The simple pleasures of home shine brighter
when the spirit of God intertwines our hearts
with His gentle Joy.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Laundry Day Blues???



Ever have the laundry day blues???

Arriving On Crooked Creek, I had envisioned a laundry / mud room similar to the one in my previous "dream home"! A place where laundry was contained until wash day, washed, folded or hung, and then neatly put away.


I was hopeful that laundry room would have ample space where my ironing board and large vintage clothes rack could remain out. . . never having to be put away!  Reality check!



On Crooked Creek's ~
                                                                 laundry closet!!!

Please don't misunderstand. . . with every passing birthday. . .I am grateful that my laundry room is on the upper level living in our 1970's Ranch Style Home!
So many of my friends have to go
                      up ~
                                    and ~
                                                    down
                                                                   stairs to do their laundry chores!



My laundry "closet" is located right off the dining room. . .behind bi~fold doors! 

Arriving On Crooked Creek, I had grandeur thoughts that behind those bi~fold doors was a shelf lined pantry!



Trying hard to hide my disappointment and aided by "Mr. Ed's" encouragement, I began to make the most of this laundry closet! Using the place mats I made from our previous laundry / mud room, I began to adjust to our new home!

Remember 1970's Ranch Style houses had dark cabinetry!!!
Poor lighting!!! No clothes pole!!!

So~o~o. . .


"Mr. Ed" installed and painted two stock cabinets from Lowe's! One above the washer. . .one above the dryer. . .perfect for housing laundry day items!



Then he added a clothes pole for hanging perma~press items right from the dryer!




He measured and cut a shelf to go above the clothes pole for a decorative shelf!


A quick trip to Sherwin ~ Williams, "Mr. Ed" had paint matched to the background of our kitchen wallpaper! And finally, he removed the dated light fixture and replaced it with a brushed nickel track lighting!!!

Honoring his transformation of On Crooked Creek's laundry closet. . .
I chose heirloom vintage enameled and galvanized kitchen and laundry room treasures from the "Family Farm" to accessorize!



Beginning with a galvanized pitcher and percolator. . .



Maid - Rite washboard, iron, mason jar holding vintage wooden clothes pins. . .


Dubl Handi washboard, another iron, Sun Crest soda bottle with sprinkle head. . .

 Enamel pail. . .


and ending with a galvanized tea kettle!



Since On Crooked Creek's laundry closet has no place for a laundry hamper, our method of laundry sorting is three plastic baskets atop the washer and dryer.



 One for "Mr. Ed's" work clothes. . .




one for towels. . .and the other for my delicate clothing.

Except. . .
now that we are both "retired", our laundry needs have changed somewhat! We no longer need a separate laundry basket for "Mr. Ed's" greasy, road tar clothing!

So~o~o. . .
while at my favorite unique antique shop a few weeks ago, I found this small vintage basket and it is just the right size for my delicate clothing!!!



I adore its honey hued texture
so~o~o much more than the white plastic!!!



My concern with its wonderful texture is that it might snag my delicate garments.

Going through my "treasure trove" of vintage linens, I came across a single pillowcase edged with intricate hand crocheted cotton lace!


A perfect fit. . .
                      almost. . .
                                   with modification. . .
                                                                   can you visualize it???


Yes, ma'am. . .I know that means I have to get out the sewing machine. Ugh! But in the end, I'm sure it will be exactly what I need to combat the laundry day blues!


Until next time. . .


FYI:
I am on the "look~out" for two larger vintage bushel baskets to replace the other plastic laundry baskets! If you have a resource, please let me know in your comment! Thanks!!!

ww.astrollthrulife.blogspot.com
On Crooked Creek will be joining our dear hostess Marty @ A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday! Be sure to visit and see some of the most amazing vignettes for inspiration in your own home decor!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

HI Pat! Oh, I love your laundry room! Love your vintage things and those old rub boards! It's so pretty and neat.
Be a sweetie,
shelia :)

Martha said...

I think it's a great Laundry Room -- Linderhof's is in the basement and since we have an upstairs -- ALL laundry goes up and down two flights of stairs! You did a great job with the cabinets and the decorating of that space!

Babs said...

Great vintage styled laundry closet. Love the color and all your vintage things. It's great to have cupboards with doors to hide the cleaning products, too.
Babs

Olive said...

Pat, you have maximized that space very well. I am with you in that I do not wish to go up and down stairs. I only have two wee stairs to my laundry room. I love the basket and pillow case. I am a freak over vintage pillow cases. Olive

Olive said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Pamela said...

Pat your display is great!!! Taking notes!:)

Unknown said...

What a great laundry room. I think it would be a very plesant day to do laundry in that room. Great job.
Sandy

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Your laundry room is sweet...and how cute to have the touches on the shelf...it is similar to my laundry room/closet/pass through!!

Pamela said...

Delightful! What a fun tour. Love that new basket and linen. And your decorations on top of the shelf made my heart sing!

podso said...

What a lovely laundry room. you Mr Ed is really creative and talented! I also really like the placements on top of the washer and dryer--they seem to be square. They look so nice for times when the machine isn 't in use.

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

Oh I love lace lined wicker baskets! You've made your laundry so pretty! Love all your vintage displays.

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Pat, I had that same laundry closet in a previous home. You did a fabulous job of making your beautiful and functional. Love your vintage decor and the baskets are a great idea. Thanks tons for joining TTT. Hugs, Marty

Betty Stapleton said...

Your laundry room looks great. Mine is upstairs off our bedroom and I love it, it is small too like yours, a little bigger. My ironing board is outside in the wall with a pull down.
Our neighbouring village or hamlet is called Crooked Creek, so everytime I see your blog it catches my eye...

FABBY'S LIVING said...

Although I have a laundry room, it's so tiny too that I just got so inspired in decorating it. Yours look wonderful and all those adorned baskets are perfect! had a plain wall on top of my machines and as of right now I'm having cabinets install! First, we measured them wrong, so they needed to be cut, so finally is getting there, lol! The banana bread looks yummy too! Thank you sweet lady for your wonderful comments.
Love,
FABBY

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Oh, and you like deep red and white, in your Laundry too!!!!! :-))))

Gentle hugs,
"Auntie"

Jaybird said...

Hi there!! Great laudry room ideas...
pretty regularly I see the bigger reed baskets at Dollar General. They are much lighter colored, but they take stain very well! I have three of them in our family room...stained with Minwax "Early American" stain! They look great and wear like iron (one of them is a 10+ year old toy basket :^)