This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BLANCO. The opinions and text are all mine.
With two boys who manage to have multiple wardrobe changes each day, and the other wild animals in this house, we do a lot of laundry. It is the never-ending story that you never wanted to hear in the first place, eek. I am sure I’m not alone in having developed a slight resentment toward the laundry room. I have been thinking a lot about the rooms in my house lately, and how they function or how they might function better if the current situation is lacking. My last adventure in laundry land left me reeling and frustrated beyond belief so naturally this sent me down the path toward finding a few ways I might remedy my hate – hate relationship with this space.
When I saw the new BLANCO LIVEN™ Laundry Sink in Anthracite, it occurred to me that in large part, my problems with this space might be remedied quite a bit by simply changing some of the finishes from light to dark. I’m not sure why I never thought of this before… I’m thinking my kitchen would benefit from a darker sink too – maybe all the sinks in my house would. Since we can’t precisely make the laundry space dreamy without knowing exactly what the problems are, let’s dive right in to this complaining sesh and talk about all of my problems – with this space, of course….
From an outside perspective, there isn’t anything particularly wrong with my laundry space, and yet it is entirely non-functional for me. We established that there is a sink in this space and you might have guessed it is light in color. It sits within a base cabinet and has a light-colored ceramic tile surrounding it – with white grout – ugh. We rarely use it as an actual sink, because it is consistently being used for storing our detergent and other various liquid laundry products. This keeps the drips and drops of laundry detergent from dripping all over the washing machine – which seems to be the other place we naturally tend to want to set the detergents. I suppose we could put them under the sink, but since we tend to buy in bulk, it becomes difficult to lug the container in and out from that height. Wall-to-wall cabinets line this space, but they are too high for me to reach with ease and they are only twelve inches deep, including the trim. This doesn’t leave enough space to store anything of use so they tend to be empty or filled with things my husband shoves in them, when he doesn’t know where those things should go. There isn’t any counter space to use as a work surface, aside from the top of the washer and dryer and I always feel like everything is dirty, mainly due to the previously mentioned soap drippings. This doesn’t exactly scream ‘clean’ with regards to my laundry. I currently have a front loader, and frankly I can’t wait to go back to a top loading washer. It will be a great day in the Turner house, indeed, when washing the washing machine is no longer on my list of things to wash.
My personal belief is that function is the most important thing for any space. When things function properly, it is easy to make them pretty and keep them looking good for the long-term. Nobody puts high-maintenance on their dream space wish list. So, what does a luxurious laundry room look like to me? I’m so glad you asked! It looks like a space that is built out for the purpose of doing laundry with ease, and then seeks to make a horrid task a little more enjoyable. To start, this means a new washer and dryer that have some fancy built-in features (like steam – because I am a bit of a germaphobe) and a washer that isn’t a front loader, like I mentioned above. Of course, this means that putting a counter top over the washer and dryer is slightly out of the question, so a counter top space to fold clothes is something that will need to be custom built to sit along the back wall of this space. In the rendering above, which is laid out in the same manner as the actual room, the back wall is actually more like the east facing wall and the room runs horizontally like a galley space.
I would donate a kidney for a place to sit down while I fold, so that supposed counter space should be open underneath for some portion of it. That gives me room to slide a stool under it and out of the way when it isn’t in use. There is no excuse for anything other than a solid surface counter these days and by making that switch it gives me opportunity to solve for another issue in this space which is that light colored sink, that sits next to my white washer and dryer, that together sit on my white tile floor. No amount of wiping or scrubbing gets the soap drips off, which is precisely why we use the sink for storing those pesky supplies. The drips just collect dust and lint and harden into oblivion, forevermore. Always looking dirty and making me crazy. Don’t even get me started on the lighting and general aesthetic of the space as it currently is. Bad lighting just exacerbates the linty soap drips and collection of mismatched socks that fall behind the dryer. I guess I really just need to rebuild this space from the ground up, but luckily, most of the changes are not dependent upon other changes and so they can be done, bit by bit. This doesn’t leave my boys without their customary wardrobe changes, and lets me save my pennies for some truly custom, absolutely glorious updates in this room.
BLANCO LIVEN™ Laundry Sink in Anthracite / Faucet with Sprayer / Calacatta Gold Slab Counter Top + Threshold / Open Shelving Weathered Oak Sink Base / Architectural Light Fixture / Thin Brick Tile for the Walls (another really good looking option would be this marble tile installed vertically / Sconces / Natural Oak Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring / Black Stainless Washer + Dryer / Tara Bronze Hooks / Stool / Sheepskin Rug / Terracotta Pot / White Resin Champs Bucket / Ceramic Fingers Crossed
That sink! Because beauty shouldn’t be limited to the kitchen… A dark color sink should help hide my dusty lint drips, and according to the description, is made with rock hard durability and unsurpassed cleanability! That is all a gal needs in this world right there. The brassy shelves above the sink would likely be custom and I will probably fabricate something with a similar feel that will attach under the upper cabinets and hold my detergents. A drip-catching feature will be included in this design – I simply don’t know what that will look like just yet! Something similar to these shelves would be a less expensive solution and could be customized easily as well. I love Calacatta Gold marble with all of it’s beautiful veining. Plus it isn’t the same white and grey marble everyone else has. Always a bonus. The Washer and Dryer I am thinking about are black stainless and it is sooooo pretty in person. I recently bought a new fridge that is black stainless and it is stunning. Plus – not white! The cabinetry and counters will need to be custom as I want to match the slab for both or cut from the same slab. The sink can be under-mount or drop in so this makes custom cutting for it, much easier. I think the vanity above comes with a top and maybe a sink, so I would be dismantling it and rebuilding it, or may have something custom made that has a similar look and feel. The flooring – now vinyl gets a bad rap – and I understand why… But in a house with wild animals that has to work overtime, hardwood is an investment I am not eager to make. Once spills and messes aren’t an issue perhaps but for now, luxury vinyl planks have got my whole heart and I love it so much more than laminate. Anything that is durable, waterproof and easy to clean, all while looking amazing – wins me over every. single. time.
How about you guys? Have you fallen out of love with your laundry room too? What are you biggest pet-peeves for this space? Am I the only crazy person who obsesses over all these ridiculous details? Probably.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of BLANCO. The opinions and text are all mine.
Affiliate links used throughout this article
