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Laundry Room Mockups and Floor Plan

Imagine the cardboard box is a wooden counter. Imagine I’ve installed the sink and faucet, caulked the gaps along the foundation wall, and faced the toe kick. You can see it, yes?

I shared a preliminary design when I first started planning the laundry room. Now that it’s nearly complete, I wanted to share the floor plan and mockups in their own post. I stayed fairly true to the original vision.

I go back and forth between SketchUp and Photoshop when designing. Sometimes I think I should learn to render for SketchUp with Podium too, but should I really? (Anyone with experience there, is the learning curve steep?) I did learn how to make my renderings look like line drawings, and I’m like great. That’s one cool trick for now, let’s move on.

I can touch the ceiling easily (I have to pay attention when folding big things like bedding). It’s a weird old basement, not an ideal space, but the worst of it is in the corner by the gas meter. We have a secondary fridge downstairs and to the right of it, there are lots of pipes coming out of the wall, hooking up to the meter, and then running across the ceiling. It’s not the prettiest spot, but adding a cabinet instead of the antique treasure chest left behind from the previous owners is an improvement in storage. (Kind of a downgrade in terms of creepy magical items though.)

I’ve added more cabinets to the other side of the room and a pair of sconces above. There’s also an adjustable-height stool because I like to include a seat in the laundry room when possible. Sometimes we like to have a chat while one person is down there moving laundry from the washer to the dryer, or folding clothes. Or maybe there’s five minutes left in the washing cycle and I want to sit and scroll through Instagram? I don’t know. A seat comes in handy!

I could hang this abstract landscape painting above the counter and be done. But I got it into my head that I should paint my own thing because why not. Yay? Nay? It’s a laundry room. I may be overthinking the importance of its decor, but it makes me happy when it looks nice.

I’ll tell you what I was convinced I didn’t want, which is a sign that said “laundry” or “fluff ‘n’ fold” or “drop your pants” or whatever, until I saw this 8-foot vintage sign and I wanted it real bad. There are always exceptions.

I’ll share the counter-making process, and then it will be reveal time!

September 26, 2018
Making it Yours 16B: Pink Elroy Chairs
Well it’s been a minute since I started this round of Making it Yours. Let’s catch up!

The idea behind these MiY posts is that we do not decorate our homes from scratch. We incorporate new pieces that we love, and over time we make those pieces work as our tastes or circumstances change. This time around, we’re working with a pair of pink Elroy chairs. They are completely of-the-moment trendy, so how do you work with them when you fall hard but don’t want to regret purchasing them in a year or two? How do you incorporate them when the rest of your furniture may be kind of basic and not a match, style-wise? We’ve already seen them in a living room design with a tailored sofa and boxy coffee table, and now the chairs are moving to the bedroom with a very plain, basic upholstered bed (which is under $300 for the queen size).

Not the most exciting, but a totally fine jumping off point.

“Could we add a pair of these chairs?” We could, we can, we shall. We’re also going to reuse the dresser, task lamp, side table, and curtains from last time. I like to do this because it’s how so many of us decorate, grabbing and repurposing from other areas of the house (or from storage).

I haven’t been particularly drawn to mid-century modern lately, but the dresser’s lines fit the style nicely while being updated with the geometric overlay, making it a good match with the chairs. I imagine the room with a vintage wooden wardrobe or highboy like this Paul McCobb “Gentleman’s Chest”. (This is a particularly nice option, but there are plenty with similar lines to be found locally across the country for less.) I also added a full-length mirror with simple curves.

I would keep the shell of the room light, but that doesn’t only have to mean white walls. A wood floor painted white would be perfect here, and I’d add wallpaper with a light base and loopy pattern (even if only an accent wall, which I don’t normally recommend).

From there, I added art, bedding, and accessories. Below are links to everything with a quick explanation of what drew me to each item.
1. Elizabeth Stitched Platform Bed, Target (Baxton Studio)
  An upholstered bed in a neutral color is a great base to start with. This one is simple and affordable.
2. Classic Core Sheet Set (Black Maze on Cream), Brooklinen
  The lines remind me of deconstructed Keith Haring figures. Is it just me?
3. Parfait + Henna Lumbar Pillow, Ace + Jig, Schoolhouse Electric
  Barely there stripes with a great orangey red contrast welt.
4. Ikornnes Floor Mirror, IKEA
  I would love to see the frame painted, but it’s pretty in the natural ash too. There’s a bar behind the mirror to hang your clothes on. Smart!
5. Aina Curtains, IKEA
  Can’t beat these for the price. Among IKEA’s best curtains.
6. Totem Table Lamp (Large), West Elm
  I was between this and the smaller, white version, but ultimately preferred the black graphic punch of this one.
7. Arc Gray Large Planter, Unison
  Super into that shape and color.
8. Paul McCobb Walnut Gentleman’s Chest, Chairish
  Luxe vintage. Plenty of local alternatives in your area (as mentioned), I’m sure. Craigslist or FB Marketplace will be your friend.
9. Emery Antiqued Brass Desk Lamp, One Kings Lane
  So little! So cute! So angular!
10. Renwick Dresser, Anthropologie
  I wanted this when I first post it and I still do. Just so dang well done.
11. Terrence Payne Knots (Gold), Hygge & West
  The pattern has a nice repeat, reading as a subtle background with more interest the closer you get.
12. La Femme Forte by Rob Blackard, Artfully Walls
  She reminds me of the Queen of Hearts from a standard deck of cards.
13. Ivy by Parima Studio, Minted
  A pretty abstract is always nice. I would choose this as a canvas print.
14. Pink Elroy Left and Right Arm Chairs, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
  They are fabulous.
15. Mawr White Marble/Gold Metal Accent Table, Target (Project 62)
  A nice alternative to the ubiquitous drum cylinder that works in almost every sapce.
16. White Painted Floor (example and tutorial), Door Sixteen
  When I thought of including a painted floor, I immediately thought of Anna’s! The floor board gaps and inconsistencies are wonderful details to embrace, especially in older homes.
All right, where to next? I’m working on the third and final look for the Elroy chairs now to be ready on Wednesday!
September 24, 2018
Honor Roll
If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen that I finally did the grid of frames I had been thinking about! Obviously they’re empty right now, which is because the art (oversized Tarot cards) is not a standard size. I don’t have a go-to source for custom mats. I’ve found the same online places you can by searching, and the price is probably half of what I’ll pay at my local framing shop, but I’d rather see my options in person (there are so many whites, off-whites, and ivories) and the turnaround will be fairly quick.

I’ll show you as soon as it’s ready. You’re in for a bigger living room update anyway!
- The 9 new Farrow & Ball colors (photos below) are beautiful. When I said I’m drawn to “the ugly colors” this is what I mean.
- This house tour was great, but it was something the woman who lives there, LaTonya Yvette, said in the interview that stuck with me. I love the idea of being free for people to just stop by whenever.
  “We do ‘Open House Sundays.’ I’ll tell people my doors will be open from this time to this time so just come! I love having a space for people to have fun and throw it down.”
- The tone of this post about high-rise jeans had some people taking it a little too seriously, but I’m in agreement with the basic premise.
  “Low-rise denim is so depraved it isn’t worth attacking: It knows what it did—it just doesn’t care.”
- These sconces look just like cute pink pearl earrings! Gah, too cute.
- I bought a few things from LOFT (dangerous, because there’s one within walking distance and it’s too easy to stop in) and now I need the weather to comply so I can wear my polka dot blouse and wool skirt. Will likely pair them with my favorite under $30 shoes.
- I tried the red/pink eyeshadow trend and I looked like I was suffering from terrible seasonal allergies. Thinking I might give it another try after watching this Lisa Eldridge tutorial. After years and years of not caring, I’m having fun with makeup again.
IMAGES: Farrow & Ball
September 21, 2018
Choosing Countertops for the Laundry Room
The laundry room is so close to being done! I just need to sew a shade for the window, and the sink installation is being held up by the countertop selection. Originally, I was thinking I would go with laminate in either a marble or soapstone look.

Lowe’s is sponsoring the reveal, so I grabbed a million little swatches from them to see what I liked. These were the ones I had narrowed it down to; Marmo Bianco and Basalt Slate are my favorites.
The laminate options on the market today look amazing, and I still stand by them as a solid choice, but I’ve realized that it isn’t what I want for the room.

I’ve shimmed and leveled the cabinets and they’re secured in place, and I laid a faux-marble tabletop across so we would have a surface to use while I decided on the real counters. It’s pretty! But I like continuity throughout a home and I’m not planning on adding Carrara marble to the house (other than on furniture — love that table in my office), and it feels out of place. The dark soapstone look was becoming less appealing to me too as other elements came together. I got it in my head that butcher block might actually be the way to go, but that didn’t seem like the perfect solution either.

What I really wanted, I realized, was to do a wood counter like in our kitchen, or the tops of the cabinet sections in the library. And you can’t just buy them in the store because you have to make them. Eureka. I need to make my counters.

Because what is this house missing? Unpainted wood. Nope, none of that to be found here.

It’s going to be great. It’s certainly going to have continuity (ha)!
September 10, 2018
A New Trick for an Old Garage

This post is sponsored by Genie®.

I live in a neighborhood of old houses. Most have a garage (some have carriage houses!) and they’re almost always detached, facing the alley. Ours is a two-car garage that borders our backyard, with a side door beyond the fence and a big beige garage door with raised panels. The door seemed fine but it was always so noisy! Loud creaking and rattling as it opened made me wonder if it was in need of repair or replacement.

And because our garage isn’t attached to the house, we could only access it if we had our keys on us. Not a big deal, except that we store the kids’ bikes and other outdoor toys inside of it. Some of our gardening tools are in there too and since I don’t usually carry my keys while we’re hanging out back or when I’m working on the yard (most of what I need is stored under the back porch), it was always a minor inconvenience to go back inside to find them if I needed to open the garage for things.

Genie reached out with information about Aladdin Connect^®, and as I went into research mode I realized it would be a really nice upgrade. The loud creaking as we opened the door was due to the old opener itself, so we replaced it and the new Genie model we chose has Aladdin Connect^® built right in. The door is so quiet when we open it now! I didn’t even realize it was possible. I assumed that some of the creaky noise must have been coming from the door (maybe banging against the guide rails or bending as it retracted?) but nope. It was all that old motor! So glad we had it replaced.

You could use Aladdin Connect^® if you just want to add its smart features to your home too. There’s a separate Add-On Kit with a Door Control Module available that can control up to three doors. The installation is an easy DIY project, it works with most residential garage door openers (Genie brand or not), and most iOS and Android mobile devices. A Door Position Sensor gets added to each door so the actual position is monitored, letting you know if the doors were open or closed even if it was done manually. There’s also a history you could reference to see which openers were used and when.

It has been so convenient to be able to open the garage from the app on my phone, since inside the house or out, I do usually have my phone on me. I also like that I get an alert each time the door opens or closes. Obviously I hope we never have a break-in, but it does give me peace of mind, knowing that I would be alerted if the door opened when we weren’t expecting it. And if I open the garage from my phone and then send the kids out there to grab their bikes, I like getting a notice when the door is closed again so I can be sure they actually remembered to hit the button when they were done. I even used the ‘Rules’ section of the app to add a rule that will automatically close the garage door if it has been open for 60 minutes. Just in case someone leaves it open and I’m not paying attention to the notices on my phone.

(That fridge, and the washer and dryer taking up space in there all came out once the laundry room was tiled.)

Aladdin Connect^® has come in handy for giving other people access too. Our house was pretty torn up after having some plumbing problems repaired, so we hired someone to fix the worst of the damage. He set up his materials and equipment in the garage, and then he would send me a text each morning as he arrived and I could open the door for him right from my phone. Very handy when he was unexpectedly early and I was still in pajamas or right in the middle of something with the kids.

You can find out more about Aladdin Connect^® and check compatibility with your existing model on Genie’s website. It’s one of my favorite smart features we’ve added to this old home of ours!

September 5, 2018
Dîner en Blanc Chicago, 2018

Dîner en Blanc Chicago is the pop-up picnic event where everyone and everything is dressed all in white. It takes place at a different location each year, and for ours in 2018 it was held at Siegel Field on the IIT with S. R. Crown Hall serving as the backdrop.

At first, you feel entirely conspicuous making your way through the city wearing white and schlepping a fair amount of gear. As more people gather though, the ones not dressed head-to-toe in white seem the odd ones out. We kind of overwhelmed the L as we made our way to the still unnamed location.

We took the red line to 35th, and everyone guessed it was Comiskey for the location, while I quietly offered “IIT?” One of the leaders heard and without confirming I was right, asked what the significance would be. I said that it was architecturally important and beautiful, but that I had no idea what the connection to DEB was. Turns out it was because “the architect” (Mies van der Rohe) “liked to design with grids, and we were lined up in grids with our tables!” Oh. OK? It was a fun evening, but that explanation was a bit of a stretch. Also, 2015 saw DEB at Mies’ Federal Plaza (arguably a more photogenic backdrop), which further highlighted the connection.

My sister and I agreed that it was far easier to participate the second time around. We kept thinking ‘this is so easy!’ as we transported everything because last year it definitely wasn’t! The biggest changes: we used a lightweight roll-up camping table instead of a folding table, we used a collapsible rolling crate instead of bags strapped to a luggage cart, and the table decorations were simplified.

I loved my dress. I sent a photo to my sister when I got it and she basically said ‘you do you’ but said she liked it a lot better when she saw it in person! Ha. I bought it with the event in mind, but I’ll wear it long after. It’s got that oh-so-flattering Teletubbies silhouette I’m into.

Dinner, dancing, sparklers, and a beautiful setting. There was even a wedding! Dîner en Blanc is basically a fancy picnic with a DJ, but the color palette and mystery location each year makes it special. We’re already thinking about what we’ll do next time!

August 31, 2018