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purrus

basement laundry room spruce-up

purrus
12 years ago

Hi everyone,

I have an ugly laundry room, with low-hanging ductwork (recently painted black to blend in with th rest of the basement), concrete block walls, etc.

I am hoping to organize it as we are getting new flooring next week, and I'll have to put everything back into the room once the floor is installed. The new flooring will be white and gray tile set in a checkerboard on the diagonal.

I really need the following:

-a place to hang wet clothes (ideas for racks? free-standing racks? things that can be installed on the joists of the floor above?) And where would I put something like this?

-shelving above the W/D for storage (but I'm afraid to drill into my concrete-block walls, as there is dirt on the other side, and I don't want to tempt moisture....am I just being paranoid here?)

-a way to camouflage the gas hot water heater and furnace--a screen? curtain? bifold doors as in younghouselove? I realize they need venting, but I'm hoping to make it work somehow.

-a way to make my lighting look better. I just have two bare compact flourescents. I guess I could get my electrician to come back and install a couple of real fixtures, but I'm hoping for a cheaper idea than that.

And then the normal things like paint colors, disguising ugly stuff, etc. I know the ceiling looks low, but trust me--it is much better painted than it was before. The desk you see in the picture is actually where I keep all of my tools, nails, hardware, painting supplies, etc. I could paint it white or a fun color--so ideas on that are also welcome.

Figuring all of this out would really, really improve the space and at least make it functional and hopefully less dirty.

Comments (8)

  • juliekcmo
    12 years ago

    I saw a great LR redo a few years back in a magazine.

    To hide the WH, they used corrugated tin stood on its side and curved to stand on its end. That would work well for you. You can finish off the top edge with some HVAC duct/insulation tape (it is a shiny foil color). Then you can use clothes pins to hang artwork on wire on string from the top of the screen.

    I finally had our electrician put in very very basic tube florescent lighting in my basement, and it is really awesome. I recommend to do that. It was not expensive at all.

    For clothes drying. I think you could do a chrome clothes rack for hanger clothes, and a chrome "clothes horse" for flat drying. Also make sure to have a outlet in the right spot for the iron so you can have the ironing board there too.

    Check out Better Homes and Gardens website for lots of ideas on the cabinets and storage.

    And I think you should pick fun colors that you might not use elsewhere in the house...need to put some pep in the drudgery!

  • deeinohio
    12 years ago

    Ballard Design has some great wall-mounted drying racks. I ended up buying a vintage for my LR, but I only rack dry a few things.
    Dee

    Here is a link that might be useful: Laundry racks

  • biochem101
    12 years ago

    I have a little collection of laundry room photos.
    But I don't know where they bought the pieces.
    Big Box stores?

    Maybe one of these will help?

    HTH!

  • biochem101
    12 years ago

    Oh, and I have a metal stainless folding rack myself.

    Bought at Bed & Bath.

    It's held up better than my previous wooden one.

    Here is a link that might be useful: drying rack

  • dianalo
    12 years ago

    biochem's first pic looks like Ikea shelving, or at least they have that too...

  • hilltop_gw
    12 years ago

    I think you'll be amazed at how much the new flooring will transform your laundry room! I like the suggestion of florescent tube lighting. We have it in our laundry room and it lasts forever and provides good lighting. A screen or even three old doors hinged together would work well to hide the water heater and furnace. Painting the wooden cabinet on the right either a white or black will tie it all together.

  • biochem101
    12 years ago

    Hilltop, I was thinking of a screen too!

    But where would you find one???
    Don't know about an antique in the basement.

    What about a colorful cotton sheet/curtain?

  • purrus
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    OK guys-thank you for the help!

    I'm so overwhelmed right now, I might not actually paint it just yet. It's primed white, so it's not that urgent. But I am going to try to find some way to hide the ugly furnace/hot water heater--perhaps this weekend I'll head to my local salvation army and see what I can find. And at some point (probably during the winter) I'll paint the desk white too--that should definitely help!

    I've also decided to move the pretty white dresser, which holds craft supplies like fabric, into the main part of the basement, where I can top it with a mirror and a lamp. It's too pretty to hide back here and that will also give me some room.

    I still need to find shelving for cleaning supply storage, but that's not so urgent, I suppose.

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