But when I begrudgingly dragged myself into Home Depot to pick out a replacement, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did they have a nice LG front-loading washing machine at a great price (it was on clearance because it was a floor model) but it looked a heckuva lot better than the aging Kenmore that it was replacing. Plus, it would play a cute little jingle to let me know when the cycle was completed! SOLD.
Even though our dryer at home still worked, we decided to bite the bullet and buy the matching dryer, which was also on clearance. While obviously this doubled my original budget, our dryer wasn't working quite as well as it did when new, and I worried that its days may be numbered. And, let's face it....I'm a girl and I like things to match. Sue me.
To sweeten the deal, our local PUD offers a $75 rebate on new energy-efficient washers. And we figure we might be able to get $100 or so for our old dryer on Craigslist. Since HD took an extra 20% off the clearance price of the washer and dryer, along with the rebate and CL dryer sale, we will hopefully end up paying right around $1000 for the set including tax. Score!
Anyways, now that the shiny new washer and dryer are in place, Henry and I have decided to finally tackle a complete remodel of the laundry room. Actually, the laundry room/mudroom/pantry/pet-feeding/storage room. We haven't really done anything with this room since buying the house, beside painting the walls (Hawthorne Yellow by Benjamin Moore) and the floors & stairs, which are original fir but had previously been painted a gross flesh tone. (Pretty much the whole house, including the exterior, was clad in various fleshy tones when we bought it. Gross.)
Here are some "before" shots that I took today.
(The new LG washer & dryer. IKEA expedit shelf haphazardly serving as shoe & recycling storage. Plus....my pathetic attempt at wall art!)
(Across from the W&D is this space, which holds our chest freezer, my awesome vintage Coleman cooler that I inherited from my Grandma, and storage for the vacuum and shopping bags, along with some items that don't fit in my kitchen, like an ice cream maker and juicer.)
(Next to the freezer is the water-heater closet. I can't decide if I love it or hate it...I mean, it's nice that it hides the water heater, but it's kind of awkward. Perched on top is my canning jar storage area, and the cat's feeding platform, which needs to be up high away from the dogs.)
(Next to the closet are the ugliest stairs ever built. Sooo many unanswered questions here...why is that platform there? What's up with the pole? Also located here is our unsightly dog food storage receptacle.)
(Here are the stairs themselves. I've already got plans for these...my Dash & Albert Tattersall runners just came in the mail and will be installed soon. The paint didn't hold up well on the treads, not to mention they are way too slippery for the dogs.)
(And the final shot: our "'landing strip", AKA: where we stash our stuff once we come in the back door. A place to hang keys & coats, a boot tray for wet shoes, and umbrella storage is a must! I'm looking forward to expanding this area to make it a bit more useful.)
So there you have it...our laundry room in its current state. I'm busy wrangling up ideas and inspiration for the remodel, and will post an update with some of my ideas soon. I'm really looking forward to designing this room from scratch and making it into a fun, functional space!
