For years, interiors buff and founder of The Interiors Addict, Jen Bishop has been chipping away at the renovation of her family home. But, with the transformation of her kitchen and makeover of her living room complete, she knew it was time to tackle the “total mess” lurking behind her home’s signature blue barn door: a dated and dysfunctional brown laundry.
Before
The original laundry, lacking bench space and storage, was a relic of a time when laundries were considered an afterthought rather than an opportunity to create a well designed and stylish happy place.
“It really didn’t live up to the beautiful kitchen barn door it was hiding behind,” says Jen, who describes the original colour scheme as “brown and beige with glow-in-the-dark orange floral sixties wallpaper inside the cupboard!”
Design
While updating the 2500mm x 1500mm space was a no-brainer, Jen says the challenge was to find a way to fit in her must-have items including bench space, a hanging rail and room for a clothes dryer.
“Adding a wall cabinet gave us the storage we needed for detergent, and the hanging rail and three wall hooks actually give a high amount of space for hanging up clothes on hangers,” she says.
It was also important for the new laundry to look the part. “I wanted something that looked beautiful because it’s so visible from our kitchen where we spend a lot of time,” says Jen.
After
After years keeping her kitchen barn door firmly shut, Jen now feels proud to show off her laundry. “It’s really quite luxurious with the deep navy, the gold accents, patterned floor and stone bench and splashback.
“I feel like I managed to get in a lot of really good elements for such a small laundry. I really like having a bit more fun with small rooms like this.”
Jen says that the new laundry has the stamp of approval from her husband, Damian, who is in charge of the washing at their place. “He’s very happy with it, especially the new machines which have big capacities and mean less washloads and a smaller power bill. He also loves that rail for hanging shirts,” she says.
Where she splurged and saved
Revamping the laundry on a modest budget, Jen was thoughtful about where she spent and splurged. “The Kaboodle flat pack cabinets are such good value and the blue doors make a real impact and look more expensive than they are,” she says.
“The Caesarstone bench and splashback and Lavello gold sink were more of a splurge, but worth it in terms of quality as well as looks.”
For anyone considering a laundry renovation, Jen offers the following advice: “Don’t skimp on the things that get heavy use, like the washing machine. You can add a lot of design details to give your laundry a more expensive look than the reality, like handles and statement tiles.”
If you’d like to read more about Jen’s laundry renovation, visit The Interiors Addict.
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