54 Laundry Land: Part 1

As I have somewhat alluded to in the past, we are in the process of finishing up our entire lower level.  Until the last week, we were sort of putsing on it because we only have about 8 million other obligations and things going on, which is why I hadn't really had anything exciting to post on the blog about the whole thing.  {In case you are a new reader to this blog, we had a huge flood in our lower level last summer that required the flooring, trim, doors and furniture to be replaced}.    However... we have a giant shindig taking place this coming weekend, so we really kicked things into high gear to try and get as much done by this Friday.  Enter chuckles now.  We are crazy folks.

So yes, we are replacing all of the flooring {goodbye carpet}, trim and doors.  More on that in a separate post, all about the things we are doing this time around to mitigate the risk of flooding again in the future.  We also decided to take this opportunity to repaint pretty much EVERYTHING.  We really want it to feel all shiny and new when all is said and done.

Today, I am sharing our current progress in our laundry room.  It's actually a room that I used to adore as is, however, the paint was a flat paint sheen {NEVER again in a laundry room}, and it was looking pretty shabby.  Plus, we were putting the new floors in seamlessly throughout the ENTIRE lower level, including the laundry room!  So, it is getting a face lift.

Here it was in it's previous state:

Yes, if you are observant, you will see the dryer was on a 2x4, it was propped up to fit the exhaust in the back.  Talk about one of those things that really drives a gal batty, an uneven washer and dryer combo.  Ugh.

The flooring was a cheapo peal and stick tile, the rug was a victim of the flooding...

And here is how the room is looking this very minute of the day, after a little re-working this weekend:

The floor is IN!  We went with TrafficMaster Allure Ultra from Home Depot.  Straight from the website, here is why we chose the flooring we did:

• Wood-grain design with a vintage-oak color complements many home interiors
• Resists marks, scratches and stains and absorbs shocks for easy care
• Waterproof material offers skid resistance
• Designed for floating installation over most subfloor materials
• No underlayment, expansion joints or heavy tools required
• Luxurious embossing and natural look of wood plank flooring
• Quiet underfoot
• Commercial grade wear layer
• Lifetime residential, 10 year commercial warranty

It actually went in pretty smoothly, we got the whole basement done this weekend {with much help from family of course}.  And we LOVE LOVE LOVE that it's waterproof and so durable.  Smiles all around.

I really wanted to paint the laundry room a crazy green color, but I chickened out.  Which is a first for me since I am such a color fanatic.  I decided to stick with something neutral since I have oodles of colorful accents instead.

The color is Behr's Light French Gray.

Now, I can have all sorts of fun playing off of the colors in the rug to finish up the room.  But there is still SO much to do in there, aside from the obvious trim and door installation.

UPDATE:  Lot's of requests for the rug source, it's from Urban Outfitters.

Oh, and notice, the washer and dryer are now LEVEL!  The hubs and his dad notched out the drywall correctly when putting in the new flooring, so that they would sit nice and perfect for this Mrs.

Forgive the photography.  It's so hard for me to shoot real color in a natural-light-less room.  Yep, zero windows...

Where to go from here?  I think I need some laundry room inspiration.  Ready to ooh and aahh?

Kinda makes me want to go finish things up right now!  Thank you inspiration!!  Stay tuned as we continue to tackle this space and all the rest!

What do you think of the new, more neutral color?  The crazy colorful rug?  The level washer and dryer?  Anyone else whipping up a laundry room makeover?

{All inspirational photos were found through the beautiful world of Pinterest, sources can be found by clicking here}