It’s hard to believe this room was a former porch with sloped concrete floors and a hand dug well when we purchased the home. When we began the renovation, the big debate was whether or not to keep the well in place. Considering it was dry and more or less a conversation piece, paired with the fact that we have kids and kids would be over, it was a hard no for me. Jared was team lets do a cool feature with a heavy duty see through flooring. Nope, I had an extra fridge and an ice maker to work into the design and we needed easy access into the utility closet just beyond the well.
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Ok, enough well talk. During demo, it became evident that the structure was not viable to merely renovate. We had to take the two rooms all the way back down to the ground and start fresh with new piers, exterior blocks, floor joists and a new roof.
After demo of exterior and removal of old insulation.
Man, it sure looks like it’s rolling quickly. I can assure you that it didn’t. From start to finish, it took 15 months for the whole home to be restored.
Plumbing rough in.
After all mechanical rough ins, the home was foam insulated and the walls were closed up with new drywall.
Once we knew the dimensions, my mind was racing with the design to make the mundane task of laundry as pleasant and efficient as can be. With our children’s activities and life on the farm, I knew that 2 washers and 2 dryers were calling my name. We had our washer and dryer in storage that were only a year old (and still available), so we added matching ones to our appliance order to capitalize on the savings through our pro account. We ended up not being able to get the model of our washer/dryer due to a shortage, so we went with these GE washer and dryer and stacking kit. Now, I’m secretly hoping my others die, so my OCD brain can rest and because I love the new ones so much! I also dreamed of a window above a deep basin sink for soaking/hand washing/Chloe bathing (our Bichon Frise). I also wanted a pulldown faucet to make cleaning and bathing a breeze. I was impressed with the quality and price of this faucet.
While planning the kitchen cabinetry, we decided to carry the same cabinetry into the laundry room for storage galore. I thrifted the hardware, but have found these that are similar knobs and pulls.
With a pool and all of the sports, we were spoiled with a stand alone ice maker at Jared’s parent’s house while we were renovating. It was not in the budget to spend a fortune on this wish list item, so we found this ice maker. We absolutely love it! Additionally, this fridge from Lowe’s was less than $1000 and fit both the look we were going for and the function we would need it to serve. Extra storage and drinks as you run out the door to practices/games.
For the flooring, we opted for a LVT that looked like a dark slate to pull in the exterior shutter colors. We warmed up the white cabinetry and dark floors with wooden countertops made from leftover heart of pine flooring and open shelving that was made from beams that came out of the house during the renovation.
To add more character and tie in the beadboard used elsewhere in the house, we installed beadboard panels on the wall on top of the 1×6 primed pine base, It was capped with a 1×4. After caulk and paint, hooks were installed to make this a drop zone area. We used our antique church pew, cutting it down from 10 feet to 7.5 feet. 4 baskets are underneath the pew for quick storage of shoes on the way in the side entry.
The door to the utility closet is the original front door. I painted the door and hardware. Jared cut out the bottom panels to allow for air flow for the HVAC return that is housed in here. We jazzed it up by spray painting chicken wire with my favorite gold spray paint and installing trim for a finished look.
Wall Color: Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter
Trim Color: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace
This room gets blasted in the afternoon, so I made a custom cafe curtain for the window, using a tension rod and clip rings for zero damage and easy installation. Both of these items did not come in a complimentary gold, so I spray painted them as well. It was the perfect final touch!
It’s still hard to believe that it went from this to this!
