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Phew! It was a mad race to the finish but the audacious challenge of completing my laundry room in 6 weeks for the One Room Challenge is now complete. Let's keep it real: it wasn't like anyone was keeping track if I didn't finish. I am basically 9 months pregnant after all and a few times this week I thought about throwing in the towel. But the entire concept of this challenge- a group of ambitious creatives doing this together, cheering each other on- my heart overflows with the new friends I have made and the invisible cheerleaders I felt I had along the way (and sending my love to my very real cheerleader, friend, and fellow complete a laundry room in 6 weeks cause we're crazy that way Sarah Walker).
If you are new to my blog, welcome! So happy to have you. Here's the before: a scary gross dungeon FILLED to the brim with junk:
And here is the crazy crazy transformation (still cannot believe we did this and I did not go into labour):
TILES: Let's start with the floors and backsplash. On the floors I wanted something graphic and herringbone, and I was prepared to cut every single tile personally. But when I saw these porcelain tiles at Creekside Tile I thought the 12" x 24" scale would work well in my space. In 3 shades of grey, my installer Roberto and I figured out the colour pattern (let me tell you that was a head scratcher to not get any colours touching…) and I am so pleased with the results. For the backsplash, Enrique at Creekside suggested a large scale herringbone in matte white- and with a light grey grout it provides an elegant texture and contrast to my floors.
INDUSTRIAL TEXTURE: This live edge wooden shelf with pipe hanging rod was a bit of a last minute addition (as in the team at One One Eleven are miracle workers). I've worked with Aimee and Chris, husband and wife woodworking team extraordinaire on client projects and TV shows- and so happy to have a little piece of their talent to act as a functional place to air dry clothing. And who doesn't love a live edge- the wood provides a gorgeous texture in any application in my opinion!
LAUNDRY FOR THE MASSES: As my smiling face in my photo at the top of this post would indicate, I cannot wait to do laundry in my new units. The Whirlpool Cabrio High-Efficiency Top Loader has Precision Dispense and the digital controls basically remember your ideal settings for doing laundry. And you guys- my dryer has a steam option and will dry 4 BASKETS OF LAUNDRY IN ONE GO! I needed to upgrade to larger units for my growing family- and chose to go white for some contrast and to match my counters.
STORAGE STORAGE EVERYWHERE: In my pursuit of keeping things family friendly (both in function and in approach to budget) I used off the rack cabinetry from Cutler Modern Living. These multi-purpose cabinets come flat packed so they whip together super fast (pick up to final installation was 2 days total by my super installer Steve). With handy baskets, hampers and trays from Bouclair I'm able to attempt to remain organized with my soon to be 5 kids : )
SPACE SAVING STORAGE: Between designing for clients and styling photoshoots from print and TV, I have SO MUCH STUFF that needs organized storage. I basically had small things like picture hanging hardware, various tools, vases for styling, and cleaning supplies for when I am on set in the most unorganized of tote bags and plastic bins. I never knew where anything was and was always scrambling. Scramble no more- this is the Zobal system by Cutler Modern Living and they have developed this amazing track system that is pretty darn perfect for my needs. With a variety of hooks, shelves, containers, etc. etc. that you customize to your liking- and can change at whim by the way as all the features clip and slide, by the way- this is truly a flexible and practical system for small space storage. I am kind of obsessed and am dreaming up applications for this in stone, glass tile and the like- I chose to install the tracks between melamine that matches my cabinets for a contemporary look. And PS- when cleaning supplies look as pretty as pretty as these Lemon Aide products do, can't help but keep them on display.
BRING ON THE BLACK: I love the industrial edge a matte black faucet brings to a space. I have this exact model in my kitchen- and at first I thought I should switch it up and not have a copy cat faucet in my laundry as well. But I just love it- and why mess with something you love- so the Solna by Brizo makes a repeat performance in my laundry as well.
This was a serious mad race to the finish line (seriously, most of the work happened in the last 72 hours!). But so thankful I finished, and thankful to my brand partners, to members of my design team Carter and Kelly-Lynn, and BIG thanks to Larry Arnal for these beautiful images. And thankful for all of you for following along. The whole idea of designing spaces that allow families to thrive is such an important concept to me. After doing it for clients day in and day out it always feels so good to use my own gifts to serve my own growing family. And while laundry might be mundane and tedious, it is a care we provide to our families that is a valuable, necessary, and can be done with a ton of love.
Now go check out what everyone else accomplished- the results are pretty amazing. For the featured 20 click here, and for the 150+ linking participants click here.
