Laundry Day Blues
What if your little laundry room could become a more cheerful and functional space?
Even before women began to work outside of their homes, the blues were part of doing a pretty boring job. Doing the wash would take our ancestors all day. I recently saw a little wooden sign that read, “Ironing of years gone by, used to make my Grandma cry”! Now, a lot of us working women (and men) seem to do laundry all through the week. The kids’ soccer clothes need to be washed after practices and after games. Gym clothes don’t keep very well week to week and bath towels pile up faster and higher. Because of the convenience of our electric and gas run washing machines and clothes dryers, we toss in loads at all hours of the day and night. Even so, the task is still unexciting and necessary room for appliances and storage takes away space from other functions in a household.
Currently popular is use of the stacking washer/dryer as a way to grab more space for other things in a little laundry room such as storage of cleaning supplies or wrapping paper. For instance, Bosch makes the full size Axxis™ Series to conform to limited space situations by providing their Vertical Stacking Kit with Pull-Out-Tray. The individual units are 23 5/8″ wide and 33 1/2″ high. Maytag® makes their Neptune® 27″ wide x 71 1/2″ high Super Stack™ and other major appliance manufacturers produce additional models. Add color and improve the ventilation in your laundry room if you want to lift the negative and often oppressive vibes!
If you do not have the luxury of a real window as seen in the photo, think about introducing a venting skylight for fresh air. Maybe a top-of-the-line ceiling fan would help to alleviate heat build-up. The natural light that a window delivers is wonderful, but you can always install better ceiling lights if a window is impractical for your situation. Because there is already enough heat generated by the drying cycle, a look at fluorescent fixtures might be a better idea than more decorative incandescent fixtures.
Another reason for fluorescent lighting: This room, which is often one of the smallest in a house, is an energy hog! In this country, six to ten percent of residential energy use goes toward running clothes dryers.
The laundry room shown here sports a multi-drawer storage unit with pole hanging above. Breezy light aqua with red accents is found in the wallpaper called “Iron Butterflies” by Jaima Brown, a Thybony wall paper. Butcher block counter covers the washing machine and storage drawers while providing a full folding surface. Country character is stamped by the pine-top farmhouse table; more decorative than functional.
Flooring tiles have been alternated for a little whimsical lift and this could be accomplished with vinyl, ceramic, and porcelain floor tiles. It’s fun and light and pleasant.
Think about wall murals as another imaginative way to transform the room. There are paint-by-number wall murals available from various sources such as Wall Art™, (1-877-925-5687 or www.wallartdesigns.com) that allow you to create your own attractive scene. You tape the patented tracing paper to the wall, trace the design onto the wall and then paint the mural.
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Copyright © Copley News Service. Used with permission.
