HAPPY SEPTEMBER! With summer on the cusp of Autumn, the days are getting shorter and here in Vancouver, we are breathing in every last breath of warm sunshine that we can. I spend so much time through a month looking at different items that I thought it would make sense to share my finds with you all! So scroll down for my picks of the month, from furniture to toys, eco-friendly finds to clothing and much more.
RENTAL HOUSE: LAUNDRY ROOM REVEAL!
IT’S HEEEEERE! If there is one room that I am beyond excited about in this rental house, it just might be the laundry room (does this indicate my age and the fact that I am a Mom of 3?)! Other than this obvious answer, maybe it’s also because we live right in Vancouver where houses are small and laundry rooms often non-existent OR maybe it’s because I have NEVER had a functional laundry room in my adult life prior to this. Drum roll please…
SHOP THE POST…
TA DAA! Before I get ahead of myself, let’s rewind a little and go back to where we started. This project is all about progress over perfection, as the house itself is so beyond perfect that you simply have to overlook the things that we will not be changing in a rental and aim for better. It’s been the perfect project to sum up 2020! You can see the inspiration and plan for this room here.
If you’re anything like me, I like the before and after view RIGHT next to each other photographed in the same way so that I can see the differences. If you are a pure before and after devotee, and are happy to overlook the ugly wall lino above the sink and the piping that we left, here you are! I truly wanted to photoshop the wiring out, but I left it in to show you the real deal.
So, there we have it. A whole lot of paint and a few super pretty accessories goes a loooong way to transforming a dark, dire and overlooked basement laundry room. This is now a place I actually enjoy spending time in: the light shines in, it’s super functional (a bench to fold on!) and I can commit to ensuring the laundry actually stays down here rather than making its’ way to the living room floor (making me a happier Mama and alleviating clean laundry in a basket on the floor). If I sound over-excited about a laundry room, I truly am!
Another thing I’m super excited about is the rolling laundry cart. I have seen this in numerous dream laundry spaces and decided to splurge to have a little bit of luxury in this basement space. I do not regret it for one minute! I chose the elevated cart (size small) to save my back and I really think it makes a difference when leaning over to get the laundry. It’s ideal if you have a standing place to fold and somehow feels extra special compared to a standard laundry bin.
Styling the floating shelves were one of the best parts. While the large cabinets that were already here hold most of the regular laundry room stuff, the shelves provide a bright and airy way to showcase the everyday things, cover up the ugly panel behind them and hold our favourite Sonos speaker (if you’re wondering what that silver item is). I found the art print from Juniper Print Shop and it was so simple to print out and frame!
If you’re still reading, thank you. Who knew that this dingy basement room could become something so bright and happy?! While laundry is hardly on anyone’s list of favourite things to do (or at least not on mine!), I printed this ‘washed with love’ sign to remind myself that we are indeed so fortunate to have three little ones to do laundry for and a happy place to do it in.
OUR RENTAL HOUSE LAUNDRY ROOM: INSPIRATION & THE PLAN
Are you ready for the worst room yet? It has to be our laundry room. Let’s start by appreciating these beyond gorgeous laundry rooms that I found when searching inspiration on Pinterest before I jump into ours.
What a beautiful space this is. I love the warm tones and the natural accents.
Source: House of Jade Interiors
The scale of this room was the first thing that stood out; the high ceilings are incredible and the built in cabinets feel incredibly luxurious. The rolling laundry bins caught my eye too; I love anything that is functional but also pretty!
Source: Studio Mcgee
When I found this one, I liked the contrast of the coloured cabinets against a different coloured wall, and also noted the open shelving.
Source: Scout and Nimble
Now that we’ve seen three beautiful dream spaces, let me introduce you to our basement dungeon-esque laundry room. The windows are barred (!!), everything feels dark and gloomy but I am beyond excited to actually HAVE a laundry room at all.
This is what the laundry room looked like when we viewed the house and I snapped this photo. I knew that there would immediately need to be another dose of white paint, so that is where we started.
The plan is to
brighten up the entire space by painting the walls, ceiling and floor white
remove the metal wire and film coverings on the windows
rip out the upper storage and hang floating shelves
paint the lower cabinetry (they have great storage!)
add accessories (the fun part)!
Here are a few items I put together to pull the overall look and feel.
01.// Patterned rug; 02.// Rolling laundry bin; 03.// Rattan hooks; 04.// Laundry powder tin; 05.// Wool dryer balls; 06.// White floating shelves; 07.// Ceramic pot; 08.// Landscape art.
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RENTAL HOUSE: THE KIDS' SCHOOL AT HOME ROOM REVEAL!
I can hardly believe that today’s reveal has the words ‘home’ and ‘school’ in it. I can honestly say that I never expected to be repurposing an entire room in the house to be dedicated to our kids’ learning. The kids have been home since March and as of now, we aren’t sure whether school will resume in its’ regular form this coming September.
This room is as simple as a room gets (see the before and in progress here), but it’s amazing what a big impact white paint and a good ‘ol gallery wall can have!
With that, let me introduce you to our new ‘school at home’ room!
SHOP THE LOOK…
Okay, I love a good before and after so I had to add the original photo I took the first time we saw the rental back in, just to show you the comparison. What do you think?
A wall clock was a key item on my list for the gallery wall because our kids have just learned to tell the time with an analog clock, and this gold one is so cute! The world map was another thing I have wanted to hang in a space the kids could see for as long as I can remember. We talk about geography all the time and this map is the perfect one for quick and easy hanging. The square frame is leftover wallpaper from Xavier’s room and the print on the top left reminded me of 3 snack bowls, which I feel like I am constantly filling for the kids. Ha.
The light in this space is truly the best part, with sun shining in each morning. It’s the perfect place for plants to thrive and the kids love to help water them each week.
SHOP THE LOOK…
RENTAL HOUSE: PROGRESS ON OUR HOME SCHOOL ROOM
This may be the first progress only post I’ve ever done! While I can’ t wait to reveal the finished space, this room in our rental house is particularly unusual and so I thought the before and in progress deserved an entire post of its’ own.
While I’m dreaming of it looking as polished and fresh as this gorgeous kids desk area below, there are still a few more things to add to get it to the finish line.
Source: Shira Bess Interiors
Let’s start at the beginning. If you haven’t already, head over to the blog post that introduces our rental house to see all the spaces that are being freshened up. Below is the space that was originally going to be my office when we rented this house. Raw wood, carpet, a boat wheel and windows of all shapes and sized. It’s a terrible extension that was not added on properly but the morning light beams into this space so I knew we needed to use it for something useful.
The floor is slightly sloped (yes really!) but we knew that we wanted to rip the old carpet up as soon as possible and see what was underneath. Given the slope, there really weren’t many options for coverings. We decided to remove the carpet glue and sand the solid wood floor that forms the entry to this space and then use plywood to cover the remainder of the room.
Once everything was sanded and the new plywood was laid, paint was the next step. We used Benjamin Moore Super White throughout. It’s amazing what a few coats of white can do to clean a room up!
And…voila! A whole new starting point. Come back next week for the full reveal of this room!
