Oh hello y’all, how are things?  I’m feeling pretty good today having finally finished the laundry room over at our adopted Alma House.   For those who don’t know, earlier this year, the hubs and I decided to adopt a house in partnership with our local COTS (Committee on the Shelterless). 

The Alma Project began as the transformation of a fixer upper house into a comfortable functional home for women who desperately need it. Living inside the Alma House are single mothers, previously homeless, who reside for free on the condition that they are learning skills, stabilizing their lives, attending counseling, and that they remain drug and alcohol free. Busy remodeling their lives, these mothers have no time or money to fix up this house.

Over the past few months, we’ve given our time to this project with money donated by so many of you. Some of you blogged about the Alma house and others held small fundraisers to benefit the project.  We cannot thank you enough. 

In April, we spent a day transforming the entry hallway to create better utility:

In May, we built them this media center. 

Over the summer, we set out to build the families a laundry room center in the garage and at last it is complete! 

Here’s a glimpse of the space a few months ago:

Here it is today!

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Hiya everyone, thanks so much for all the compliments on the laundry room makeover!  It really is such a rewarding redo for me, it feels so fresh, clean and organized in there – I’ve been washing and folding in anticipation of our getaway this weekend.

Some questions came, up so here we go !

Can you tell me more about how you painted the cabinets? – Lynn

How did you paint the cabinets so quickly and effortlessly?  -Kate

I’ve gotta tell ya gals, for me, painting cabinets is neither quick nor effortless!   It’s actually quite time consuming and labor intensive, because I don’t rush it and I follow several steps.  But in the end, it’s always worth it.   I don’t own a sprayer (yet!), so here’s how I painted these by hand.

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There are three reasons I’ve never liked our laundry room. 

One.  The original contractor/builder of our house picked out the cabinets when this honey tone wood was still popular last decade. They’re very good quality cabinets, but I have not been fond of the color for, oh, ever.  

Two.  One of the cabinets in our laundry room housed our very old indoor cat’s litter box.  Sadly, we had to have our kitty put down a few months ago due to severe illness, but the good news is the cat box odor has finally left the premises.

Three.  Laundry is my least favorite household task.  I confess I do love the smell of fresh clean laundry, I just never wanted to be in the laundry room for reasons One and Two, and I so I would get lazy with this chore and tend to put it off until it got out of control. 

I am happy to say I no longer have those excuses because of this new and improved space!  Here’s what the room looked like last week.  Pretty bland, right ?

Before:

But here is my laundry room now !

Oooh la la, I am so in love !!! 

I think I will really enjoy doing laundry from now on !    

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Confession time, I’ve been sprucing up my laundry room this past week.  It struck me on Monday afternoon that I’d been avoiding that space for a good reason – it was outdated and not functioning as well as it could.  Plus I dread laundry. 

So I had a compulsive moment and started painting the cabinets which led to installing shelves which led to making window treatments.  I’ve convinced myself a spruced up washroom will fundamentally alter my aversion to laundry, and reverse my embarrassing habit of letting the clean piles of clothing get so high my children disappear under them.  

It’s almost done, but while I finish it off, how about a few gorgeous washrooms to inspire? 

What’s not to love about this beauty ?  I love the wainscoting and the picture frames on the white cabinetry, plus the oh so functional drying rack for delicates.  How soothing is this color on the walls ? I think I might like doing laundry in here.  But I think the floor needs a soft and playful patterned rug. 

 Rabaut Design via House of Turquoise

Oh, don’t you love that pop of apple green on the middle upper cabinet ?  I adore the blues and greens with crisp white cabinetry, and the contrast with the rustic wood folding table.  How incredible that shell fixture ?

 My Home Ideas

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For a long time, I have really wanted one of those drying racks from Ballard Designs.   You’ve seen them.  They’re so perfect in the laundry room for drying your delicate clothing.

I really wanted to save the money and build one myself.  I knew I could do it with the right supplies.  I even drew my own diagram on a napkin.  And I added knobs to the bottom of my design.

Here’s a look at the final result:

This is the perfect solution for drying all of my delicates!  I am so happy with the way it turned out – it is both pretty and practical.

How to Build a Laundry Room Drying Rack + Supplies:

1. 2 x 2’ precut birch (1/2 inch thick)
2. Two 1/2 x 2” poplar boards
3. Two 3/8” dowel rods (48” long)
4. Sash lock
5. Narrow loose pin hinges (set of two)
6. D ring hangers for mounting on wall
7. Bracketed hinge for side (or chain with small screw eyes)
8. Three white porcelain knobs
9. Primer and paint of choice

Necessary tools:  Drill bit set, including 3/8 inch drill bit, screwdriver, framing nails, a hammer, and a saw.

Step One:  Measure and cut your 1/2 inch x 2 boards to fit the 2 x 2 precut birch.  Cut your dowel rods to fit inside your drying rack frame.

Step Two:  With your 3/8 inch drill bit, drill holes for your precut dowel rods.  Use a mallet to hammer dowel rods into predrilled spots.

Step Three:  Finish assembling your rack with framing nails.

Step Four:  Attach your pin hinges with a screwdriver.

Step Five:  Prime your wood drying rack, then paint with your color of choice.  I used a spray primer, then once it was dry, I applied Rustoleum’s Seaside Green to the back.  Once the back was dry, I covered it with newspaper, and painted the dowel rods and frame with Rustoleum’s Heirloom White.

Step Six:  If you want to make the sides of your inexpensive wood smoother, then use paintable wood filler (or wood putty) to fill in the uneven surfaces.  I use my finger to apply it.  Once the wood filler is dry, simply spray paint right over it.

Step Seven: When your paint is dry, attach your sash lock to the top of your drying rack.  It’s a good idea to drill pilot holes first when working with wood only 1/2 inch thick.  This way, when you drive your screws in, you have a much better chance of avoiding any visible split in your wood.

Step Eight:  Drill holes to attach your knobs to the bottom.

Knobs after:

Step Nine: Attach a hinged bracket, or a chain with screw eyes, to keep your drying rack at your desired angle when open.  Attach your D-ring hangers to the back, and hang on your laundry room wall.

What I like about this new drying rack is that I can dry all sorts of delicate clothing (*ahem* ladies, your lingerie…).

I added knobs to the bottom of my design so I can dry sweaters or other clothing right on the hanger.

It’s a solid wood piece, hung right on the wall studs, so I can even dry towels right on these knobs.

When open, it has four rungs for drying several layers of clothing:

When not in use, it folds up flush with the wall, with the help of the sash lock on top:

I purchased all of my wood and hinges at Lowes.  The total cost for the supplies for my drying rack was around $25 (not including paint and primer that I had in my supply closet).   Compare that to Ballard’s price of $89 for their small version (not including tax plus shipping).

And mine is a hand made one-of-a-kind.  So if you’ll excuse me friends (unfortunately!) I have some laundry to do. :D

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