Thanks, L.W.!
Kelly says
Fantastic job! We are in the process of buying a house built in 1906. When we walked through the door we instantly got the “this is home” feeling. Warts and all. I’m combing your blog for all sorts of thrifty ideas!
Leila says
Thanks, Kelly!
Claire says
Love this so much — practical and beautiful, what could be better!
Such a drag to have to put the big cash into booooring things like plumbing. Or electricity; I’m all “who cares” but then there’s the whole “start-a-fire-and-burn-the-house-down” thing. Tiresome to be a grownup some times.
But you — you have triumphed!!
P.S. The blue brackets are a stroke of genius.
Kelly says
YES! The 100+ year old house we are purchasing is getting quite a bit of money poured into it but nothing fun. New siding, fix the roof, new deck, and 14 new windows. By the time all of that’s paid for, there’s no money left for any cool furniture or new countertops. Being a responsible adult stinks sometimes. *sigh*
Leila says
Thank you, Claire, for being the one to affirm the blue brackets!! MWAH!
Mrs. B. says
Oh, the “cuteness” of all that coordination in the before pictures, with the same pattern on the wall, on the cabinets, and even around the tub! I guess it used to be considered clever… And it’s a sobering thought, in a way: who knows what we are doing these days that will be rightly considered oh-so passe’ and cheesy tomorrow.
I’m afraid the tub looks quite scary to me: the idea of submerging myself in there, in a defenseless state!, is a tad disturbing! “Kind of paralyzing” is a good way to put it, and though I consider myself a romantic, I don’t feel like sharing Bridget’s regret… perhaps that’s because I’m not as young 🙂 And she should be happy that the radiator is still there, in all its glory! How I wish I could have lived at a time when beauty was generously bestowed even upon things like a radiator! (Though I can practically hear my husband pipe in: dentistry, think of the state of dentistry back when radiators where beautiful… Point taken, eh?)
Anyway, great job: one more lovely room in a lovely house!
Leila says
Mrs. B, I always wonder that too — and sometimes I think I can tell, but of course, you never really can. There were many “country” touches here in the house. Maybe this is why I went for the white walls here.
The tub was kind of scary, not that we used it.
Why can’t there be dentistry AND beauty??? 🙂
Katherine says
Inspiring! I’ve always wondered, though, if the laundry room/powder room combo was really practical with a family of kids. My mom always had piles of laundry on the floor. I don’t have piles of laundry, but I do have four baskets next to the washer where the laundry is sorted into. A friend has a laundry/bathroom combo and it’s usually spotless for parties, but if you stop by otherwise, you have to climb over laundry on the floor to reach the toilet (it’s a pretty small room). I don’t really like the placement of my washer and dryer near the backdoor, but thinking positively, at least the laundry baskets are within dish-rag-tossing distance of the kitchen. And if the kids come in muddy, I can tell them to strip right there before they take another step in the rest of the house.
Leila says
Katherine, I’ve never had piles of laundry on the floor, even when the house was full of kids and babies. I got a compliment once from my teenage son on this fact 🙂
Baskets there will be, and I just got tired of having them where people enter! Our main door is the “back door” — so for me, this laundry room is a boon.
Donna L. says
Thank you for this lovely and inspiring post!
It brought to mind one of your humorous archived posts about starry-eyed, young, pregnant, women in a “Mary Bailey mood” who buy a neat old house and then proceed with wall papering and repairs whilst baking cakes for the USO. That *was* your humorous take on old houses, wasn’t it?
I think your house is simply charming and I love to see where you get to walk and take in all the beautiful skies and ancient old trees….sighing contentedly….
Leila says
Yes, Donna, that Donna Reed/Mary Bailey did us all in!! She made it look easy!!
I console myself with the thought that there really was no alternative, so this house, charming or not (and sometimes I am questioning!), is it! So I do my best to make it pretty… eventually… 🙂
Kathryn says
I love how you have hung up your drying rack so it is off of the floor when not in use. Also, it reminds me of the post on practical beauty. It looks good on the wall. Thanks for the idea. You have turned the room into a beautiful, useful bathroom and laundry room. The blue shelf brackets are great, too.
RubberChickenGirl says
The off-the-wall things I love:
The trough/tub.
The GREEN Wall. Oh, how I love kelly green.
The radiator.
I am easily distracted and notice all the wrong things. More to the point–Great job on your reno! Only thing I’d change is I’d add a modern bamboo-ish shade to mix modern and vintage stuff together. It would also play well with your baskets. I’d also spray those bookshelf supports dark to match the wood or white to match the wall, but I know you love your blue! ;O)
Marcia says
Homey and functional with the minutest detail well-though out and shouting “mom”. Now I remember why I consider commercial laundry places some of the loneliest places on earth. Thanks, Auntie Leila.
Carol says
You did an absolutely lovely job!!
Congratulations! I’m sure you will enjoy it for many years to come.
Donna Marie says
This is lovely! I do like your style and the fabric you used for the curtains. I have this love-affair thing going for baskets. I have so much of my home put in them…especially homeschool-ish things and toys, too.
You inspire me. I have a basement laundry area. I want more pretty. I spend waaay too much time down there not to have something pretty to look at.
I am looking for more ideas, thanks for helping with that!
Billie says
I love the pop of blue! It’s so cheery! ^_^