Retro Touches Freshen the Laundry Room
It’s the pass-through space from garage to main house, the holding place for daily wardrobe discards.
“All you need to get the look may be as close to Grandma’s old trunk,” said Jordan. “With a bit of imagination the laundry room can become an attention-getter that draws people in.”
You can use metal signs and vintage linens and put decorative accessories to work, writes Jordan. Photographer Natalie Caudill recently captured a fancy laundry room complete with air-dry racks, tried-and-true laundry tools, and a Stewart’s Bluing laundry whitener, invented in 1883. It was one of the first of its kind to work without harsh chemicals and it is still outstanding at whitening whites and brightening colors today, she says.
At JackandFriends.com you can find “Deluxe Laundry” and “Mom’s Laundry Service” laundry signs for $9.50 and $10.00 or “White Sails” laundry sprinkler for $12.95 as well as a tin laundry soap bin and scoop for $44.95.
The Country House catalog has an enamelware pitcher for $30 and basin for $23 plus a vintage laundry bag for $13.00.
At the Red and White Kitchen Company, at Froggies Five and Dime, and Knox Street Market in Dallas you can find “Fruit Tiles” kitchen towels for $10.00.
Go to Two’s Company and look for vintage-lookbaby clothes laundry bags for .25 each.
If your laundry room has to stay in the basement consider enlarging the room or adding a window for more sunlight, advises experts. You can also replace the lighting in the laundry room. Painting walls with a semi-gloss, latex-based paint is the fastest route to a fresh look and this is a room where you can have some fun, according to research.
Decorating the laundry room with personal accents guarantees a welcoming space and flooring doesn’t have to be cold, boring, or basic either.
One person painted a giant palm tree on one of the walls of their laundry room and hung clothes across the wall with a wire extending from the fake tree to the corner of the wall.
Explore the possibility of creating a theme for your laundry room.
Because it is such an excellent water barrier vinyl flooring is commonly seen in laundry rooms.
Other tips:
Add custom or high-end cabinets that provide more storage space.
Add closets that hide appliances when not in use.
Add more surface areas for folding clothes.
Place insulation in the walls and floor of the laundry room to cut down on noise into adjoining rooms.
