Tonight I’m doing laundry … and that set me to wondering about other people’s laundry rooms and where they keep their washers and dryers.
Mine are stuck in a hallway just inside my front door. I suppose one could call it a “mud room” if one wanted to glamorize it a lot. It is, after all, where the mud enters my house on the Dawg’s paws.
If you think it’s odd that it’s at the front door, I have to confess I only have one door. If there’s a fire in here, I’ll be bailing out a window and shoving the Dawg out in front of me.
( *reminder to self – put Dawg on a diet and sign up for weight lifting class at the local gym)
My mom used to have an old Bendix, I think it was, that was one machine that served double purpose – it was both washer AND dryer.
It was very large, front loading, and if I remember correctly, it used to waltz all over the basement floor which frustrated her no end. It had a window in the door and I never have been able to figure out the logistics of first filling it with soap and water and then turning on the heat to dry your clothes. It wouldn’t be very funny if you had a malfunction and the machine forgot to drain itself …
http://www.adclassix.com/a3/53bendixwasherdryer.html
1953 Bendix Duomatic ad
(Amazing what you can find on the 3Dub when you go looking, eh?)
Years ago I saw a picture in a magazine of a laundry room where they had disguised the machinery in an old grain bin, cut down to size. You lifted the slanted lid on top to put the laundry in the washer, and there was a door on the front for access to the dryer. It was all very rustic and I remember how much I liked that idea. The room had lots of shelves and a big window with a willow branch for a curtain rod. I can’t remember what was on the window for a curtain, so I guess it didn’t impress me much at the time. Some old grain sacks would certainly have been appropriate, though!
So, let’s go sloshing around the ‘Net and see what other people have come up with … (but first I’ll go you-know-where because we ALL know what happens the instant you turn on the tap or stick your hands in water, right, Girls???)
FLUSH – okay, I’m back now …
Here’s one that appeals to me. I found it on My Home Ideas
http://www.myhomeideas.com/myhome/photos/0,30587,1055139_863913,00.html
I really like the old cabinetry. Latching onto an antique sideboard would make a cool top cabinet, and Verithaned pine shelving would make the countertop nicely. Add some moulding and some shutters down below and voila! The bead-board in the back wall is a nice old-fashioned touch. Love that mustardy colour on the walls, too. The washer and dryer are too cool, but with front-loading machines, I think I might want them raised off the floor about three or four inches – too much stooping down for me. Of course, that would raise the work surface, but perhaps that isn’t entirely a bad thing.
Sometimes odd things in photographs make me ask questions … so now I want to know … Does everyone store their apples on top of their washer and dryer???
I will have that rooster, though …
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Now here’s a place that just looks like home to me … someone else is a collector of useful old tools, implements and gadgets … I’ll be bookmarking this page for sure and going back to drool some more over all those wonderful “finds”. The room is in her mother’s house, which she says is like this all over – not just the laundry room!
Those country blues are fabulous! That pale blue on the walls with the white trim sure sets off her massive display of collectibles. The spatter graniteware is a stunning collection – you’ll have to visit that blog to see the whole room, for sure! This is but one small corner of it. There’s even close-ups of some of the “stuff” she’s collected. *sigh* I am such a junk collector … I used to have much more than I do now – money got tight and I sold off a large part (okay, almost all) of my years of treasure hunting. I still have some rather unique pieces, tho. I’ll take pictures sometime and show y’all. Promise.
You can find this room and her fab photos at With a Grateful Heart http://withagratefulheart.blogspot.com/2008/04/laundry-room-blues.html
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Ballard Designs offers up this little gem for drying your little things …
It wouldn’t take much weight to rip it off the wall and wet laundry can be quite heavy. With my luck the kids would think it was a toy when it was fully extended and play jungle gym with it!!!
Okay, so I don’t have kids at home any more … it’s a really cool idea and sure would beat hauling out the old accordion wooden one and trying to find enough floor space to set it up and still be able to walk around it …
I can see this idea working well for drying wet swimwear and beach towels out at the cabin or by the pool, too.
Someone was using their noodle when they thought this up!
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Here’s a sign from Live, Laugh, Love http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/livelaughlove/product/metal_wall_sign to hang on your door or your laundry room wall … that chicken wire adds a lot of “atmosphere”!
and another from Jack and Friends inviting you to “drop your pants” retro-style …
http://www.jackandfriends.com/store/catalog/product_1411_ONE_HOUR_DRY_CLEANING_Metal_Sign.html
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From the other side of the country, in Nova Scotia, at Nova News Now, http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-233366-The-Laundry-Room-Deserves-Respect.html they have decided laundry rooms need respect. Well, I agree but I must also add …”and so do all the women who for centuries have slaved away at getting all the stains out of their family’s dirty clothes”.
This modern laundry from their site is mega-organized, super sleek, and doncha just love those machines!
Again, I find myself wondering about things in their photo – I mean, where is all the colour? Do they only wear white, fergoodnessakes???? If, like me, your fave colour is rainbow, this room is good for a few nightmares!
I may not agree with their colourless laundy room, but I can sure relate to getting the laundry out of the dingy dark basement (where spiders like to hide) and getting them up where the sunlight can pour in. Somehow laundry is one of life’s detested chores, and adding some decorating accents, creating shared spaces with other family activities and making it a living, breathing room can sure remove some of the drudgery from the old laundry job.
Or …
We could all go back to doing it the old fashioned way …
*LOL – she’s got high heels on!
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Just in case you want to live life the “simple way” …
http://down—to—earth.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html
… or maybe not.
