The laundry room makeover...

One of the things that I REALLY wanted done when we moved back in to this house was to kind of "revamp" the laundry room.  Let's face it...I spend quite a bit of time in there, and not having much storage space, I needed somewhere to organize some of our stuff.  Now, let me tell you...I had this vision in my mind....think pintrest- yeah, like what house really looks like that anyway?  Certainly not mine, so I needed to adjust all my pintrest inspirations and make something work for us.  Did I mention, this all needed to happen on a tight budget?!  Now, let me tell you...I really thought this project would be done months ago...like before we even went to New York back in June.  Obviously that didn't happen.  I think mostly because there were delays, and then with the route we decided to take, we didn't have a choice but to wait.
So here's how it all went down....
The floor.  Jeff replaced the floor before we moved anything back in.  Smart, right?!  The floor was U-G-L-Y!  I mean ugly!  I wanted something "forgiving" if I were to drop something, and also something affordable, so we went with a peel and stick tile that Jeff put down and then grouted.  I honestly couldn't be happier with the way it turned out.  It does look like ceramic tile, which is obviously what I was going for, but it was much less expensive, and when you're doing the labor yourself, or when your husband is doing the labor :) that helps too!

Next we had a plumber come in to reconfigure the set up of the washer, dryer and utility sink.  This was huge for me.  The set up of these pieces was just not working.  We didn't really have a choice when we moved in, and then it was never a priority to change it, because I was always using it, and it was functional, blah blah blah.
Of course that meant that because the washer and dryer were moved, we needed an electrician to move outlets, because the cords weren't long enough.  Don't you just love how one little thing creates all these other projects?  So after not having the ability to do laundry for a few days, I was back in action, thank goodness, because I'm a laundry every day type of girl!  And let's just say, there were no cloth diapers being used those days, because I didn't dare leave them until things were set back up!  That would have been yucky!

After this, I looked at Lowes, Home Depot, Ikea, online, etc for some cabinets that we could put in there for storage.  I wanted lots of cabinets.  And a counter top.  And I was hoping they would be pretty!  Not those industrial garage looking ones...although that is probably what we needed, since we have some heavy stuff to store.  Then, after being very discouraged by the selection and customer service I was receiving, I had a "light bulb" moment.  One of our friends works for a company that makes cabinets.  I really didn't think we could afford custom made cabinets, but I was getting desperate, and Jeff was getting sick of listening to me!  Long story short...it all worked out, and the cabinets were much more affordable than I thought.  The only problem was, I wanted white cabinets, and of course, they were the most expensive!  Just figures!  We went with a light oak color, and Jeff installed them once they were delivered.  He even built the countertop!  I'm sure it kind of looks like a kitchen, but I don't really care!  It gives me tons of storage, which is exactly what I'm going for!

There are still a few finishing touches that need to happen.  I want a new shelf over the washer and dryer, I want Jeff to build a cabinet or door, or something to cover the electrical panel and all the cords around it, because I think it's ugly!  (Not that anyone is really down there other than me, but I want it to be nice, you know?!)

Here are the pictures.  Some I took with my phone, so the quality isn't as good, sorry about that!

Will you just look at that floor!  Oh my!  So glad it's gone!

We decided to put peg board as our "back splash" to hang Jeff's commonly used tools, which makes life easier than digging through a tool box.  Most of the cabinets near the counter top are his, while the rest are reserved for my stuff! :)

See what I mean about the shelf above the washer and dryer, and the electrical box?  Too much going on there for me.  Hopefully Jeff can come up with a solution!

So there you have it, folks!  The new and improved laundry room.  There are still a few little things I want to add/change, like perhaps getting a small table...but I don't want to make any decisions until I know exactly what I want.  And, I know, if we would have gotten rid of that extra refrigerator we could have had lots more space...right?!  I know, but I like having two refrigerators, and when we're down by the pool running in the laundry room to grab a cold drink is so much easier than going to the kitchen!