THE END OF RENO ROAD: THE LAUNDRY ROOM

Before I bought my house, I had never lived, as an adult, in a place where I had my own washer and dryer.  Having it in the garage didn't really bother me in the beginning.  It was still MY washer and dryer! When I had to replace them after the garage burned down, I was literally standing in the garage with my laundry basket ready to go when they delivered them, having spent eleven months back in laundromats.

But over the years, I yearned for having laundry in the house.  California weather is wonderful, but dragging the basket outside had gotten old.  Working from home, I also wanted an actual spare bedroom, since the second bedroom had become my full time office.  

I came up with the idea of doing a combo laundry/office and even though the end design wasn't even close to what I originally planned, I love the way it turned out.

I have never been a fan of stacking washer dryers.  The original plan was not to have one, but when the laundry room location changed, I started thinking about it.  What pushed me over the edge was when  I saw the commercial for the LG Wash Tower.  I read up on it and all the things I didn't like about stacked, had been addressed.  Both the washer and dryer had a ton of room and the biggest thing, the controls are in the middle for both, not on the top.  No need to get on a step stool to start the dryer!

One of the reasons I wanted the laundry room to have outside access, is I wanted to have a place where I could take off clothes that had gotten dirty working outside or in the garage, without tracking everything through the house.  I also wanted a spot to clean off muddy Kody paws. Or give him an entire bath if he ever ran into a skunk again! (Flashback to coming home one night from a gig at 300am to a dog who had been skunked and having to try to clean him off with the hose in the yard.)  I originally was going to put in a half wall doggie shower, but during construction, one of the guys building the shower suggested making it a full shower.  The more I thought about it, the more sense it made.  When I retire, I plan on converting the laundry/office room into a full bathroom and now the shower is already done.  The only problem was, I had bought the multi-colored tile I used on the side walls years ago and didn't have enough to cover the back wall.  After looking at tons of samples, I found this bright orange subway and decided to have them lay it vertical. It is a great accent and really picks up the light from the window across from the shower.

I love 1940s Art Deco, but the last fifteen years, I have become a fan of mid-century modern.  (I call my design style Mod Deco). I wanted the laundry room to have terrazzo floors, orange color palette and walnut cabinets..  Doing research, I found out terrazzo floors are not cheap and would have really blown an already stretched budget.  I found this "fake terrazzo" porcelain tile at Floor and Decor for a quarter of what the real thing would have cost.  I wanted a custom walnut laundry cabinet, but what my contractor wanted to charge for that addition was nothing short of obscene!  I used a cabinet panel and Sektion cabinet from IKEA to get some division between my desk and the washer and dryer without a custom build.

It's a great workspace.  I have a wonderful view of my yard out the window and it's so easy to throw in a load of laundry while I am working on a presentation.  Like so many things in life, not what I planned on, but exactly what I needed.