Monday, February 10, 2014

79 Built-In Laundry Sorting/Folding Station

Just before Christmas, I schemed up a plan to put in the ultimate gift wrap station in our new under-the-stairs storage closet.  I get these ideas where I start looking around our home at every piece of furniture with a mischievous eye.  After some measuring, I realized that our previous kid's craft cabinet turned laundry room linen storage cabinet was the perfect size.  All of my baskets, supplies, and gift wrapping items would fit inside the cabinet, and the cabinet itself fit in the nook under the stairs as if it were built for it specifically.  The stars aligned and off it went.  And that left my laundry room wall looking like this.


The cabinet previous held our beach gear and some linens for when we entertain guests.  It also had a clothing rod for hanging clothing items out of the dryer.  After a few weeks of living with piles on the floor where the old cabinet once lived... we decided that this blank slate was the perfect opportunity to put in some storage we have been dreaming up for a very long time.

We have always wanted to add pedestals under our washer and dryer, so we have been looking at alternative solutions for a folding station/table.  This blank wall presented itself as the ideal place to add in an area for folding linens, hanging clothing and sorting down a few of the specialty items we wash (delicates, linens and whites). 

The tall cabinet shown above was another wish list item.  Our home wasn't designed with storage in mind when it was built 12 years ago, and that has forced us to get creative in more ways than one.  And you guys know me, I love to keep "like" items together whenever possible.  But that just has not been happening in terms of our cleaning supplies.  A cleaning caddy under the kitchen sink, brooms hung in the garage, a vacuum cleaner down the hall in a linen/first aid closet and our mop bucket/mop in our main bathroom shower.  Yes, I just outed a secret that we stored our mop in our shower.  No judging, please.  In the winter it cannot be hung out in the garage to dry, because it would just freeze.  So, it lived in our shower in-between uses.  By installing a tall cabinet, I could finally store the majority of our cleaning supplies in one central location (still leaving a few basic cleaners in commonly used areas such as under the bathroom and kitchen sinks).  It would also give me a place to store those items I use to create our DIY cleaning solutions.

We shared the step-by-step process on how to build the entire unit, over at the Home Depot blog here.  It started out with a brainstorming session between Bryan and me, creating our dream list and sketching up potential options.  Of course, it started out basic and simple sorting station that eventually grew to an entire wall to wall built-in unit.  Don't you love how that happens?

The entire process took about a week start to finish.  In typical fashion, we worked on evenings and the weekend tag-teaming the process of building, priming, and painting.   The process itself was pretty straight forward and having a plan going into it made it so much easier once we got started.  Here is the finished product.


All of the linens and beach supplies went back into the cabinets in the upper portion of the built-ins.


While the tall cabinet ended up being everything I was hoping for in terms of a cleaning closet!


I still have some tweaks to make to the cleaning closet itself.   I would like to line the floor and add some additional storage to the door for the rest of the supplies still sitting in a pile on the opposite side of the room.  More on that soon, but until then, the space for the tall supplies and the added clips for mops and brooms has been so fabulous. 

We reinstalled our clothing rod and I gave half of my hangers a coat of Lagoon spray paint.  I am a fan of loving the places I do chores, so bringing in bursts of color was a must.



I shared my tutorial for the easiest pegboard project ever right here.  Now you can see how it fit into my overall plans for the space.



The open shelving to the right holds my smaller fabric pieces and swatches, along with my sewing machine.



Recognize those baskets?  Yep, they are the same ones I dressed up with a bit of stain.  I found them just for this build and we sized everything accordingly.  They are perfect for sorting and toting around the house, I just need to add some labels to the front and maybe play with those liners a bit.



We have been using the area for a couple of weeks now and the folding counter has been one of those eye-opening additions that I wish I would have added years ago.  In fact, the entire project has really made the entire room so much more functional and gave us storage for items that have been a thorn in our side for quite a while.  And of course, the kids are not complaining about the missing mop and bucket from their shower.

Again, you can snag the supply list, build process and every last detail over at the Home Depot blog here.


Anyone else been adding life-altering storage to your laundry space?  How do you give a little love to the areas you work the hardest within?

79 comments:

  1. I love the whole thing! But that yellow stool caught my eye, where did you find that?

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    1. Hi Jaime!

      I found it at Pier 1: http://bit.ly/1gidLlA

      They were discontinuing them in the store I found it at, so I got the floor model for half off. Worth asking about if you check it out. :)

      xo!

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  2. You guys are AMAZING! I have been following you since the daycare days, and you get more amazing every post! Thank you for always sharing your knowledge, talent, and trial and error to make EVERYONE succeed! Love it! ~Laura

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    1. Thank you so much Laura! I appreciate you sticking with me for so long! <3

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  3. WOW, I just lost my breath there for a second. This is FABULOUS and I'm sooo crushing on it. Love EVERYTHING about it. :D

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  4. Love this! We have a perfect place to move our washer & dryer (it's currently under our basement stairs-major pain) and I'd love to do some type of built in like this around them! Thanks for the inspiration :)

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  5. stupendofantabulouslyfantastical!!! just love it as always

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  6. I love the idea of spray painting the hangers! I might remember that. Really like this Station!

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  7. Oh. Em. Gee. This is beautiful! I wish I had a laundry room. Mine is in the basement.

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  8. Wow!!! This is my favorite project of yours! It looks like the perfect solution for a laundry room. The folding area is amazing and I can think of all kinds of items to put in those large baskets! Love, love this!

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  9. How did you make the doors? I'm thinking of doing something very similar in my basement. Thanks so much

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    1. Hi Julie!

      We cut the doors to size out of MDF, and trimmed out the fronts with super thin pieces of OAK with wood glue and our brad nailer. After the paint and primer cured, we were able to hinge and hang them.

      xo!

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  10. Wow, I love it! I'm super jealous, I would kill for an entire laundry room - I'm stuck with a laundry closet. Great job, you inspire me to be more organized in a pretty way!

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  11. I love this!! I wish I had room for something like this. Great job!

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  12. Long time visitor, first time commenter :) I've enjoyed following along with so many of your projects, but this one might be my favorite! Love how you always mix practicality with flair.

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  13. Love this!! I have 2 cabinets in my laundry room which are very similar to your cleaning cabinet. My husband recently built 4 shelves into one of them and I bought 4 large baskets at Target. I labeled each with the names of one of our 4 girls, and now their folded laundry goes straight into their basket. Talk about life changing! Before, their stacks of clothes were all over the floor, being stepped on and knocked over. Who would have thought it could make such a difference? Sometimes I open the cabinet and just smile. :)

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    1. Love that so much! It does make such a difference, we have a very similar system for our boys.

      xo!

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  14. OMG!! Love it! Who knew laundry could be so much fun! May have to add the laundry room on my to do list. :) Would you mind sharing how you created the drawings?! Thank you so much!!!

    Jenny

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    1. Hi Jenny!

      I use Excel for the drawings: create a blank workbook, adjust the cells to even squares and format the cells with boarders.

      xo!

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    2. Thank you so much!

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  15. You guys are amazing. Seriously. No words.

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  16. This is amazing! So much inspiration for my home, which sadly was not built with much storage/organization, either. Thank you for all the new ideas I have (mainly for cleaning stuff) after seeing this project :)

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  17. So inspiring as always! I would love a folding station where I could sit. I might just have to find a way to make it work now!

    Erin
    upsideofchaos.com

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  18. Love love love it! I can only dream of adding something like that to my laundry closet (I'd call it a room, but that'd be pushing it). Love the thought process behind it, too! GREAT job!

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  19. This is absolutely adorable. Clothes folding party!

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  20. Seriously, I need to channel you. Our house looks nice superficially, but leap aside should you open a closet!! I absolutely love your ideas. :)

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    1. Awww, thanks Christina! I definitely have a few of those spaces as well, but I sincerely appreciate your sweetness!! <3

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  21. Seriously?! LOVE it!! It's absolutely gorgeous!! Painting hangers? BRILLIANT! I may be stealing the idea :) thanks for your inspiring posts Jen !!!

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  22. WOW!! So gorgeous!! I love how bright and happy it is :)

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  23. Oh my goodness! I love this! So classy, yet bright and fun! I dream of just having a laundry room right now, yet alone something like this! Someday...when we're not renting anymore....

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  24. Would you mind sharing where is that adorable yellow stool from? Would love to have a few of those!

    Thanks!

    Lindsey

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  25. Amazing Job Jen! Can you please tell me your paint colours for the walls and cabinets?

    cheers

    Linda

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    1. Hi Linda!

      The wall color is Behr's Light French Gray and the cabinets were painted in Behr's Pure White {un-tinted}

      xoxo!

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  26. Where did you get the clips for the broom & dry mop? I would love something to organize mine on my laundry room wall.

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    1. Hi Steph!

      The clips were found at Home Depot: http://thd.co/1de5EX0

      xo!

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  27. This is lovely! That cute yellow stool is very eye catching. :) I really like those cupboards that hold your cleaning supplies... you can hang them up, and close the door to hide them. :) Thanks for sharing!!

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  28. My heart goes pitter-patter when I saw this! I love it so much!

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  29. Looks amazing! where is the striped rug from?

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  30. Wow Jen, that is seriously impressive! You guys are rockstars!

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  31. I really like it. It is a great idea. I wish I had the room. But with 5 children and all my art supplies for my job I am really short of space like that. Sigh ...............

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  32. This is amazing! Seriously. Amazing! From the happy stool to your shirts, it's so cheerful it almost feels like spring.

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  33. Gorgeous! With a space like this I just might convince myself to start folding my kids laundry...at least occasionally. ;-)

    ~Sarah

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  34. So gorgeous! I'd want to hang out in there. The stool makes me happy.

    Since my hubby does all the laundry, I guess I'd need to turn ours into a man cave to be fair. ;)

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  35. Hi Jen,

    What a lovely and bright place to do your laundry. I've been visiting your blog for a couple of years now. You inspire me to get organising done and I've just started my own blog ... hope I can fill it with as useful and inspiring content as you have on yours. Most of all I love how you all work so well together as a family.

    Much love, Shaz

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  36. Wow! I love this space!! *_*

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  37. In love! Can't wait to show my hubby this! We'd have to modify ours a little but it's ultimately exactly what I was looking for!!!

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  38. W.O.O.O.W.W.W....!!! so cool... all the colors are just so perfect!! =))

    btw, which part is this in your home? is it like this link before? http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2012/08/launry-room-update-airing-our-clean.html

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    1. Yep! Still in the laundry room, in place of our previous cabinet which we moved and now use in another area of our home.

      xo!

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  39. Love it! So beautiful and cheerful. My hubby and I really like to have a ton of hanging space, so we installed closet rod hangers and put a 12 inch wide shelf on top. I think we added about 12 feet of hanging space plus the shelf top for storage. And then we put an Ikea drying rack on the wall. And I agree, a work space should have some fun colors...so ours is decorated (cheaply) with happy stuff. Keep it up, I redid my bulletin board last week after seeing your memo board.....you are inspiring me (and the below zero weather doesn't hurt either.....I am sure we Midwesterners will have the most organized, clean and dejunked houses EVER after this long winter....but once Spring comes, I am never going back indoors!!!) :) Stay warm! Rosie

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    1. I hear you! I get far less accomplished inside during the warmer months because I am just happy and loving being outside! Fingers crossed warm months are not too far off now!

      xo!

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    2. I was just going over some old pictures from last year and I have one of ICE on the lake across the street from us...on MAY 5th.... ugh...so my fingers ARE crossed! :)

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  40. Where is the wire basket from that is holding the fabric?

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    1. Hi Teresa!

      I apologize but I honestly don't recall, I have had it for so many years now. I see similar styles at HomeGoods, Crate & Barrel and even Target at times.

      xo!

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  41. Absolute eye-candy that truly brightened a gloomy day! It prompted a post to my blog, thank you for sharing!

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  42. Always so pretty. :) It might be my (old) computer, but sometimes your pictures are so bright that I can't see details- your beautiful, colorful items seems to be just floating. Not a gripe- just FYI in case it's not just me. But still, I can see how amazing it all looks. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hmmm, haven't heard that before but I appreciate the feedback. It could be a monitor resolution/setting, however, I will keep that in mind as I continue to photograph.

      xo!

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  43. I'm very interested in doing this project! But may I ask how much it cost you total? Looking for something that isn't too expensive...

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    1. Hi Amber!

      The total cost for the lumber, trim, hinges & all hardware, the counter, legs, primer, paint and brushes came in at about $450. You may be able to piece in pre-made cabinets/closet systems for around the same or even a bit less, we just couldn't find anything that fit our space and measurements specifically.

      xoxo!

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  44. Simply amazing! Love it Jen!
    Laundry room aside, would you mind sharing what program you used to sketch up your idea? Thanks!

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    1. Hi Katy,

      I use Excel for the drawings: create a blank workbook, adjust the cells to even squares and format the cells with boarders.

      xo!

      Delete
  45. Great solution! Do you have any suggestions for what to do if the washer and dryer are in a closet that is deep enough for the machines only?

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    1. Hi Rebecca!

      If you washer and dryer are not too tall, you could add a counter directly over the top and add a shelf or cabinet with a clothing rod above.

      I really love this small laundry nook done by my pal Ashli: http://www.maillardvillemanor.com/2012/01/laundry-room-reveal.html

      xoxo!
      Jen

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  46. I love how clean and cheerful this looks! I wish I had a space like this!

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  47. That looks so awesome! I need something like that. We have no space here at our house, but I'm thinking of creating a sorting/folding station above my washer and dryer. I wish I was as talented as you with stuff like this.

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  48. This is great! I have been following your blog for almost a year now but this is my first time leaving a comment. I now have 2 of my sisters hooked on your blog! I so need inspiration for my basement laundry room, this helps. You have a following here in Ontario Canada!!!

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  49. Hello, I'm a german Reader :-) and I LOVE your Blog! We have a Corner in our Apartment where I search for a solution...and THIS is a wonderful Solution´. Did you have some more Pictures from the building?? Greetings from the south of Germany :-)

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    1. Thank you so much! You can find more details of the step by step process over on the Home Depot blog here: http://ext.homedepot.com/community/blog/diy-laundry-room-storage/

      xo!

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    2. ... thank you very much:-) That's really great. I'm exciting what my husband will say about this idea *smile* :-) greetings...and thank you for sharing so much ideas in your Blog :-)

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  50. Oh I love this space. I am like you always looking for some way to re-purpose items and furniture in some way that makes my home more efficient LOL. Now my wheels are turning as to how I can get a counter in my space where I could fold clothes too :) With Five kids I sure could use it!

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  51. Oh my goodness! This is my dream laundry room! It is so gorgeous and has so much storage. I think I'm in love!

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  52. Absolutely loving your blog! I am, like you, a lover of organization and everything having it's place in the home. We are currently moving house and it's great looking for new ideas to make the house not only our home but also an efficient and pleasurable place to live and do the chores.

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  53. Hey Jen...I looked everywhere on your site for the font you used for "Sparkle" on the cleaning caddy, but I must have missed it. Can you help? Looks awesome!

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  54. Where did you get your ironing board hanger. My boards "feet"are like that too and all i can find are hangers for straight bar "feet"

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    1. Hello! I have had it for quite a few years now, but I think I found it on Amazon initially. xoxo!

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  55. Can I ask where you got the clips for the broom storage?? Thanks!

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    1. Hi Megan,

      The clips are from Home Depot (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crown-Bolt-7-8-in-White-Spring-Grip-18028/202305505).

      You can find more details in this post here as well: http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2014/02/an-organized-cleaning-cabinet.html

      Jen

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