Pantry/laundry Room Went From Confined to Wonderful

Candace
by Candace
This is a pantry/laundry room of the house our son purchased recently. Built in the 1990's, it was extremely confining and dark. My husband did all the carpentry work and changes, we were able to work on it during the time our son and his family were in Japan for a month. With two little children under the age of five it would have been more challenging because this room is off the family room area.
Before laundry area: the wire shelving was placed too low and the washing machine lid would not fully open. The former owners put Velcro on the edge of the lid of the washing machine and the wire shelf to hold it in place.
These are the cabinets that were on the opposite side of the washer/dryer. They had just moved in, didn't take long to figure out the cabinets were not going to handle much unlike their former pantry.
Removed washer and dryer and wire shelving.
Removed old and falling apart cabinetry.
Note the wire rac on the wall, as if it wasn't claustrophobic enough that was filled with cleaning products from the former owner.
There was quite a bit of damage to the walls that needed to be repaired. The sheet flooring was nasty and removed.
The old cabinetry was replaced with open shelving, floor to ceiling.
My husband drilled the holes for shelf placement. He purchased the 'L' brackets that hold the individual shelves in place.
Here is the completed shelving unit. Shelves are adjustable in all three units. Walls were painted with left over paint from another project. New sheet flooring and a bright new light made a huge difference.


Also the pantry door used to swing in, making that side of the room useless unless you closed the door.


He reversed the door so that it opens out and it made a huge difference, no claustrophobia!


The baskets are from the dollar store, tried to keep everything contained and neat.
Since this photo was taken we have added two solid white shelves above the washer and dryer. The lid to the washer can now be opened all the way. The shelves above hold laundry soap and other needs.


The shelving unit does require some carpentry skills, it was made to the room dimensions in sections and built in the space. We looked at IKEA for shelves and could not find the size/height we needed so it was necessary to build from scratch.
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  • Nanna Nanna on Jan 20, 2021

    This is my laundry room to a T... reused old cabinets don't hold much and the uppers are so high i cant reach anything. Love your 'remodel'. Thanks for inspiration!!

  • Diane Nusser Diane Nusser on Nov 10, 2023

    I love your "basket wall"! I would take it a step further with my trusty dusty label maker and label the baskets as needed. This is the ONLY way I can keep my craft closet straight! Otherwise, it looks like heaven to me! :-)

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