If you’re familiar with our little story we found this house in 2016, when it needed a little bit of an update. This was the original view on this wall that you’ll see in the after below.
A little Background: This home was built in 1976. Upon entering, a tiny foyer opened up four smaller rooms. We can honestly say we purchased this house for the location {school!} and the yard. Since that day we’ve taken this little house from 1650 square feet to over 3700. So we went from renovations on the main + upstairs levels, added a handmade hideaway, then a basement renovation, the outside of the house, then the pool room where our daughter was standing… {with a few more large home projects in between} to our primary suite + bathroom. While finishing said primary suite, we experienced the great water incident of 2021 and had our floors redone throughout the house again in 2022. I’m not sad about it. We then tackled landscaping + deck projects this past fall + spring}.
{That was a lot. You can see a little bit of a cohesive tour, with almost all the spaces here. Oh, and don’t forget the pool which is now in need of a redo. It never ends.}
But we never shared the butler’s pantry + laundry room! Because we waited for a bit {forever} on a few of those finer details, and we are FINALLY able to give a little tour today.
So this is now the walkthrough of our new bedroom + bath area. But it’s a pivotal part of the house. It honestly took us a little bit of an adjustment in being so far away from the kids, but we love the space.
I have to say the laundry is one of my favorite new rooms. Because {once again, a blast from the past} for the first year, this photo below was our laundry corner. There were giant spiders that could move drywall. It was scary and I still have some PTSD from that one. {Once the basement was finished, it was much better as a functioning corner. It’s now a closet. Yay, storage!}
I gave you a brief history once again to say that we take nothing for granted. I love this home and our journey. It’s like this house has grown with us. But I digress. If you remember because of restrictions with septic, we worked closely with our awesome architect on this one. We were pretty limited and that meant this addition was built on an angle to meet all things codes. This space {and the back of my closet} are the only places where you can tell this is a thing.
I don’t know why we posed like we were deliriously throwing out our backs. Or why Jamin has a Santa beard here. I guess we were excited.
Once upon a time, this was the outside wall of our house, and now it’s a walkthrough of the new space.
The little hallway is what we affectionately refer to as our butler’s pantry. It leads to our bed + bath, and laundry room. I loved including this door with some frosted glass. It still lets the much-needed light in, while hiding away our messes when necessary. Because with a family of five and two large dogs, messes happen.
It’s built on an angle, so we were very mindful of what we added in this hallway. I carried the tile to both sides of the wall in the kitchen for the doorway {I’ll share more of that next week} for some balance in the design on this entire side of the house. I didn’t want to let go of this fabulous cabinet that I love so much {left}, so while we had original plans to include another pantry here, it is now located in our kitchen due to sizing constraints. This cabinet lives here and is a much better fit. We also included a free-standing {but also built in} piece to the right, behind an entire wall of tile, with open shelving. We didn’t want the space to feel too closed in but we still wanted practical storage and countertop space. The entire shape helps with the hallway flow.
I absolutely love the way this all turned out. Of course we added planks to our ceiling throughout, to match the rest of our house. Another DIY labor of love.
Butler’s Pantry Cabinet: I designed this piece and it holds all of our larger cooking supplies. We had it topped off with a beautiful slab of quartzite, {shadow storm} + this awesome Jeffrey Court Tile {simply Grey} in a classic herringbone pattern. The white oak shelving + D.Lawless Hardware {knobs + handles} are like jewelry in the space.
Windows: You may be familiar with the fact that we updated our entire exterior with the fabulous Window World as a part of our over all renovation. The windows in this entire renovation were a beautiful addition for subtle touches of light, especially in the hallway and laundry area. It’s important to us to have natural light in almost every aspect of our home. These made a beautiful touch.
Pendant Light: Of course, we also love the Tollis Mini pendant in this room – it’s still one of our favorite lines from Kichler and adds so much to the area. Especially at night.
Vintage Piece: Here’s another glimpse at this entry from the other side. This is a piece that I traded a friend for, and repainted years ago. I’m pretty sure I got the better end of the deal, but I’ve loved it ever since. Turning around with your back to face the laundry, you can see the corner of our bedroom + the great room leading to the rest of the house. I can store extra dishes, stack vases, and more on top of this classic piece. It’s definitely helped in keeping with the open theme for this hallway.
Pulling back this door, we have a glimpse into the laundry room. I have to say… I am smitten.
Laundry Room: For this space, we added cabinetry for more room with a fun color, along with our extra fridge. Having it right off the kitchen for quick grabs is just perfect for the space. It was in our basement for the longest time. I wasn’t leaving it behind in our old house, as it’s my favorite… and has made a huge difference for storage. You can also see a peek at our door to the crawlspace on this side of the house. Jamin made it extra deep, so that we can store so much underneath {no bodies, just Christmas decor and extra tile samples for clients, for starters}.
Cabinets, Tile + Wallpaper:
The color of our cabinets is SW Rainwashed. We love the way this floor tile combined with the wallpaper for a truly playful feel. Our laundry space is tiny but mighty.
Art: We actually had the issue of a light switch and an electrical box on this wall, since this side of the house was an entire addition. I was able to add some vintage art here to hide it, which was a happy compromise with a little character on the walls.
Sconce: This light at night makes for the perfect lamp-effect. We love the way it works with the glass on the door. Almost like a nightlight when we don’t want so much on. Another version of Kichler’s Tollis.
Hardware: Is a also from D.Lawless hardware. These chonky pieces really made the cabinet design and I love them. Available in various sizes here {1. 2. 3.}
Backsplash Tile: I can’t think of a better little backsplash for this wall other than Jeffrey Court’s Cloudy Daze Mosaic. It adds the perfect little accent with all the other design elements in the space.
I kind of pushed to have this little peek in our roof, where the direction changes. I don’t regret that at all now, as every little bit makes this tiny but mighty space feel a little larger. It’s the little things.
Drying Rack: I’ll be highlighting this more next week with a video on socials, but I am obsessed with this element. This is one of my favorite things from George + Willy. We’re big on delicates in our house, between my daughter and me with our yoga and workout gear. Instead of having to haul it out and set it up {and try to finagle all the things} it simply lowers for me to load the laundry and then raise back out of the way.
I love the fact that it’s a vintage piece with a modern twist and it’s used weekly at our house.
We just truly love all the little details in this space.
Door: We love the steel and glass for a classic vibe. And again, it lets the light in whilst hiding our messes.
Vent Covers: Of course, these are amazing from Vent Covers Unlimited. They tie in with the rest of our home, and offer so many various styles + designs. They have so many options1
This view is so fun looking into the rest of our home. The shelves just really tied in beautifully to make the space. They were built by one of our amazing people. This little dish below holds fun various assortments of vintage candy at any given moment, from gum balls to lemon drops and these flavored candy sticks. It was my grandmothers, and she kept things in it on her kitchen counter. As a kid, I would always look for whatever new treat she had inside, sitting on the left corner. When she passed away, it was one of the only things I really wanted. I am grateful that I get to use it now.
This is probably one of the trickiest spaces in the house to photograph, so thank you for tuning in today. While we still have plans for future additions up our sleeve, we are truly cherishing this season of having things finished for now. This way we are able to focus on our clients and enjoy less chaotic family time. We were a little overdue for that in our own lives.
What’s your favorite part? Other than the doggos, of course. They loved hosting this tour.
Let us know if you have any more questions or we can point you in the right direction. Have an inspired day!
Leave a Reply