Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Beginning The Laundry Room Makeover

After much deliberation, our laundry area is finally seeing some action. Well hello there, washer…. shall we take this to the bedroom?

Rolling Washer Out

No literally, we took it to the bedroom. JEALOUS?

Laundry In Bedroom

Seriously though – it has been a busy week around here (mostly with unrelated book stuff) but we’ve managed to get some dust flying upstairs too. Long story short, thanks to a lot of thought (and a lot of encouraging comments from you guys) we’ve decided to do more ourselves, while managing some pro sub-contractors directly.

Our second contractor estimate (after the initial $5,000 one) came in at $3,300, which was a more digestible number, but he had an impending vacation – and actually encouraged us to do a lot of it ourselves. So we called some people we’ve worked with in the past – the framer who helped in our sunroom, our go-to electrician, the plumber we worked with for the showhouse, etc. – and many of them were able to come out this week! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a team. Sherry wanted me to add some Team Sonja joke here about mystics and dog psychics but I REFUSE TO WATCH REAL HOUSEWIVES (ok, the leg scene made me look up for a second, but that’s it).

With the pros lined up, it was time to kick off demo. WITH MY BARE HANDS. Okay, not really, but a few walls have come tumbling down.

Hand Through Wall

In an attempt to keep things moving (there’s work going on up there right now) we thought we’d break down what (and how) we demoed on Monday, along with everything else we manage to accomplish by then (fingers crossed that also includes framing, plumbing, and electrical updates). We didn’t want a week to go by without a quick laundry update, so my apologies for the brief check-in today, but we hope it means more progress to share on Monday. Speaking of brief, this house is on an underwear ration until further notice. #nolaundryproblems

Comments

  3. Melissa @ ReThreads Charlottesville says

    Forgive me for having definitely missed something or some things, but could you link to the previous posts about the laundry room? I have missed a few posts here and there and missed where you made the decision about exactly what option you’re going with. Looking forward to seeing the progress! Exciting!

    Reply

  4. Diana says

    Reading through comments, procrastinating a little before bed when all of a sudden all the laundry talk made me remember I hadn’t switched my son’s clothes to the dryer and hadn’t even started washing dipes. Oops. Thanks for the reminder! Procrastinating paid off for once! (I mean, procrastinating by reading this, not the whole forgetting about laundry in the first place…)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yup, disposables until we get our washer and dryer back. We debated running over and using Grammy’s washer but thought dirty diapers might creep other people out more than us ;)

      xo
      s

  6. Priscilla says

    Yay! How fun :) I’m so glad you guys are going through with a more “bang for your buck” laundry reno! You guys can do this – bring that wall down!

    Reply

  7. Erica says

    Yay I’m up to date on your blog! I didn’t start at the beginning, just when you bought your current home, y’all have done sooooo much! Wish we could do all your doing too. We are still renting while finishing school. I realized while reading about Clara’s 4th birthday party that our kids are only two months apart. Both of them, first borns and second borns.

    Your ability to blog and DIY the way you do are so inspiring! Can’t wait to see updates on the laundry room! Yay Sherry & John!

    Reply

  8. Sassafras says

    “BURGER IS UNNERVED” That will be a great book when you do it. Reno from a dog’s eye view. Can’t wait for the book tour!!! ;) No Seriously. DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are a lot of dog lovers out here.

    Looks like you are off to the races, can’t wait for the photo finish!!!! Put on some great tunes and make it a memorable time.

    ~Sassafras

    P.S. Sitting over here waiting for the repairman for my washer which really likes to dance around the room if you put in more than one pair of jeans at a time. It’s a Wayne Newton “She Wore Blue Velvet” washer and I’m a James Brown “Get Up Off’a That Thing” kinda gal.

    Reply

  9. Amanda says

    If you don’t mind me asking, how will you be washing Teddy’s reusable diapers? Have you desided to go disposable for the project?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yup, disposables until we get our washer and dryer back. We debated running over and using Grammy’s washer but thought dirty diapers might creep other people out more than us ;)

      xo
      s

  11. Lesley Eiermann says

    YEA!!! I am looking forward to seeing that big window in the bonus room one day! When my parents gutted our kitchen back in the late ’80s the only mode of cooking was the microwave on the cart. More pizza for us kids so we didn’t complain much. The hall bathroom remodel a few years earlier was vacant for an entire year and came to be known a “The Dungeon” by the neighborhood kiddos. Fond memories. Hope you don’t resort to washing underwear in the sink and drying it on the deck railing #saynotostiffpanties

    Reply

  12. Christi says

    Okay, the post made me crack up…kudos to Mr. Beard….

    But, the comments and responses are awesome! I have not stopped laughing reading thru all of them! Thanks for making this one of my favorite posts ever!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We had, but now we’re back on disposables until we have things hooked up again. Hopefully it won’t be too long! We debated going over to Grammy’s to use her washer but thought dirty diapers might creep other people out more than us ;)

      xo
      s

  14. Kristin F says

    I’m so excited to see what y’all are doing! This is some of the stuff you do I love the best–Build, destroy, build!!

    On a similar note, we had talked about renovating our hall bath. So I naturally decided to take off a tile to see what was behind it. This has now become a project of the ages and my husband says next time I decide to “just see what’s behind” something it’s gonna be big trouble. :)

    Reply

  15. Britt says

    Hey Guys! I was trolling your site to see which Nail gun you use (I’m going to attempt Board and Batten) but can’t find a spot with your tools. Have you ever considered adding a “our tools” tab or section where you list all your favs? (I remember a post about some tools.) I know that might sound boring but I for one know that anything you use is well researched and gets the job done! I can’t be the only one who values your input. Hope you both have a nice weekend, filled with laundry and baby laughs!

    Reply

  16. Syl says

    I know I’m late to the party… and probably too late since the framing is on the way but I’ll throw this in anyway.

    Your option 4 is very similar to my laundry room and one thing I hate about mine is how the door swings in towards the washer & dryer. I’m constantly bumping into it as I move loads etc. It also blocks a far chuck of wall that could be used for shelving/storage/etc. I have a fair amount of storage in my laundry room, most of it in cupboards, but I’d love to have more wall space.

    If I could do mine all over again, I’d install a pocket door instead. They are so convenient and unlike the presently popular sliding barn door, they are true classics that won’t be dated any time soon.

    So my two euro cents’ worth… if you haven’t framed yet, consider a sliding door instead of a swinger :-)

    Reply

  18. Rachel says

    Am I the only one who needs a video tour to understand what is going where? :-/ Can’t wait to see the finished product!

    Reply

  19. Melissa says

    LOVE, LOVE this post so happy to see you working on this, you will love it!

    Just an fyi a pop-up came up on your site, i captured it for you if you needed to see it, not sure where to send it.

    Reply

  20. Betty says

    I’m surprised I saw this, only on the third time I’ve read this post :), but thought you might want to know.

    In the sentence, “So we called some people we’ve worked with the in the past – the framer who helped…”

    I think the first ‘the’ isn’t suppose to be there.

    Reply

  22. Susan says

    We’ve been playing general contractor at our house, too. Even though it’s a paint to schedule the plumber, electrician, dry wall guy, carpenters, etc., it’s saved us a ton of money…especially doing all of the demo ourselves first. Hope it’s all going smoothly!

    Reply

  24. alli says

    Have you considered putting a sliding ‘barn door’, instead of a door that swings in? I have had a little laundry nook like this before and the door swinging in was a pain in rear!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, we debated that (along with a pocket door) but decided we’d prefer the same classic six panel doors that we have in the rest of the hallway (we already have one on hand that led to the storage room to use) and then the frosted door at the end of the hall that leads to the future bunkroom/TV room will get to be the star :)

      xo
      s

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