Monday, February 27, 2017

43 Laundry Room Check-In: Tile and Wallpaper Sneak Peeks

We have been back to working in the laundry room and we made some major progress!


The tiling is complete and I am working on a tutorial post right along with this one. It turned out even better than I could have expected, and I just love the brightness and freshness it added. It was the first tiling project we tackled 100% on our own (about 8+ years ago we didn't a couple of small tiling projects with the help of my father-in-law), and we definitely learned a few things along the way.


The great thing about the laundry room is that it is just that, a laundry room. Although it is in a deep, dark corner of our basement, it has become a great place to be able to experiment with projects and even be a bit more daring with our choices. It is only for us, and really, it is mostly a room that I spend time in. The boys of the house get in, drop off their clothes, maybe start a load of laundry, and book it right back out. But me? I like to work in there. I enjoy folding my laundry straight from the dryer while listening to tunes, as well as ironing and tinkering with cleaning supplies and small household projects...

And I have always wanted to utilize a floral wallpaper in our house but with all of my guys ruling the roost, I haven't really had much of an opportunity. I have considered adding it to a bathroom or even my office, but those rooms are so frequently used and seen that I have held back. After checking with Bryan, he said if I was going to do it anywhere, the laundry room would be the place to give it a whirl. You don't have to tell me twice, once I had a thumbs up from him I added that paper to my cart and then anxiously awaited its arrival.


Before presenting the paper to Bryan I had looked at a lot of different options. The main goal was to select something colorful with movement, and also something temporary. Traditional wallpapers are typically a very large investment and can be a huge challenge to remove down the road. With a good temporary paper, I won't have to worry about the aftermath a few years from now should we sell our home (no plans) or I change my mind (more likely). There are so many great peel and stick papers on the market now and with new designs hitting the scene daily, you really can't go wrong with this application option.

There was one design in particular that continuously caught my eye on Instagram and I kept coming back to it, and after some encouragement from a few friends, I finally jumped on it. I selected the Floral Loquat in Sky Blue by Samantha Santana. All of her designs speak to me and are so beautiful and the colors are brilliant and happy. Plus, I love supporting fellow creatives and small businesses; it is like I now have a giant wall of her artwork in a pattern I haven't seen used anywhere else yet.


Something in me has changed over the past few years, and I have been less and less likely to be fearless with color and design and trying new things. It has been so frustrating! I have always been known to toss up color without thinking twice, or adding a fun pattern to a room or a bright abstract piece of art. Zero hesitation and all gut and then I would encourage all of you to be brave with your choices as well. But it has been quite some time since I have gone bold or tried something out of my comfort zone. And this paper was it.

The installation was one of our fastest yet; we had square and smooth walls to start with and the paper came in 2' x 4' panels which are just easier to work with. I am sure it also helped that we have installed a few peel and stick papers in the past and have found ourselves a good system.

So, how do I feel about it?

The paper itself is stunning and lovely and everything I wanted it to be. It is just SO pretty. And it pairs wonderfully with all of the white on all of the other walls. The pattern is a little overwhelming and I am not sure it would have worked so well if we didn't have a cabinet in the center of the wall to break up the busyness. That said, I can't wait to finish up a couple of things on the opposite side of the room and photograph the entire space as a whole. I am really excited and interested to see how it feels as a whole once I bring back in all of our daily belongings.


The subway tile is a white beveled tile from Home Depot and I initially had purchased a gray grout but at the last minute swapped it out for white.  The white grout really gave us a polished and finished feeling and filling in those grout lines elevated the wall completely. The only thing I am questioning now is the stain (or lack thereof) of the floating shelf we installed previously. It feels a little light and peachy but I might just wait to see what happens once I have my detergents and belongings on display.


We have been using the updated space for a few months now and the functionality the counter and sink has added is off-the-charts-amazing. I have a whole new love for the room and how it works for us. On the flip side, I am having major faucet regrets. I liked it initially but the more I use it, the more I am disappointed. It just doesn't offer enough pressure and it also doesn't have a nozzle to switch to a spray mode. I thought this would be fine being that it is just a sink in the laundry room and is already worlds better than our previous utility sink faucet, but considering I use this room for stain scrubbing and brush cleaning and everything in-between, it just isn't powerful enough for me. So now I am on the fence, I may update it or we may look into the option of adding a sprayer... I will keep you posted.


We still have a few things left to finish up before we are 100% done, but I wanted to be sure to pop in and share where we are at currently. As we start pulling together the final details, we may end up making a few small tweaks, but overall I am so thrilled with where things are heading. I know some folks think it is "just a laundry room", but with five people and a couple of furry friends in our family, I find myself in this room all of the time. So let's high five to turning a dungeon basement space into a place with some color and life!

Catch up on previous laundry room update posts below:

Lowering Hookups & Installing a Counter
Installing a Drop-in Sink
Adding a Decorative Toe Kick

43 comments:

  1. Such lovely wallpaper! And your laundry space seems above ground, it's so light and airy! That's it, I'm coming over with my heaping piles of laundry to do it in your bright and happy space! :)

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  2. Love the paper and the whole room! This type of gadget won't improve your sink's water pressure, but makes switching from regular water stream to sprayer really easy. You just thread it onto the end of the faucet. (I have no affiliation, but bought something similar years ago at a flea market. ) https://www.amazon.com/Spray-Aerator-Kitchen-Sink-Faucets/dp/B00TIWBV5O/ref=pd_bxgy_60_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00TIWBV5O&pd_rd_r=DD1FJ2022MFZMFPWV5G2&pd_rd_w=IF9p3&pd_rd_wg=uqEsm&psc=1&refRID=DD1FJ2022MFZMFPWV5G2

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    1. Thank you so much! I haven't seen those before and I appreciate you sharing the inexpensive option. I will definitely look into that before investing in something new all together. ☺

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  3. I love the wallpaper, and I think it photographs really well! I can imagine it might feel a little busy in person, but maybe that's just because it's new. Either way, it's gorgeous! :) LOVE this renovation!

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  4. I'm super conservative when it comes to colour but I LOVE this wallpaper! And I love the white tile with white grout (grey grout would make the room really busy). Thanks for sharing updates along the way :)

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  5. looks great! what's in all the mason jars?

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    1. Hi Shannon! The mason jars hold my leftover paint for touch-ups. :)

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  6. I loved your laundry room before! Not at all a fan of that print. I think you should change the name of the blog to iheartrenovating. I still come here to look for organizing tips, but they are so rare. Unfortunately, I would say the majority of us don't have the time or money to constantly remodel rooms in the house!! Obviously it's your blog, but the name is deceiving. Used to not be that way!!

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    1. Hi Melissa,
      I knew going in that not everyone would like the print, it is very taste specific and that is fine. It is always my goal to share our choices and learning experiences and also encourage folks to try new things and create a home that they love.

      Thank you for sharing your feedback, I have always shared both our home journey and and our organizing projects here, and the ratio has still been far more organizing than renovating (yet many times the two overlap). I also receive comments that people want more of our home story, but I have learned that I can't possibly do it all or please everyone, so I just share organically where we are in our home life whether it be tackling a closet or working on our laundry room. In the last 7 years of blogging I have shared an abundance of organizing tips and projects, but if there are ever any you are specifically seeking that you can't find here, I would love to know and try to work it into my posts in some way.

      Thank you again,
      Jen

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  7. Absolutely stunning! I love the light fixture! Where did you find it?

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    1. Thank you! The light fixture is from Bellacor: http://bit.ly/2koVNUF

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  8. Hi Jennifer .. I'm new to your blog and absolutely love it! I've been reading through so many posts and I'm expecting a large delivery from The Container Store as I try to get my house organized! Question for you about your laundry room .. the washer and dryer hookups .. were are they?!? Ours are above the washer and dryer and I'm trying to be creative in solving how to have a backsplash that hides them. I'd hate to hire a plumber to move them .. what to do!

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    1. Hello and thank you!

      We were able to lower the hookups on our own, it was especially helpful to have access to the plumbing on the opposite side of the wall. I shared some of those details in this post here: http://www.iheartorganizing.com/2016/10/laundry-room-update-lowering-hookups.html.

      I have seen folks build a small ledge over the hook-ups to hide them, here are a couple of examples:

      http://westermanfam.blogspot.com/2015/06/diy-built-in-washer-dryer.html
      https://www.pinterest.com/pin/252272016605174001/

      Ours were also above in the past and I know it can be a bit of a pain to work around, I would love to hear what solution you end up going with.

      Jen

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  9. It's absolutely beautiful. I come to your blog often -- to see what you would do or are doing in your home. I love both the organizing and the decorating posts. And I like that you don't hold yourself too rigidly to one or the other because a) they are clearly related anyhow and b) I never know what I'll learn or be inspired by. I say don't second guess yourself for a minute. Keep doing you! This room and what you share with us here is lovely and inspiring and of value to me!

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    1. I agree with Kirsten!

      Love the light, too!

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    2. Totally agree! I think it's so helpful to see both the "big picture" posts of renovating, decorating, and deciding how best to use the spaces in your home, and the "detail" posts of organizing those newly done spaces!

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  10. I also love your pendant light! Looks great!

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  11. So neat! I feel like the wallpaper makes the whole room! It's funny how small details can make such a difference to a place.

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  12. That wallpaper makes the room! You are always spot on with your choices. Thanks for sharing your updates with us!

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  13. I hope you'll update us on how the wallpaper holds up. We used peel and stick paper horizontally on our kitchen bar (that gets almost no use except for holding clutter!), and it's slowly sliding down the wall. The 1/32" gap is driving me nuts!

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  14. Jen -- so happy for the update. I'd be wondering where things stood. Kudos for your bravery with the wallpaper. It is very pretty and good that the cabinet breaks it up some. Love the subway tile and the white grout -- which works better on a wall than on the floor.

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  15. I love your laundry room! The wallpaper is lovely and adds just the perfect touch of color and pattern.

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  16. absolutely love how it's looking so far! looking forward to seeing it finished. xx. gigi. www.gigikkitchen.com

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  17. This is beautiful! I wish my laundry room was half this clean, bright, and pretty!

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  18. Love, love, love! I'm so envious of your lovely laundry. You've inspired me to tweak my tiny laundry.

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  19. The laundry room looks GORGEOUS, just curious though - the shelf is empty as are the cabinets above the sink - where is your stuff!? Did you clear it to photograph b/c it's not organized yet? Not a dig, just curious - b/c I wish my laundry room was that organized!!

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    1. Hi Kerrin,
      We emptied the room while we were working on it, while tiling and grouting and hanging the paper. It is just easier to work in a clear space when we can. Everything is in piles just outside the door, waiting to be moved back in, which should be happening this week. :)

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  20. The tiles look good and I also think the shelf might need to be stained.

    The paper is pretty but very busy! Perhaps once all the shelves are stock it will be less distracting (to me at least) but kudos to going for it! I love how how willing you are to try new styles and our styles do evolve and it's great that you're so brave!
    I can't wait to see the complete room.

    BTW, Why did you swap out the cabinet knobs? I love the anthropologie ripe melons pulls - I even bought a couple for myself inspired by you.

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    1. Thank you! And I agree, I definitely think I will try staining the shelf and I am also looking into adding some black to the space to ground it a little. :)

      I swapped the knobs just to try and bring some unity in the space in case the others were too distracting with the paper, but they may come back. If not, I have a few other spaces I can use them, I agree they are wonderful knobs!

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  21. Your laundry room looks beautiful! I love the wallpaper you used, it's so pretty.

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  22. Looking good! Maybe some of Cassie's love of color (and tacos) rubbed off on you. You've certainly given her the organizing bug...

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    1. Thanks Patricia! My love of color and tacos stems back to my childhood, but I am certain that is one of the reasons Cassie and I get along so well! ♥

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  23. Love how this room turned out Jennifer! It's so bright and pretty and I think that wallpaper will bring a smile to your face every time you walk in that room. Your paint samples coordinate with it perfectly - it was meant to be ;)

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  24. Did you build that 'cabinet' around your washer and dryer? I like the look of that. Currently, our washer and dryer just sit next to each other and things are always falling between and behind.

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  25. It's interesting that you've felt more hesitant in your use of color. Maybe because design trends have gone the direction of the light, bright, white and airy look? I love how you're able to incorporate the current light and airy look and still incorporate your love of color. You do a great job of keeping up with trends while being true to your own tastes as well! The bold wallpapers add so much personality, and how fun to have the temporary option!

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  26. What a pretty laundry room! I just love all of your choices, the wall paper looks so beautiful next to your white cabinets. I especially love your wall cabinet pulls and knobs, could you share where you found them?? Thank you!- Lauren

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    1. Thank you Lauren! I purchased most of the pulls on amazon here: http://amzn.to/2mkNc86 and the smaller knobs on Etsy here: http://bit.ly/2mI18vt. They match perfectly even though purchased from two different sources. :)

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  27. I love your blog. The decor and organizing. Keep it up. And I love the wallpaper. What a fun place to use it! And the color is awesome. All white is the trend now,but it's starting to feel so sterile and trendy! So I say. Add some color where you can. It's perfect.

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  28. So beautiful!!!! Do you have a post about how to put wall paper up? I am really interested in putting wallpaper in my home myself and wondering if I could do it on my own. Thanks!!-Jenna

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  29. Have you considered painting the shelf to match the pink in the wallpaper? That would really make a statement! Love this!

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  30. i looove the wallpaper!! and please do not change the floating shelf- the natural color brings out and complements the wallpaper so nicely!

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