The Sunny Side Up Blog

Downstairs Laundry Room

Sharing our downstairs laundry room today!  This room looks similar to other rooms I’ve shared.  It’s located right off of our mudroom and near the kitchen so I kept it cohesive with simple whites and grays (believe it or not I actually DO have rooms that look a little different – they are just few and far between).  :)  I’m going to apologize in advance for picture overload!  I got a little camera happy.  And for the brightness going on.  This room is so sunny because of the side of the house it’s located on.  I love that about it.  It’s a happy room that dare I say.. makes doing laundry not so bad.  :)    
Come in come in!

As soon as you enter the room you see one of my beloved farmhouse sinks.  It took some convincing to make Kenny understand just how much we needed one in this laundry room.  Luckily after living with an attorney for 17 years you learn a thing or two.  He’s not the only one in our house who is good at making a persuasive argument and closing a deal.  :)

I researched faucets to death while we were building.  I have a love for faucets, sinks, lights and hardware.  They are the little details that really make a space.  This bridge/arch faucet was love at first sight!  I will have to add the source for it later because I can’t seem to find it in my notes and it’s the one faucet whose info. I can’t remember off of the top of my head. 
Our last laundry room was TINY and didn’t have a sink so this space feels like such a dream to me.  This Shaw sink is perfect for rinsing off dirty rain boots or clothes.  The kids wash their hands here every day after school after they hang their backpacks in the mudroom.  

I also fell in love with this simple nautical/industrial pendant.  I ordered it on-line at Shades of Light.    

 Floor tile is the same tile we used in the girls’ bathroom.  I decided to place it in a basket weave pattern in the laundry room to mix it up a little.  For those of you who have asked about it, the manufacturer is Alfalux and it’s the Olimpia Series – Color Clay.  I ordered it through a tile store (knew I loved it the second I spotted it!) but you can find it on-line here.

I just went with a simple white subway tile backsplash and Caeserstone quartz countertops.  This quartz is different from the quartz I used in the perimeter of my kitchen.  It’s called “Concrete” and is more of a dark grey than a black.  So happy with how it turned out.

To the right you can see my upper cabinets.
And here’s a picture of the lower cabinets and the washer/dryer from our previous house.  I love the built-in look so we measured our washer/dryer and had our cabinet guy build the drawers below them too.  To the left of the cabinets above the washer/dryer you can see I added some open shelving.  I thought that would be a fun place to put a few baskets and bring some personality into the room.  What I didn’t understand until it was too late was how far set back they were from the other cabinets.  

I didn’t love how they jut back in – sort of hiding in the corner.  I thought about adding a cupboard door to make them closed and opening up the cupboards above the washer/dryer to be open shelving instead.  You can imagine Kenny’s reaction when I came up with that one (after everything was already installed)… “we haven’t even moved in yet and you’re already trying to remodel!?”  Ha!  Good thing he loves me.  :)  My builder convinced me to leave it for now and wait and see because it’s something we can always change down the road.  I’m glad he did because I think opening up the three cupboards above the washer/dryer would have been too much open shelving to style and a waste of good cabinet space.  Now that I’m living in my house and starting to decorate it I’m realizing that I have plenty of open bookcases and shelves to play with.   Besides, too much of a good thing is never a good thing.  Unless maybe you’re talking about open shelving?  :)

K – I am SO excited to show you my favorite thing about this room.  See the three bottom cupboards in the picture above?  How the hardware is located at the top?

They are pull out laundry baskets!  Ahhh! 
 Please tell me I’m not the only one who is dying over this little feature!? 
After years of having laundry in piles all over my hallway floor I appreciate this more than anything in my whole house.  I started dreaming about these pull out laundry drawers long ago.  The second we decided to build a house I said to Kenny “I’m putting pull out hampers in my laundry room!”  He already thinks I’m crazy so this being my first announcement didn’t phase him much.  Then when we met our architect I said “hi!  I’m Erin and I want pull out hampers in my laundry room!”  :)  K – maybe I took a minute to introduce myself first, but it really was one of the first things I told him I wanted. 

I still need to find some fun labels for them.  As soon as I do they will read “LIGHTS, DARKS, and TOWELS.”  An organizers dream come true.  :)  I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to have a place for our mounds of dirty clothes.  That isn’t the hallway floor.  
Here’s another favorite feature.  See the upper open cabinet on the far left?  
Pull down drying rack.  Can I get another woot woot!?  
:)

Used to dry all sorts of things I don’t want to put in the dryer.  Because of this laundry room’s location we’ve been using this drying rack for all things pool related.  I took this picture last week.  (Even though it’s too cold to swim we are using the hot tub most weekends.)  This will be especially nice in the summer so I don’t have to keep re-washing suits and towels that we use every day.  
 To the right of the washer/dryer is a cupboard door…  
that opens into a pull down ironing board.  My iron fits on the little shelf above it.  My mom has one of these in her house and I’ve always loved it.  A place for everything and everything in its place.  :)

There’s also an ugly electrical cupboard that I plan to cover up with a fun picture of some sort that will no doubt drive my husband crazy when he needs to get into it.   I came SO close to wallpapering this room and then decided to just paint it the same color as our kitchen/family/hallways for now (grey paint color is “Seattle” by Frazee).  I may still wallpaper it at some point.  Or maybe just add some colorful rugs and accessories and leave the walls neutral?  Fun options.  

So there you go!  Our main floor laundry room.  
Still hard to believe it’s out of my head and sitting right in front of me. 
Anyone in the mood to fold?  
:)  

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Comments

  2. I love, love, love it. All those little details like the pull out ironing board are inspired. Laundry room heaven. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  3. That is my dream laundry room. I know this might sound crazy, but, I love doing laundry. I love the smell of it while it is washing and drying, and the smell of it when it is all done. I hang dry a lot of my tops and I have wanted a drying rack like the one you have. I am not sure that I would leave that room. :) It is beautiful Erin!!

    I really love the pull outs for your dirty laundry and the open shelving in there. I seriously love the whole room..

    I would love to come and help you fold. ;)

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  4. This would be the perfect sized laundry room for my oversized family! I dream of such a laundry room. Right now, and I think forever more since we don’t plan on moving, we have a small laundry room in between our kitchen and our garage. The entry to the garage opens up into our small, tiny laundry room and many, many times as I bend down getting laundry out of the dryer someone will come in from the garage and the door HITS me in the head. Oh yes, that’s so much fun let me tell you…getting hit in the head with a door a few times a week.

    LOVE your laundry room :)

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  5. ok if I can contain myself, I will comment on this! THIS is my dream room. I love love love to do laundry. I know, I’m a sicko! I adore the pull out hammers and the drying rack and the pull down ironing board, and the open shelving and the farmhouse sink and the flooring and the gray and white and well, everything about this room makes me happy. One day when I visit you, we will sit in the laundry room with a cup of something Sonic to drink and I will do your laundry! Deal!

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  6. LOVE the pull out hampers! We all have pull out trashcans, so why not! Had you seen that idea somewhere or did you come up with that on your own? And, the drying rack is genius AND looks great!

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  7. I have one of those ugly gray boxes in my laundry room. I put a picture frame over it but put it on a piano hinge so it could swing open to access the breakers. In the frame is a chalkboard and on the back I put a sheet of metal so we could stick notes up with magnets. It’s great!

    Love the laundry room, mine is like a tenth of the space and is also our pantry.

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  8. Love the laundry room. I have a very small space for mine but have been able to utilize it. I too love the laundry baskets. I don’t have space to have drawers but I do have them under the counter. Beautiful space.

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  9. THanks so much for sharing these pictures Erin. I know you spent so much time researching beautiful features for your house and it shows. I LOVE looking at your pictures. Beautiful job and I think your family is darling. :)

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  10. Thank you so much for sharing the details of your house. I have learned a thing or two from you as we are going the rounds in planning our remodel. I know you have spent hours upon hours researching, planning, and fretting about the details. I know, because we haven’t even started yet and I’m dreaming about the tile being all wrong in the kids shower.:) You have done such a beautiful job!

    You also have a darling family. Your children radiate warmth.:)

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  12. Oh, wow Erin it looks beautiful. I would love to do laundry in there. You are so blessed. You did a great job designing it. I love the laundry sorter such a great idea. And the drying rack is great. I feel like I have laundry hanging everywhere to dry. Absolutely beautiful. Enjoy it.

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  13. Oh my word everyone! Thank you so much! I’m thrilled you all like the space! I know it’s crazy to have that much space. My last laundry room was so tiny I could hardly turn around in it. That’s why all our clothes were always on the hallway floor! :)

    Cathy and Nonny – you two are welcome to come and fold ANYTIME! I actually don’t mind laundry either. It’s definitely one of my more preferred chores and with you two helping me (and some sort of sonic drink!) we’d be set! :)

    Dee – Thank you! I had seen similar ideas for the hampers on-line and tweaked it to come up with my happy version. :)

    Katrina – ouch! I hear ya on too tiny laundry rooms! Everyone should have a big laundry room. You are welcome to bring your laundry over anytime. :)

    Shumway family – thank you so much! What a kind thing to say about my kids. :) I really appreciate that. Means a lot!

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  17. So excited to see this post this morning Erin! I LOVE your room – and the fact that you also have another laundry room in the house could make me faint right on the spot. Seriously, my dream.

    I love all the features you thought of for this space. I am in the process of building a laundry room right now in our lower level and might steal that pull out drying rack. Sadly, mine won’t be quite as big and beautiful as yours but having a dedicated laundry space will be a bonus for us – right now it’s in the entry – yuk!

    Beautiful room – thanks for sharing!

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  18. Erin, My mouth dropped when I saw the hanging racks in the laundry room… and then the ironing board. I am so jealous. I would love to do all your laundry for you. I’ll even hang out in that laundry room and you won’t even know I am there. Promise!

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  19. Thank you so much everyone! You are all too good to me. Stephanie – you are welcome over anytime! Especially if you’ll do my laundry. :)

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  20. Absolutely LOVE the large laundry room! LOVE the pullout laundry basket drawers and pull out drying rack! Where did you come up with these ideas?? I also have the same pullout ironing board… not that it gets used often. Seriously beautiful and so well organized/planned out.

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  24. Thank you everyone!

    Rosa – most of these ideas come from years of having no space! I dreamed up a lot of solutions. :)

    Chantel – thanks for the fun idea! I’m off to check it out!

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  27. Love it! You have incorporated many of the things I dream of as I squeeze into my closet sized laundry area and try to avoid the water heater/furnace/door. I even like the farmhouse sink, which I am generally not a fan of. I was also going to suggest a canvas – our box is in the toy room/den and ii bought a canvas for me or my kids to decorate and hang over it – easy to move, but hides the ugly. Can’t wait to see more! Jen

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  30. Thanks again for all the fun comments everyone!

    Leanne – I’m not sure about the room dimensions! I’ll pull our plans out and check this weekend.

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  31. YES! It is perfect! I, too have been scheming and dreaming about laundry rooms. I won’t even look at a plan that doesn’t have a mudroom/laundry on the main floor and a laundry option near upstairs bedrooms. Laundry is the single most annoying thing in my life. Especially living in the stupid cold mountains where we have TONS of coats/jackets/gloves/SOCKS and multiple clothes changes per day! I have a big enough room for sorting SOME of our laundry (darks/lights/towels and whites) but the VOLUME of it all, with four boys, it always spills out into my kitchen by the end of the week. And I totally do at least one load per day. You are so lucky to be living the dream right now in the thick of motherhood. We won’t be able to afford my dream laundry room until most of our kids are grown up and moved out. By then, I probably won’t need it!

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  34. Hey Erin! I LOVE your laundry room. I am looking at doing our new (to me) house with the same floor tiles you have in this room. Are yours natural or polished?

    Thanks!
    Stacey

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  35. Thank you so much everyone!

    Stacey – I’m not sure! I didn’t even know there was a choice. I just picked mine out in a store and ordered it. They seem natural with a bit of shine? Sorry I’m not much help!

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  36. Hi Erin,
    I love love love your house, it turned out beautiful. I have been following since the beginning and just love all your choices.

    Question: What kind of washer and dryer do you have? There are so many choices and really would like personal opinions on which ones people like best.

    Thanks for your help!
    Jamie

    Reply

  38. This room is just beautiful! I’m curious, are all front loading machines a standard size? I know you’re a planner so I know there’s no way you’d limit yourself to having these machines for FOREVER so I’m wondering about how future machines would fit in that spot. We’re planning a new home and I sent my hubby this post and just said “Yes, please! To all of this!”

    Reply

  39. Excellent use of space, color and layout again, Erin!

    Love the farm sink with the window above it for fresh air and light, the built-ins with every possible extra (ironing board, hampers, storage cabinets, drying rack).
    The floor tile and pattern look great here, love the countertops with the white paint as an offset.
    (APPLAUDS, CLAPS, WHISTLES)

    When will your house be in Architectural Digest or House Beautiful? It deserves a multi-page spread!

    Reply

  40. I was wondering what size your farmhouse sink is? Do you have a 30 inch or 36 inch size? What size did you use as your prep sink the kitchen too? Are they both the same size. Thanks so much. Heidi

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  42. Hi from the UK.
    We don’t have laundry rooms here in the UK – Our tiny utility rooms tend to be about storage not function. After getting claustrophobic in ours for too long I have decided that I NEED a laundry room like yours. Hubby thankfully on board as he is sick of seeing the clothes airer in our hallway, and the ironing board in the dining room! So now I NEED those laundry hampers. Please can you tell me where you found yours? Any info (brand, size etc) would be great. Trying to work out how to make something like yours from standard fitted kitchen units. Not going to be easy…
    Lovely house. Thank you for sharing it!

    Reply

  43. Love your design. I’m building now also and meeting my cabinet guy on Monday. Just a quick question, where do you store extra hangers in this room? Just curious if you have a creative location. :)

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  44. Thank you so much everyone!

    Thank you Julie! I got those laundry room hampers from Rev-a-Shelf! You can find them on line. :)

    Casey – I don’t have a place for hangers! I don’t use them in this room because I just lay things on the drying rack to dry and then take the clothes to the bedrooms to hang up. :)

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  46. This room is gorgeous! We are remodeling our kitchen and we are considering going with the “concrete” cesarstone. We will have a lot of it though, including a large island, so I am worried it will look more black than dark gray. Do you have that issue in your laundry room? We’ve also looked at the “Pebble” cesarstone, but it felt a little too light. Im feeling conflicted. Thanks for your input!

    Reply

    • Hi Sarah! I don’t think it will look too black! We have “raven” ceasarstone in our kitchen (it’s a darker grey than the concrete) and it does look black, but the concrete always looks dark grey. Especially when something black is on it. I love it! :) Hope that helps!

      Reply

  47. Hi Erin!

    I love your laundry room. I am in the process of doing mine now and would love the hamper drawers. What are the dimensions of the cabinet and where did you get the laundry baskets.

    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Thank you Senta! Right now there are a few large school posters/projects my girls did that didn’t fit in smaller drawers. They are just extra catch all drawers for anything! :)

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  50. Are your pull out laundry drawers from rev a shelf or custom? Isf rev a shelf is the basket from rev a shelf too?

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  51. Gorgeous laundry room! If you have yet to find the perfect disguise for the electric panel, consider asking your cabinet guy to frame it and attach a matching cabinet door. The look would be similar to your ironing board, and provide easy access when needed. Ours turned out great.

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  52. Hi Erin! I so love your house and your decorating skills! Did you even figure out where you got the faucet? Also I was wonder if the tiles are the 12×24 or did you have them custom cut? I would love to know! Thanks-Jamie

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  53. Your house is very beautiful. I love it and the fact it looks so livable. In your laundry room just want to confirm you put two 12x 24 side by side to create a 24 x 24 square for the basket weave.

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  54. Oh my goodness, your Laundry room is AMAZING!!!
    Just wondering about the pull out Laundry Baskets… Where did you buy them or do you have dimensions? I am remodeling my laundry room and yours is my inspiration! :)

    THANK YOU!

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    • Thank you so much Lisa! I wish I had that info. for you! My cabinet guy bought the baskets (I’m not sure where from) and made the cabinets around them. Sorry that’s not more help! xo

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  55. I love your laundry room, I have a question about those pull out laundry baskets. What brand our those baskets? I’ve been trying to find them and can’t, and I love the size of them. I am building a house at the moment and we are working on the laundry room this week and thankfully I came across your blog. Thank you so much!! Brooke

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Brooke! I’m happy you found me. :) I wish I knew the brand but I don’t! They don’t have any writing on them. My cabinet guy bought them and built the cabinets around them. Good luck with your new house! xo

      Reply

  56. The little drawers under the washer and dryer- what do you put in them? For my laundry room I’m thinking of having drawers like that…Not sure how useful they would be!

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    • Hi Sky! Right now they are holding some of my kids art pictures that are too big to store anywhere else! They are kind of random drawers but I love the look of them! xo

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  58. Can you tell me how well the laundry basket cabinet has held up to use? Have you had to replace the baskets? How did you plan for this should it occur at some point? What about the weight of the clothes on the drawer hardware… was this drawer a custom build or did you repurpose a recycle/refuse pull out? If not custom who is your cabinet manufacturer?

    Reply

    • Hi Kelly! It was all custom made by my cabinet guy! I designed the space and he built everything. They have held up great (no weight issues – they have a cabinet around them) and if I needed to replace them I’d have to search for some the same size on-line. :) xo

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      • what size are the laundry baskets you have inside? Would you make them bigger/smaller if you could do it over again?

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        • Hi Rachael! My laundry baskets are 18 inches deep and about 18×13 length and width. They have been a great size for us so I would keep them the same if I was building again! :)

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  59. I admire your home and use it often to refer to for design ideas while we build our home now! I’m deciding on lighting at the moment. Our laundry room is about the same size as yours. How many can lights are in this space? I love the pendant light too!
    Thanks,
    Lorrie

    Reply

    • Thank you Lorrie! Congrats on building! So exciting. :) We only have 3 can lights in that laundry room but I wish I had more! It’s the one room in my house that doesn’t feel bright enough at night. I’d do 4-6 if I were doing it again! xo

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  60. So, LOVE the pull out laundry sorter, we want to build our oen. Do you know where your carpenter got the sliding hardware?

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  61. My fantasy laundry room, but where do you put things like sweaters or blouses that are supposed to
    “dry flat” ? I seem to accumulate a lot of those. I usually just spread them out on a towel, but they
    take forever to dry.

    Reply

  62. Hi Erin,
    Just wondering – how are you finding the Dark grey bench tops with laundry dust??!! Designing a new laundry now and yours is top inspiration!!
    Thanks very much

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    • Hi Ann! They haven’t been a problem! They need to be wiped clean once in a while, but nothing any more dusty than other rooms in my house get. I hope that helps! xo

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  63. Absolutely love it! I’ve been dreaming about pull-out laundry baskets too as our area is super tight. Wanted to share a fun hack we did to hide our electrical box in the laundry room in case it helps. We got hinges from the hardware store and hung a picture over it with the hinges on the side of the picture. So when we need to get into the box, we swing open the picture and voila! Easy peasy! :)

    Reply

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