Laundry room updates

So the laundry room wasn't really functioning well for us. We couldn't fit our freezer well, the dog food was taking up too much room, and the cabinets and countertop were simply in the way and not providing much storage. The room also had a small wall that was an attempt to separate the washer dryer area since it's unfinished.

We decided to take out that wall to create more room. We are hooking up an existing sink and will actually be able to get to it with that wall down! We also took out the bottom cabinets and countertop and added a ton of shelving cubes for storage! We redid the floor. This summer I'll do some finishing touches on the tile that's on the wall and maybe replace the hardware on the cabinets. We just about tripled our storage I think! We love the new look :)

Before pictures:

 
 
















After pictures:

So I decided today that, since there is no way we are going to frame and drywall behind the washer, I could at least soften the feel of the room a bit by hanging some white sheets that we have lying around. That way we at least don't have to stare at insulation :)

I also added all of my craft items to the storage bins and hung a couple of things up on the wall. I am loving doing laundry now! (kind of)   :)

The sink is now in service!

Power washing the deck

Our deck looks like it's never been cleaned! It's old, and grey and needs to be resealed.



Joe brought home  a power washer, and we went to town! We haven't stained it yet, but it already looks 10 times better!

Spring planting :)

Joe brought home some plants...the sky pencil in the center came from his course. We decided to go get some inexpensive pots and spruce up our deck a bit. We found some pots and spray painted them in our typical bright, fun colors! We also went to a local nursery and got the tall grasses to help with privacy from our neighbors. We love how it turned out!

Window seat

We decided to make a window seat that has storage underneath to go in the kitchen. Benches are so expensive...so we made our own out of some Ikea shelving! Once we put the shelves together and added a top and some feet, we then made three cushions to go on top. For the cushions we just went to home depot and got some wood that we tacked the fabric to. We of course added about 2 inches of foam to make a nice cushion, and I found the fabric on sale at the craft store.

Spring break painting!

Orignally we were going to keep all of the neutral walls a bright white...or I should say repaint them to get them to a bright white from the beige that they started as. Joe had a good idea to go for a grey or light brown. After SEVERAL samples later, we decided on a medium grey tone that has a hint...a small hint, of purple. I started painting today, and it is beautiful! It makes the white baseboards really pop, and highlights the floors! When we finish the quarter round, it will really look great. Here's what I have done so far....

Kitchen floor and dishwasher

We had a full weekend to work on getting our floor done! So, we started by ripping up the kitchen floor. It went pretty smoothly as it was only tacked down (no glue). It was a hard job, though....a couple days later and I'm still sore! Every time I would pull on that darn floor, I would go flying when it finally broke off!















Once we got the floor up, we circled back around to our discussion of getting a new dishwasher. The dishwasher we had was going to go soon, and we were worried about getting it out once the new floors were installed. So, we went to Sears and found a great deal that we could take home that day. Nothing fancy, but it will get the job done and be more efficient!





















Then the floor went in. Only a few odd cuts in this room, but unfortunately, every single row needed a cut at the end. We did awesome, though, and have a lot of leftover flooring. Craigslist here we come! :)
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 

A properly vented microwave!!!

Well the previous microwave had a horrible fan... and it broke a couple of weeks ago.  We then discovered that it was just a recirculating fan anyways. Luckily we had the set up for it to vent outside. So, we found a great deal and installed the new microwave this weekend. Tried our hands at some duct work....and I realized why duct tape is called duct tape... :) Good stuff!

 
 

 

 

 
While we were at it, I decided to update the hardware in the kitchen. We had white handles on white cabinets...now we have beautiful handles to match the stainless steel appliances! :)